A match filled with Essendon skill-errors have cost the Bombers the opportunity to record a valuable victory against a quality outfit in Box Hill this afternoon at Windy Hill.
Many Bombers’ struggled executing effective disposal for the majority of the match, during which they possessed most of the ball.
Coach Hayden Skipworth was devastated with what his side dished up under perfect conditions.
“They scored 14.4 from our turnovers.
“So not being able to handle the pressure initially, and then when we did have the time and space not being able to hit easy targets really hurt us.”
Skipworth revealed that defender James Gwilt led the charge in the post-match meeting, urging teammates to improve on absorbing the pressure at the VFL level.
“Gwilty spoke about the pressure of an AFL Grand Final after the game, then the VFL being so far off it at the moment.
“They’ve got to be able to handle this pressure and even more so when they go up to the AFL and in those big games.
“So it was just reminding them that there is another level, so do your work now and get really good at your craft so when you go up, you can handle it better.”
Anthony Tipungwuti led the charge for the Dons across the half-backline and up throughout the midfield for the afternoon, gathering 23 touches in a sparking performance.
“I thought Tippa was fantastic, he defended really well then joined in and gave some run,” Skipworth said.
“His kicking was fantastic and I thought he was the best player on the day.”
Youngster Jayden Laverde was solid in attack, picking up 11 disposals, five marks and kicking a goal, but it was his unselfish work that excited the coach.
“Jayden was good– we played him deep forward for a bit and he lead out well and took some strong marks.”
“Then the pleasing thing was when he was wide and out of play a little bit, he brought his teammates in and we got goals from it.”
“I was really happy that his unselfishness around goal resulted in the team getting easy goals for it.”
Tayte Pears was solid in his return after spending a few weeks on the sidelines. The big man was instrumental up forward booting three goals.
“It was great to see Pears come back an get through pretty much a full game.
“He was on some restrictions, but to contribute with three goals was a fairly good return from him.”
Essendon will attempt to rectify their skill woes next weekend against the Northern Blues, but not before a solid week on the track according to Skipworth.
“We spoke about preparation throughout the week after the game.
“They need to do extra craft sessions and extra touch sessions, then making sure on game day that you’re well equipped to hit that easy target.
“We obviously want to stay even or above in the win-loss ratio so the main focus is definitely the skill errors, getting in a lot of training in this week will be crucial.
“We’ve had a couple of short weeks with the AFL having some as well, so actually getting some load in throughout the week and getting through some good drills will help us going forward.
“Lets hope it clicks next week.”
Essendon 14.11 (95) defeated by Box Hill 17.10 (112)
Goals:
Essendon: T. Pears 3, S. Heavyside 2, C. McKenna, L. Dalgleish, J. Polkinghorne, M. Purcell, J. Laverde, J. Schroder, A. Browne, J. Giles, D. Coghlan
Box Hill: J. Anderson 4, S. Grimley 3, M. Lock 2, C. Williams, D. Willsmore, J. O''Rourke, J. Sicily, P. McEvoy, M. O''Donnell, S. Crocker, A. Woodward, T. O''Brien
Best:
Essendon: A. Tipungwuti, O. Fantasia, A. Steinberg, N. O''Brien, J. Gwilt, J. Laverde
Box Hill: D. Mirra, A. Woodward, T. Miles, S. Collins, J. Anderson, M. O''Donnell
