West Coast jumped out to an early lead and piled on six goals to one in the first quarter. Essendon played catch-up footy after trailing at quarter-time by 31-points. Despite working hard for the remaining three-quarters they couldn’t make up any significant ground.
""They jumped us at the start and unfortunately we couldn’t peg back the margin. We played some good footy in the third quarter, but it wasn’t enough. And we didn’t end up losing by a great margin like we could have,"" said Brent Stanton.
Essendon’s poor disposal and decision-making let themselves down during the course of the match. Stanton said that in recent weeks at training the team has been working heavily on improving their skills. ""Our main focus lately has been stopping the number of turnovers. Our poor disposal is not helping our footy at the moment. If we get that right, no doubt it will greatly help the side’s performance,"" he said.
West Coast mid-fielder Chris Judd played a big part in his side’s 44-point victory. He carved the Bombers up in the first quarter with his lightening pace and quality disposal. Judd finished with 22 possessions for the match and booted a sensational left-foot goal on the run from the boundary line.
Assistant coach Dean Wallis said that the West Coast midfield was always going to cause Essendon problems. ""That is their (West Coast) strength and we are fully aware of that. I had a conversation with Damien Peverill after the game and he said that Judd is a freak. It is actually an honour to watch the kid play football – he is an absolute superstar.
""Every club would like to have a couple of ‘Chris Judd’s’ in their side. Hopefully a couple of our young blokes are going to step up to the plate and be as good as him. One of those players with a big future is Brent Stanton. He certainly has pace and great skills and can develop into a ‘Chris Judd’,"" Wallis said.
""He has played seven games now and has been fantastic for us. Every time he has gone back to Bendigo, he has done a great job for Peter Banfield. You never see him pushed off the lines. His greatest strength is his running ability and natural speed.
""He just needs to believe in himself and back his natural ability because once he gets going no one can catch him. He knows he needs to work on a couple of areas, which he is working on. Once he gets that right he will be a great senior footballer for Essendon Football Club,"" Wallis said.
