ESSENDON coach Matthew Knights says his side’s lack of discipline and Adelaide’s superior skills resulted in the Bombers’ 96-point loss in on Friday night’s elimination final at AAMI Stadum.

The Bombers were simply outplayed by an in-form Adelaide unit, which took control of the game in the second quarter and never looked back.

Knights said that the different in the skill level of the two sides – and Adelaide’s ability to run harder into space than the Bombers – were the main areas in which Essendon was outdone, especially in the second half.

He said a lack of discipline, especially with structure and in conceding “clumsy” free kicks, also hurt the young Essendon side.
 
“We’ve got a long way to go but I think we knew that even before tonight that we’ve got to make up some ground between us and the good sides,” he said.
 
“We’ve had a reasonably good month, but we just had an awful night tonight and paid the price heavily on the scoreboard.”

Knights described Adelaide as “very, very sharp”, praising their skills and their accurate goalkicking.

“But they just taught us a valuable lesson in hitting the body and hitting targets,” he said.

“At times we were streaming though the corridor and we looked like we had openings, and then we’d tip the ball over and Adelaide were out the other side.

“You just can’t do that against a good side, let alone a side that, apart from [defender Nathan] Bock, is at full strength.”

The Bombers, however, were faced with filling several holes in their side after the suspensions of Matthew Lloyd, Patrick Ryder and Sam Lonergan, combined with an extensive injury list.

Given the lack of options for the ruck position, the Bombers named Cale Hooker and Nathan Lovett-Murray in the ruck. Adelaide scored a convincing win in the hitouts, 64-18.

However, Knights said that given the opportunity again, he would have made the same selections.

Despite the result, the Essendon coach said the experience of playing finals football would be invaluable for his younger players.

“They got to experience the quality you have to be as an individual and as a team that you have to be to win a final,” he said.

“We’re building a reasonable foundation as a club and we’ve unearthed some good youngsters this year,” he said.