The Windy Hill stands were packed out for Essendon's first home game of the season on Sunday, where the Dons took home the win against the Eagles. 

Senior coach Natalie Wood touches on what was a tough game of footy, but highlights the sides commitment to executing the game plan. Wood also looks ahead to the Bombers' Dreamtime match against the Tigers in Darwin. 

Wood on…. tough contest and never giving up

It was a tough contest, and it was close all day, and both teams showed a lot of fight. There were so many young players out there for both sides, and I felt there were some good passages of play throughout the match.

When we spoke at half time and again at three-quarter time, we felt like we were getting things right around the ball, and structurally, we were ticking the boxes, and we finished with around +16 in clearances, which showed that part of our game was working well.

I’ve got to give credit to the players, they had strong belief in the plan we wanted to execute, and in the third quarter, we showed bravery. We started to change angles, open the game up a bit, applied solid pressure, and created some good looks forward.  
 
Wood on… holding the ball interpretation

There’s been a lot of conversation around it, and we’re all trying to find the line, just like the AFL is. I understand they want to open the game up, and I respect that.

But I’ve got players coming to me saying, “Should I not go as hard to win that ball?” And that’s not something I want to coach them out of. I still want them to step in, win that ball, and play with courage, but we’re going to have to find smarter ways to exit out of it when necessary.

Hopefully by the time Round 2 is finished, the AFL will have some solid evidence to look at, I just hope it isn’t too hotly adjudicated, and the ball-winner still takes priority.
 
Wood on… Amy Gaylor

I’ve been so impressed with her. Last year, I moved her around a lot and threw her into different roles, but this year, she’s trained all pre-season as an inside mid, and so far she has played Round 1 and Round 2 in that role.

The growth she’s shown has been incredible. She was good last week in terms of winning the inside ball, but this week she got to the outside a lot more. She is also a real aerial threat as some of her marks help us not just in attack, but defensively too.

The way she goes about it is great, she’s a terrific teammate and a real student of the game. It’s a pleasure to coach her, and I’m genuinely excited to see where she can go.
 
Wood on… Dreamtime in Darwin

Looking ahead, we’ve got a quick turnaround and we’re on a plane to Darwin by Wednesday for the Dreamtime match, which we’re very proud to be part of. The chance to go to Darwin, connect with community, and really immerse ourselves is something we genuinely value.

The players love it, they love hearing stories, learning about Country, and sharing football in a different part of the country. Regarding the match, we had a draw up there last year, and it’s always a strong contest when we play Richmond.

We’ll get to work reviewing our game, looking at theirs, and we’re keen to get up there and hopefully come home with four points.