Essendon’s midfield has powered the VFL Dons to a 38 point over North Ballarat.
Heath Hocking, Craig Bird and Kyle Langford finished with 90 disposals between them and the trio also hurt the Roosters on the scoreboard..
Matthew Leuenberger was also influential with 23 possessions and a host of hit-outs.
Coach Paul Corrigan said he was impressed with the efforts of the on-ball brigade.
“I thought the majority of the midfield were standouts, they all performed really well,” he said.
“’Leuey’ in the ruck gave really good service to our mids. Hocking, Langford, Bird – these guys I thought were really good through there.
“It’s really important that we’re able to own the contest and play well in there and then adjust that to the outside.
“[Josh] Begley played up forward and was also really consistent all day.”
Jordan Ridley returned after three months on the sidelines after overcoming a back injury.
In the time he spent on the field he showed promising signs with 17 disposals.
“It was really good to see ‘Rids’ out there for the first time today. Sometimes when you’ve had such a long lay-off it’s going to take time just to get your footy back again,” Corrigan said.
“I thought he performed really well today and he’s going to keep learning and adjusting to the way we’re playing.
“I hope we can see some real consistency in his training and games, and he has a good run through to the end of the year.”
Alex Carr debuted for and was outstanding in the forward line, booting three goals in his first appearance in the red and black.
“He went really well, obviously it’s tough when you’re coming in for your first game and adjusting to the level,” Coach Paul Corrigan said.
“I thought he adjusted really well and it was really good to see him get some reward for his efforts throughout the day and finish with three goals.
“It was a really good performance for his first game.”
There were a number of great individual performances but Corrigan says the side still has plenty to work on.
“The game was a little bit frustrating. We were inconsistent in our performance,” Corrigan said.
“I think it was probably more our defence today. I thought we really owned the contest today with our clearance work.
“We were getting the ball turned over at times and they were able to break through our lines a little too easy.
“Transition from plays and being able to get back and get good positions and put pressure on the ball – we just didn’t see that today.
“They got the ball out the back a little too easy and they were able to kick goals from that so it’s something we will have a look at this week and see how we can fix that.”
Essendon 20.17.137 defeated North Ballarat 15.9.99
Goals: McKernan 4, Francis 3, Carr 3, Bird 2, Langford 2, Hocking 2, Leuenberger, Draper, McNiece, J. Merrett
Disposals: O'Brien 34, Langford 31, Bird 31, Hocking 28, Mutch 25
