Essendon coach Brad Scott remains unapologetic around his desire to move away from Band-Aid like Bombers solutions of the past and use the draft to form the foundation of his list, but insists he has a team “capable of competing every week”.
Scott faced the music on Fox Footy’s AFL 360 on Monday night in the wake of Essendon’s alarming 61-point loss to Adelaide on the weekend, which left the Bombers 0-2.
Earlier in the program, host Gerard Whateley said the loss to Adelaide – which saw Essendon concede 161 points – exposed the somewhat jarring state of the Bombers’ list.
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“It’s not all talent for talent, but that equation gave you the issues around the list,” Whateley told AFL 360.
“So this is layered: There’s there here-and-now and then there’s the overall, which I think Essendon understands more than anybody else.
Are Essendon’s toughest years upon us? | 02:31
“And these are well-warned conversations. This is the price of trading away three years’ worth of draft picks and then missing with the high picks that have come thereafter. There are players that are still toiling away and trying, but they’re not going to live up to the lofty billing.
“When you have those picks inside 10, you have to hit. This is the Matt Rosa document from October last year, which is why the coach’s contract was brought into line. There’s a three-year project to amass talent. They have a major talent deficit, which can only be addressed through high-end draft picks.”
Asked where the Bombers’ sat now, Whateley said: “They’re in full-blow rebuild … The toughest years are now … I don’t think we were adequately braced for that.”
Co-host Garry Lyon added: “There’s some Essendon fans on the couch sitting there that wouldn’t like hearing that too much.”
Scott calls out ‘horrendous’ Bombers | 02:33
Asked directly if the Bombers were in “full blown rebuild” mode, Scott said: “You can say what you want. The club always talk to me about ‘what are we messaging?’ Ultimately, you message through your action.
“We made some changes at the end of last year with personnel, list, chose to go to the draft. We hold two first-round draft picks this year and two second-round draft picks – I think it’s pretty clear what you’re doing.
“But I wouldn’t concede that we’re not capable of competing every week. We have a team that I think is capable and we have some players who I think have – call it potential or call it capability – but we’ve got to get the best out of that capability.
“Honestly, to me I think it’s a question for the club to answer. My job at the moment is laser-focused on coaching the team that I have. But that being said, I’ve been very strong on the fact that Essendon in the past has looked to try and fix problems really quickly – whether that’s from acquisitions of players from other clubs. I was very strong when I came in that if we’re going to do this, we need to build it through the draft. We’ve retained all our draft picks since we’ve been there and we’ve got a good platform to build in this year’s draft as well.”
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Lyon put to Scott that some of the Bombers’ highly-rated young players, including Harry Jones and Archie Perkins, had “stagnated” in recent years.
Scott said he thought Jones “had a terrific year last year”, while Perkins “was important at different stages throughout the game” inside 50 against Adelaide when the ball spent most of the game close to the Crows’ goal.
Scott said his team deserved the external criticism that’d come its way, but stressed he wouldn’t publicly call out individuals.
“I think when teams come through, it’s very hard for players to develop in teams that aren’t going as well as you would like them to,” he said.
“I think it’s understandable that people will point to individuals, but for me there’s no point in me criticising them. My job – and actually what I love doing – is developing players. Clearly that’s a challenge at the moment, but that’s what the task requires.
‘It’s been a problem for ten years!’ | 05:50
“So when you put a performance out there like we did on Saturday afternoon, you deserve all the criticism that comes your way … But my job is to coach, my job is not to criticise. Players in the modern era have to be able to cope with that (external) criticism – and if it’s too hot for you in the cauldron, jump out. But my job is to support them, hold them to a high standard and try to improve them.
“The reality is, whatever mode we’re in, I’ve got what I’ve got and I’m fully invested in coaching them and developing them.”
Lyon lamented the Bombers’ lack of pressure and poor skill level.
“I was taken by how messy they were and how untidy they were against a side that was the exact opposite,” Lyon said.
Scott said it was “clearly a very poor performance against a very good opposition”, highlighted by “a distinct lack of pressure”.
Bombers “not having a crack” | 02:20
“It’s not like the players weren’t trying, but they were off. They were off the contest,” Scott said.
“It’s actually pretty simple for us identifying what the issue is, doing something about it is the harder thing.
“We expect more than that, I hold the players to a much higher standard than that and those are things we can absolutely control.”
Asked if he’d drop players after a performance like that if the club’s injury list wasn’t so long, Scott said: “Yeah we would. But you’ve got to have players to come in.
“We’ve got some players we’re quite excited about in the VFL, but they’re draftees. We had a debutant Round 1, we had a debutant Round 2 and the three emergencies – who were picked on form, they’re the next three best in – would’ve all been debutants on the weekend.
“There’s a challenge of exposing guys too early … But if we exposed a young key defender to Thilthorpe, Fogarty and Walker, it can sometimes set them back.”
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