Assistant coach Mark Harvey was disappointed with the final result and said that the Bombers inexperienced backline struggled to contain St Kilda’s forwards. ""Mark Bolton and Ted Richards were outplayed and couldn’t match it with Nick Riewoldt and Fraser Gehrig,"" Harvey said.
""St Kilda’s delivery into their forward-line was just too good and too quick. Putting aside Riewoldt’s seven goals and Gehrig’s eight, they also had other scoring options. Montagna (Leigh) booted three goals and that hurt us.""
Similar to last week against West Coast, Essendon got off to a slow start and trailed St Kilda by 26-points at the first change. It was catch-up footy from them on and to Essendon’s credit they fought hard but they just couldn’t come closer than 19-points.
""The major positives to come out of the match was that the players didn’t give up. They came within 23-points in the final quarter and kept fighting. They just ran out of legs in the end and St Kilda was too strong and held on.""
There is no relief for the out of form Essendon. They face Port Adelaide at home next Saturday, followed by Carlton, Collingwood, Sydney and Western Bulldogs. After tonight’s match, Harvey was still optimistic about the Essendon’s chances of a finals’ berth.
""The finals are definitely not beyond us despite tonight’s loss. The pressure is definitely on us now and we probably need to win four of the next five to definitely make it,"" Harvey said. ""Port Adelaide next week will be a tough game, but it will be good to get players back. Who knows if we beat a top four side next week and get some momentum.""
On a positive note, the team should regain a bit of experience next week. The skipper James Hird, Scott Lucas, Dean Rioli and Dustin Fletcher are all likely to return.
