Essendon assistant coach Ashley Prescott says a lack of contributors and the Bombers’ overall inability to produce competitive football was to blame for a 44-point loss to Fremantle at Etihad Stadium today.

Poor execution by hand and foot saw the Bombers turn the ball over too easily and Prescott says the team will need to produce more accountable football if they are to challenge Carlton next week.

“It was very disappointing overall and there were a lot of areas that we will need to improve heading into next week’s game if we are going to be competitive this season,” Prescott said.

“Our inside-50’s were really poor. Fremantle were obviously able to rebound the ball out of our forward line far too easily and move the ball forward through the midfield.

“If you don’t mark the ball in your inside-50, it puts a lot of pressure on your midfield.  In saying that, the pressure when the ball did hit the ground wasn’t good enough.”
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Prescott highlighted the performances of young-guns David Zaharakis and Ben Howlett as some of the positives to come out of the match.

Both were impressive early with Zaharakis dominating play on the half-forward line and Howlett finding plenty of touch through the centre.

“Ben was pretty solid, he worked hard,” Prescott said.

“He was probably one player that stood out a little bit with his ability to get first hand on the ball but if you have only got one or two players doing that then you are going to struggle.

“We were unable to share the workload and we didn’t have enough players that were anywhere near their best performance.

“Zaka (Zaharakis) was pretty good too. He certainly looked to be our most effective forward.”

Scott Gumbleton showed some promise, leading hard all day and kicking two goals and two behinds in only his seventh game for the Bombers.
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“Scotty started to hit up the ball and took some marks but we just didn’t have enough contributors in the forward line or the midfield,” Prescott said.

Prescott said the Bombers will use this week to regroup as they head into a blockbuster rivalry showdown against Carlton on Saturday night.

“We just need to get more competitive, that’s the most important thing,” Prescott said.

“You can forget about game styles and the way you want to play. You just need 22 players that are really competitive and that share the workload and I think that if you have got that, then you can start working on the things you need to be working on.”
Watch Matthew Knights' post-match media conference by clicking here.