Essendon coach John Worsfold has praised Bombers tall Shaun McKernan’s performance in his side’s first JLT Community Series hit-out at Wangaratta on Saturday.
McKernan was a shining light for the Bombers in their disappointing 87-point loss to reigning premiers Richmond in what Worsfold described as an “outstanding” game for the big man.
The former Crow has spent the majority of his time at Essendon as a ruckmen, but Worsfold was impressed with his craft in the forward line against the Tigers where he booted two goals from 14 disposals and raked in 11 marks.
“Shaun didn’t really go into the ruck at all today, he just played mainly as a forward and he showed that he is strong enough to (make an) impact from what was limited opportunities today,” Worsfold said.
“I thought he was outstanding making the most of what he had.”
After playing just three senior games for Essendon in 2017, Worsfold was encouraged to see McKernan put his hand up for selection in round one.
“I’m rapt that Shaun’s given us plenty to think about in that regard,” he said.
Worsfold labeled the loss “disappointing”, putting the result down to a lack of pressure and player confusion regarding new tactics.
“There are a lot of areas where we’ve been trying to implement a few new things and I can see some confusion amongst the players,” Worsfold said.
“The good part about that is that’s a fairly easy thing to address with them.”
After a gastro outbreak swept through the club in the lead up to the match Worsfold was unsure about how much blame to place on the illnesses.
“Obviously it really ripped through the club, but it’s a bit of an unknown.”
Seeing the return of several players for Essendon’s second JLT match against Geelong is more certain, with Worsfold suggesting many of those that missed the clash against Richmond will be ready to fire in a fortnight.
Michael Hurley, Cale Hooker, David Myers, Tom Bellchambers, James Stewart and Orazio Fantasia are among the Bombers that missed Saturday's match.
“Those guys that were out today are likely to be playing next game,” Worsfold said.
