The Bombers’ last two losses have been harmed by a little but considerable drop off.
The Essendon coaches would have had a very specific goal in mind during the course of the previous week as they started their bye.
The Bombers’ seven-game unbeaten streak was snapped by their costly conversion in back-to-back losses to Gold Coast and Carlton during the previous two rounds.
While the Bombers controlled possession and inside-50s (60 to 41) against the Blues, they lost to their rivals because they kicked 9.16 goals to Carlton’s precise 15.6.
Against the Suns, it was more inside-50s, clearances, and scoring shots (25 to 21). Brad Scott, the coach of Essendon, emphasised the shift his team has made in recent weeks.
For us, it’s actually something that has completely changed. We were [conversion] experts and probably would have preferred more supply.
We’ve reversed the script now that we’re connecting poorly and receiving plenty of supply,” he remarked following the defeat to Carlton.
“But if you wanted to set up a game of footy and a foundation to give yourselves a chance of winning games against really good opposition, I think the foundation is pretty solid.”
Numbers from Champion Data further highlight the Bombers’ conversion dilemma. Essendon averaged 83 points per game, 50 inside-50s, and 54% accuracy on shots on goal from the first to the fifth rounds.
The Bombers significantly upped their inside-50 entries to an average of 59 per game during their run of four victories and a draw between rounds six and ten. They also raised their average score to 86 points. During this time, their accuracy on goal shot fell to 47%.
Nonetheless, the Bombers haven’t been cohesive in front of goal over the last three weeks, despite their Dreamtime victory over Richmond at the ‘G.
Their average score in these games has dropped to 79, while their accuracy at goal in this block has plummeted to 39% from an inside-50 average of 62.
The Bombers were successful in the initial part of the season, but they have lost their touch, as evidenced by their 49% accuracy average in the AFL.
It’s interesting to note that Essendon has maintained a score per inside-50 percentage rate of 41% during all three phases of their campaign, indicating that they are still scoring frequently once inside-50, but their precision in front of goal has been costly.
In his 200th game, Jake Stringer scored four goals against Richmond; however, in his last two games against the Suns and Blues, he has only scored 1.2 goals; in the previous two weeks, Kyle Langford has scored 0.4 goals, and Peter Wright has scored 1.1 goals. Four of the greatest kickers for the Bombers—Langford, Stringer, Nic Martin, and captain Zach Merrett—combined for 0.10 against the Suns alone.
The Bombers’ quest to make it back to the finals has been greatly impacted by these slim margins.
Leave a Reply