Essendon were given a harsh reality check by an in-form Geelong unit at Etihad Stadium tonight as the reigning Premiers inflicted a 71-point loss on the Bombers.
 
Essendon assistant coach Alan Richardson said it was a disappointing way to finish after strongly contesting the first half of the match.
 
 
“There were some really promising signs in the first half,” Richardson said.
 

“Before the match we had spoken about the need to maintain a high intensity against the good teams like Geelong.

“We felt our pressure on the Cats was really pleasing and giving our defenders the opportunity to spoil because there was a bit more height on the kick.

“After that we really felt alone in the middle of the ground in terms of putting pressure on and our forward line wasn’t able to keep the ball in so unfortunately our defenders just got hammered in terms of entries.”
Despite the disappointing final margin, Richardson said there were a number of positives to take out of the game – highlighting strong performances by Michael Hurley and Alwyn Davey.
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“Michael Hurley was pretty impressive tonight,” Richardson said.

“He ended up having six shots on goal. He hasn’t really had a significant influence as a forward so far this year although he has done a reasonable job so that has been pleasing.

“Nathan Lovett-Murray was reasonably good and I thought that Brent Stanton did quite a good job on Cameron Ling.

“Often Ling can not only shut his direct opponent out but also get a lot of the footy and I think that Stanton was pretty even and we were pleased with the way he went about it.

“Alwyn Davey started the game really well and while he wasn’t able to continue that form for the entire match, he was really good for our forward line.”
Next Friday night’s game against the Hawks now looms as a must-win game for the Bombers following two consecutive losses.
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“It will be a massive game next week because the week after that is the bye so we need to turn our form around,” Richardson said.

“Hawthorn were impressive against Adelaide today so we will get through this game now and have a meeting with the players and then channel in on the Hawks on Monday to make sure we get back on the winning page.”