Essendon midfielder Dylan Shiel has detailed the “mental challenge” behind the side’s thrilling comeback win over West Coast on Good Friday night.
The Bombers came from 28 points down early in the second quarter to pip the home side by two points and record their third-straight win going into next Friday’s Anzac Day blockbuster against Collingwood.
But the turnaround didn’t come easy, with Essendon only hitting the front in the last quarter when Nic Martin saluted with a set shot.
FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every match of every round in the 2025 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE in 4K, with no ad-breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited-time offer.
Speaking to Fox Footy’s Matthew Pavlich and Will Schofield post-game, Shiel said the Bombers were knew the Eagles would come out hungry after Andrew McQualter’s side had suffered back-to-back 70-plus-point losses.
“If you let any team in, they’re going to have their way with you,” Shiel said of West Coast’s fast start, which saw it kick six of the game’s first seven majors.
“We knew (it was going to be) a test for us. At quarter-time, we had to really stay strong and grind and work our way back into the game, regardless of how long it was going to take.
Shiel praised the messaging of senior coach Brad Scott, who was clear from before the match started that a sustained effort was required to quell the Eagles’ patches of momentum.
“It’s led by the coach, Brad,” Shiel said. “And he was really clear leading into the game that they’re going to have their moments, and they certainly did.
“We set ourselves a pretty big challenge, and it required a lot of process and patience and all the boring things that the fans probably don’t care about, but it matters.”
‘Why play on!’ WC blow potential winner | 00:45
The 32-year-old Shiel was one of the Bombers’ key contributors on the night, posting 23 disposals, seven tackles, five clearances — four from centre-bounce — a goal and seven score involvements.
Asked who was providing the crucial affirmations, Shiel spoke of the pre-game preparation he and the other senior Dons leaders covered off.
“The captain, the vice-captain and the senior group … We did a really good preparation going into the game,” he told Fox Footy.
“We spoke about potentially what could happen and how we’d respond, so even though the first quarter wasn’t ideal and it happened, we had the confidence that we’d spoken about, and what we’d be doing if something like that happened.
“When we come to the (quarter) breaks, sometimes you’ve just got to let the coaches coach.
“They’re seeing the game high up and from a pretty good perspective, so sometimes you’ve just got to let them coach you and be coachable.”
Key forward Peter Wright was instrumental in his return game, booting six goals — more than half of Essendon’s total tally — to fuel the fire of its comeback trail.
Quizzed specifically about what Scott and his coaching staff relayed to the playing group while down, Shiel answered from a midfield perspective and also spoke of the “testing” nature of their come-from-behind victory.
“Brad made some positional moves that he felt would balance up the team, but the big thing for the midfielders was ball security,” he said.
“The ability for us to keep that turnover game, keep providing defensive layers and support to the backs, and being able to drive the ball forward.
“It was just a really mental challenge as well (in terms of) how much we want to hang in there and keep fighting, because it was testing.”
After Nick Bryan went down with a ruptured ACL last Saturday, Scott will likely have to make more tweaks at selection ahead of the club’s Anzac Day blockbuster against Collingwood, with Sam Draper suffering a feared-serious Achilles injury late in the game.
Discussion about this post