ESSENDON'S DEFENSIVE WOES LEAVE NO MARGIN FOR ERROR AS 2022 AFL SEASON HANGS BY A THREAD
0Essendon's defensive woes leave no margin for error as 2022 AFL season hangs by a thread
If you were to believe the shouting from talkback radio and certain sections of the media. Essendon's 2022 season was over before it really began. Even fans in the north of Melbourne fretted about a year potentially lost. five months from the end of the home and away season. The AFL season is a grind. not a sprint. There are hard schedules. and then there is what Essendon has faced off against so far. 1.03 1.00 Despite this. the Bombers appear to be floundering in a sea full of AFL giants. Their defence has been constantly under threat. with mercurial Docker Matt Taberner the latest to enjoy a day out at the expense of Essendon. Are the defensive concerns facing Ben Rutten and the Bombers due to their tough schedule so far. or a sign of far more significant issues? Getting denied Defending isn't just defending in modern footy — it's also the anchor for the attack. Winning the ball and generating scoring opportunities is critical. As a result. teams are often forced into the debate of how defensive their defensive set up should be. and how aggressive their ball movement should be. Last year several clubs took the leap forward to a bold counter attacking strategy. one with exciting ball movement opening up opportunities for forward lines. At the cusp of this new trend were finalists Essendon and Sydney. Attacking footy isn't just aesthetically pleasing. it is often winning footy in 2022. For the Bombers last year. the quick ball movement helped generate marks and scoring opportunities inside 50. despite having fewer taller marking opportunities than other sides. After taking the reins in 2021. Ben Rutten backed a new look defensive unit. one that had strength in its mobility and athleticism. A mobile backline can provide both defensive cover and attacking rebound. and the radical redesign — headed by Jayden Laverde. James Stewart. Dyson Heppell. Jordan Ridley. Aaron Francis and Nick Hind — seemed to find the right balance between defence and attack. But for this type of strategy to work. the defensive principles behind the ball have to be rock solid. For Sydney — long near the top in the league for fewest points conceded per inside 50 — the fundamentals were in place to hold the fort. Sydney has ridden this attacking success to more success so far this year. scything sides up along the way. The Bombers. meanwhile. were able to limit their opponents to 1.57 points per inside 50 last year. just below the league average but far from the worst. While not at all a defensive juggernaut. they were able to hold opponents to a low enough score to kick a winning one themselves. In 2022. the balance has shifted. Essendon is conceding more points from turnovers from its own defensive third than any side did last year. At the same time. it has been unable to score from defensive third intercepts. struggling to effectively move the ball forward. The Rutten led Bombers move the ball in hard running waves out of defence. relying on handballs as much as any other side in those scoring chains. Turnovers can hurt when rebounding like this. It is a painful feeling they largely avoided last year. but is being heavily experienced now. It can often mean that a line or layer in the defence is missing or easily broken. Short of a skill error or desperate pressure on the ball. it can make defending very hard. In the lead up to their match against Fremantle. Rutten talked about what he saw as the key priority for the side. 'I think we are constantly working on [defence]. talking about the defensive part of our game — how we can continue to defend better and more consistently.' Rutten said. 'There's some really good parts of our defence and how we move the ball. There are some other times where it wasn't so good and it hurts us on the scoreboard.' The Bombers have faced off against some of the deadliest forward half defences so far this year. with sides like the Demons living off repeat entries forward and tackles inside 50. After a...
#news