Refusing to accept a lack of experience as an excuse for Sunday's loss, assistant coach Ashley Prescott says that Geelong simply dictated the game and put the clamps on the Bombers' creative dare and dash.

 

Speaking on Weekend Rewind, Prescott said he hopes that the playing group can take some valuable lessons away from the game.

 

He believes the young Bombers should aspire to be like Geelong saying they haven’t always been that powerful; it’s something they have progressed too over the years.

 

“It was disappointing from our end but Geelong are a very, very good side and we continued to have trouble with our starts to a game,” Prescott said.

 

""We don’t want to make excuses, they are a very mature side and a very physical side and certainly did make it look like it was ‘men v boys’ at a few times in the game.

 

“No excuses though - we just need to learn from the game and hope that it teaches the playing group lessons for the future.”

 

 

Prescott believes that Geelong’s intense pressure all day long and all over the ground together with the Bombers’ inability to break through their zone contributed heavily to the loss.

 

“[To win] I think you need to have a lot of contributors, we had too many passengers on the day, you could really only single out four or five players that probably won their position and beat their opponent – you just can’t do that against any side, let alone Geelong,” he said.

 

“That’s been such a feature of our play, our ability to break up zones, we’ve probably been the most effective side in the competition at breaking through them. We’ve done it through real flare and dare, the ability to run and link up the handball but Geelong just mauled us with their defensive pressure.

 

“They ran exceptionally hard at the ball carrier and it probably spooked us a little bit and had us on the back foot, then we went into our shells and lost our creativity.”

 

 

Prescott was impressed with the efforts of young forward Jay Neagle, who kicked three goals and worked hard all day despite the intense defensive pressure.

 

“He was great; he was one forward that really led up hard all day. If sides are going to zone across the front of you and you stop leading- that’s exactly what they want you to do because you end up leading wide,” he said.

 

“Jay was fantastic; some of his kicking into the forward 50 was excellent too. He is a real talent but just now has to maintain his consistency.”