Essendon's young team must be prepared to work hard for each other for four quarters or suffer the consequences - that was the message from Essendon assistant coach Adrian Hickmott following tonight's 38 point loss to Richmond. Those who watched the Dreamtime at the G match would find it hard to disagree.

Essendon was basically humiliated in the first half - conceding the first eight goals of the game amid a flood of skill errors that had Essendon fans cringing. Essendon coach Matthew Knights laid down the law at quarter time and he was entitled to - his team may be young and may be inexperienced but the senior coach clearly saw no excuse for what his side dished up.
 
“Overall, I think our willingness to work hard and continue to work hard for and with each other was what let us down,” Hickmott said. “After half-time I think we did a better job in terms of finding a man and working together to help each other and once we did that we started to work ourselves into the game.

“We can’t give a side that much of a lead and then try to pull it back each week because it is just too hard. It gets you tired and plays with your confidence so we have to start working hard from early on and put in a four-quarter performance.

“Hille definitely tried hard throughout the match and he got his hand on the ball a lot which was good. He needed help in-and-under the ball but overall I thought he was good.” The Essendon ruckman didn't have many four-quarter friends and that will have seriously disappointed the coaching staff.

For the second consecutive week, Essendon failed to post a major in the first term and found themselves playing catch-up football yet again. Recording a woeful five points to Richmond’s 33, the Bombers had booked in for a tough final three quarters of football.

Despite David Hille and Patrick Ryder dominating the hit-outs, a lack of support by their crumbing teammates made moving the ball forward much harder than it should have been. When the ball did make its way into Essendon’s forward fifty, failure to capitalise on opportunities left the Bombers wanting. Poor skill made highlighting individual performances difficult. Mark McVeigh was one exception, with eight possessions for the term.

Matthew Knights gave the team a fair spray at the first break as he pleaded for a more inspired display. But the second term saw more unaccountable performances and the Bombers continued to put teammates under pressure when drilling the ball forward. Matthew Lloyd finally gave Essendon fans something to cheer about, slotting through the team’s first major, 12 minutes into the quarter. However a lack of intensity, team-play and spirit led to an insipid second-term performance for the Bombers.

Goals to Jay Neagle, Angus Monfries and Lloyd, helped to repair the ugly margin in the third term, before a brilliant running goal by Lloyd injected some inspiration into the side. The Bombers, determined to leave with some dignity in tact, were able to string some passages of clean play together. Hille, led from the front with eight possessions and 13 hitouts for the term. Some tricks in front of goal led to a shift in momentum and suddenly it looked like the team from Windy Hill had turned things around.

Four goals separated the two sides heading into the final quarter of football and if the Bombers were able to play with the same determination for the final term, they would certainly still be a chance. Richmond looked tired but Essendon’s legs were equally weary. Despite starting the term well, Essendon were unable to finish off the quarter and the Tigers ran away to finish 38-point victors.

Hickmott said he hopes his team learns from the loss and uses it to bounce back against Adelaide next week.

“The coaching staff will be working hard to make sure our younger guys don’t lose their confidence,” Hickmott said. “We just have to help them understand what they need to do to get better. The Essendon Football Club will stick to our guns and make sure we try to regroup to be the best team that we can be.

“We have an exciting task next week against Adelaide and it will be good to see how we bounce back. That is the thing about footy, is that things can change from one week to another.”