R15 - Essendon v West Coast - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly ...

I have fond memories of Essendon-West Coast matches over the years, dating back to the early days of the Eagles, through to Kevin Sheedy’s jacket-waving celebrations and the subsequent rebuttals from Eagles fans, and the rabid fanbases that rode every bump and tackle with the players in every game.

As such, I always look forward to the clashes between the clubs. It’s not a rivalry, as such – not like West Coast versus Freo, or Essendon versus Carlton, but it is always entertaining, and a game I always consider appointment viewing every season, irrespective of ladder positions.

This match was no different.

With a run of three-straight goals to end the second quarter, the Bombers walked into halftime looking the better team. They had held up as West Coast threw almost everything they had at them, and seemed as though they were ready to make the most of things as the third term commenced. However, West Coast felt differently, and in a see-sawing contest, the game suddenly started to feel in the balance again as the Eagles fought back.

It remained that way until Jye Caldwell broke a last quarter deadlock, running off his matchup for the day, Elliot Yeo, to kick a goal and break the Eagles. That this goal came as the result of a clear throw from Essendon captain, Zach Merrett, may have soured things a little, but it gave the Bombers the break they needed to run out 30-point winners.

In truth, the final margin probably does the Eagles a disservice. They were pretty bloody good, all game.

Enough of my yapping – plenty to get through in this one. Let’s jump into The Mongrel’s Good, Bad, and Ugly.

CALDWELL VERSUS YEO

Did you love this as much as I did?

It was a pair of midfielders at very different stages of their careers, playing very different styles, trying to get the upper hand on each other.

Elliot Yeo’s game right now is best in the contest. He had 16 contested touches and seven clearances in this game, as he had Caldwell right on his hammer just about every time he touched the footy.

Caldwell is a little more inside/outside than Yeo, and loves to get on the burst as a first-release player from stoppage. His contested work (nine contested possessions, six clearances) is still of a high standard, but what he brings to the table that Yeo no longer does, is speed on the outside, as well. So, whilst Yeo was winning a heap of footy in close, Caldwell was hurting on the spread.

Both blokes pride themselves on their defensive efforts, as was evidenced by their tackle counts, combining for 24 between them, whilst both offensively they added a goal each to their respective teams.

Yeo has just re-signed for a couple of years with the Eagles – a great result for both him and the club – whilst Caldwell is starting to look right at home in red and black after a a couple of years at GWS and a few teething problems at Essendon due to injury.

If the Bombers end up with a player who is comparable to Yeo at the same age (2017-18), I reckon they’d be thrilled. He was fantastic in this one, and seeing him stream forward out of the guts to nail that goal in the last quarter, breaking the deadlock, and sending the Bombers on their way to another win… you get the feeling that Caldwell, at 23, is now becoming the player he was meant to be.

BULL DURHAM

Ever seen that movie? An underrated Costner film – how many baseball movies did that guy make?

This may sound strange, but I kind of feel proud of Sam Durham.

The more I think of it, it is strange, as I don’t barrack for Essendon, but I have watched him progress from being a wingman, to half-forward, and then into the middle… and over this time, I kept thinking “I like this kid… he is going to be something”.

So, to see him actually BECOME something, and do it in such a way that inspires others around him… I’m proud of the player he has become.

He is relentless – a ball hunter with a defensive side. I wrote of Elliot Yeo above, and there is plenty of the younger Yeo’s game in Durham. He is more than a see-ball, get-ball type of player. He is a see ball, get ball, knock you out of the way in the process, and look back at you like he owns you type of player, who knows no fear, and will happily run into trouble if it means the Bombers gain an advantage.

Not sure whether you guys noticed, but there were a couple of moments in this game where players didn’t go as hard as they could have at contests(one was Mason Redman in the second quarter… sorry Bomber fans… gotta tell it like it is) but you’re never, ever going to get something like that from Durham – he only knows one way, and I bloody love it.

A couple of his bursts through traffic, just hitting the contest harder than anyone else in the vicinity, are what separates him from the majority of his peers at the moment. He has made such an impact on this Essendon team in 2024 – the type of impact that says “come with me, boys”, and this season, the Bombers have.

They have themselves a leader, in Durham, and I reckon that much is abolstely evident.

BRICK WALL BARRASS

Where would the Eagles have been without Tom Barrass in this game?

To be honest, probably still very competitive – they had a bit of a edge to them, today, but his presence in defensive fifty, combined with the old head of Jeremy McGovern, gave West Coast such a reliable and potent force when the ball came in long and high.

Barrass finished with eight intercept marks amongst his 12 overall intercepts for the game, owning the aerial contests and looking every bit an All-Australian in-waiting.

But can he be?

If he was having this type of season on a team in the top half of the ladder, I have little doubt people would be shouting his name from the rooftops, but with the Eagles in the bottom handful of teams in regard to scores against, can you reward a player in defence when the team isn’t defensively great?

That discussion aside, he was a man-mountain in this one, and deserves a hell of a lot of credit for the way he flew at everything and marked most of them.

$TRINGER

Cue the contract-year jokes, right?

Seriously, though… one year deals on the table for Stringer from now on.

Jake was the most damaging forward on the park in this game, slotting five goals in a game-breaking performance.

Adding five clearances to his game, whilst splitting time between the midfield and forward line (13 centre bounce attanedances), Stringer had the perfect blend of mid/forward time in this game, and made the most of the opportunities that came his way. There was no trying to do too much, no “me me me” style of play. Just a talented star of the game looking every bit like the most important forward on the ground.

Knowing what you know, would you sign Jake to a two-year deal? Or would you opt for a one-year deal with incentives?

I know what I’d be pushing for if I were in charge of contracts at Tullamarine.

RYAN THE MIDFIELDER?

Now, this was an interesting development, and one that worked well for the Eagles for three quarters.

Liam Ryan, for as long as I can remember, has been the type of player who runs for a little while, and then stops. As a forward, he would put in a fair whack of effort if there was a) a ball to be won, b) a screamer to be taken, or c) a rundown tackle to be made. However, in terms of consistent aerobic output, my view was that he was more likely to resemble a walking soft-tissue injury than an AFL midfielder.

I don’t mind being wrong, sometimes.

Ryan added another dimension to the West Coast on-ball contingent, with his work through the first three quarters adding a real spark to the game. His ability to extract the footy (six clearances) was coupled with an uncanny ability to find the footy out the front of stoppages, and that led to great opportunities for the Eagles’ forwards.

He had seven inside 50s in this game and was a surprise packet in this role, to the point I’d like to see him given more of an opportunity to play in the role should his body allow him. In games where there are injuries or omissions, you sometimes get something a little avant-garde as a result, and Liam Ryan as a midfielder was just that…

… right up until he did run out of gas, having just two touches in the last, as he rested more across half-forward.

BIG SAM’S BIG LAST QUARTER

I really felt this was an opportunity lost for the West Coast big men. They had the opportunity to work over Sam Draper, as they switched Matt Flynn and Bailey Williams in and out of the ruck, but neither of them could really have much of an impact on the game.

Actually, neither could have any impact in any role in this game.

They managed no marks between them, and just 11 disposals – one of which was a kick. Seriously, Dean Cox is rolling over in his grave, and the poor bloke isn’t even dead! Draper lifted in the last quarter, adding six disposals and three clearances in that quarter alone, to his totals, leaving both West Coast bigs looking like statues. The only thing missing was pidgeon shit on their shoulders.

It is an interesting situation for the Eagles, as in theory, have their two big men, and there has been a lot of speculation as pertains to the future of Tim English at the Dogs. Is this the type of game that rams home just what a difference he could make? Is this the type of game that convinces the West Coast honchos that bringing English in and paying overs is the right move?

I am not the world’s biggest Draper fan – I think he should be a lot more than he is at this stage of his career, and when I see him step up the way he did in the last quarter, I think that maybe… just maybe, could get there and become an excellent, and consistent ruck.

LESS IS MORE

The Eagles put a bit of time into a couple of Bombers in this one, with Zach Merrett finding himself copping attention from Reuben Ginbey at stoppages being the obvious one. However, the one I found most intriguing was Jayden Hunt ensuring that Nic Martin wasn’t allowed to run free and do as he liked from half-back.

Oh, he still ran free, but he was often forced to kick quickly as the pressure came.

And apparently, he can’t kick, right? That’s what we’ve been told for the past couple of weeks; that he is a “fake good kick”. Interesting…

Interesting indeed that he laced out teammates just about every time he touched the footy in this one. He’ll most probably be remembered for the one kick that didn’t hit the target in this game – his banana kick at goal that shaved the post, but he gave silver service to Jake Stringer and company, as he finished with ten score involvements and two direct goal assists… FROM THE HALF-BACK FLANK!!!

Not bad for a bloke who can’t kick.

I’ve said it for a few weeks, now. Martin has been blasted for taking on tough kicks. Yes, he has missed targets in general play – most do – but when you look at him with the ball in hand, he is always looking to be creative with it. He doesn’t go for the safe option – that is not why he is slotted in at half-back. Brad Scott wants him to take risks, and when he does, games like today demonstrate why.

21 touches sounds like a quieter day, but when over half of them end up in scores, you start to get a picture of why Nic Martin is so valuable to this team.

Fake-good kick… my ass.

THE LAST QUARTER OF JAYDEN LAVERDE

Tell me if I’m barking up the wrong tree here, but I have always felt that Jayden Laverde would make a great third defender. Unfortunately, he has been asked in the past to be so much more, and as hard as he tried, and as much as he threw himself into the role, he was always a third defender that was punching above his weight.

The addition of Ben McKay to the team, and the return of Jordan Ridley to the defensive end of the ground has been fantastic for Laverde, and in the last quarter of this game, with the Eagles trying everything they could to will themselves back into the contest, Laverde played the best footy I have seen from him.

Whether this was part of his best game as a Bomber, I am not sure, but with 12 disposals and five intercept possessions in the final quarter, Laverde was huge for the Bombers, and the more desperate the Eagles became, the more often Laverde seemed to bob up and thwart their plans.

I read quite a bit, and I have seen many Bomber fans lament what Laverde brings to the table. I have read comments that denigrate and deride him, like they were being written by Doctor Facilier, but he stood tall in this one.

As a third defender, the rugged Laverde is everything you want as a hardened backman. I thought he was excellent.

DUMB FOOTY

I want to single out Nick Hind for a moment, here. It’s not just him, but it is something that is creeping into the game, and it is sticking out like dogs balls that the umps are red hot on it.

I’ll put it simply.

If a player takes a mark within nine metres of the goal, you cannot run in to stand on the mark – you must only stand on the same line as the top of the goal square.

Every week, I see players casually wandering over the line to stand the mark a lot closer than they’re allowed, and the umps automatically ping them with a 50-metre penalty. It’s not a new thing – it’s been happening all season, and there was Nick Hind, standing there like he was completely unaware of it.

I guess we know who doesn’t pay attention in meetings at The Hangar, huh?

WHERE DID HOLDING THE BALL GO?

Okay, it’s been a few weeks, but the umps have put the whistle away and have decided that players are now allowed to drop the footy, allow it to spill out, or simply not try to get rid of it.

The AFL came out and made a big song and dance about how they were going to tighten up the holding the ball rules, and start penalising players more often.

And they did!

Right up until they didn’t, and this game was probably the one they didn’t.

There were multiple occasions where players were caught cold with the footy, often having had prior opportunity to dispose of it, and the umps bailed them out with a call for a stoppage. Has this been directed by the league? Are they now backtracking on the direction they opted to take just a month or so ago?

As a neutral supporter, watching players almost pleading for a free kick after executing a good tackle frustrated me – I can only imagine how supporters of either team felt. More to the point, I can only imagine how the players felt.

This is another instance of the AFL enforcing their “rule of the month” and then softening things down the track. Quite frankly, I am sick of their shit, and wish they’d work out what they want to do and just bloody stick with it, because this game was umpired in a manner that was the complete opposite of games three weeks ago, and in a professional sport, we should not be putting up with bush league crap like that.

I’d hail the return of Oscar Allen a success in every way except for his kicking for goal. So, given that’s his primary job, maybe I shouldn’t hail it a success?

He finished with 2.4 and attacked the contest really hard, particularly early in the contest.

I mentioned the disposal of Nic Martin, above. If I were the Bombers, I would be more worried about the disposal of Andrew McGrath. He was average in this one, particularly for someone who could generate so much from defence.

Speaking again of disposals, I neglected to mention Zach Merrett much in the above sections, but he makes the footy talk, that bloke. I suppose we become accustomed to it, so we gloss over it, but his decision-making and execution is just about the best in the business. He is the Bret Hart of footy… and not the whiny version. I am talking Bret Hart of 91-95. The excellence of execution.

That might be the best defensive game I’ve seen from Josh Rotham. Made some really solid defensive plays, and when you consider the quality of the opposition (I rate Kyle Langford very highly), that might have been his best game, from a purely defensive standpoint. Some people look to stats, but I reckon he should be assessed by the performance of his opponent.

Reuben Ginbey is an interesting one. He is going to be a beast – you can tell by looking at him. However, he is still growing into that body, if that makes sense? Not as great below his knees as others his age, and looks a bit top-heavy. Gotta get him into leg days at the gym! That said, maybe his legs are strong and just look less-strong compared to the massive rest of his body. He is certainly tough to move off the footy.

Loved seeing Xavier Duursma pull out the bow and arrow in this one. The AFL needs more of those signature celebrations. It helps when he was having such a solid game, too. Probably the best he has looked overhead in his career.

And that might just do me this evening. As always, massive thanks to those who support the site and myself via memberships. You probably hear this stuff everywhere, but your support means the site survives, and for that, I am grateful.

If you like what you read here, please consider buying me a coffee at the link below, or joining as a member – my reviews are usually locked for members-only, but I am feeling generous with this one and leaving it open. Cheers – HB.