Essendon coach Brad Scott says he was too slow to react to a Tom Hawkins-inspired Geelong blitz. (James Ross/AAP PHOTOS) Credit: AAP
Essendon coach Brad Scott has conceded he should have been quicker to make a change on Tom Hawkins after the Geelong spearhead dominated Brandon Zerk-Thatcher.
Hawkins kicked 4.1 and took four contested marks as the leader of a 38-0 first-quarter surge that set up the Cats' 28-point win at the MCG on Sunday.
She Is Football. She Is Finals
Zerk-Thatcher was no match for his far bigger and more experienced opponent, who had six goals by half-time and finished with eight in a career-best haul.
The Bombers entered a contest with the competition's most fearsome key forward duo - Hawkins and Jeremy Cameron - without injured defenders Jayden Laverde, James Stewart and Zach Reid.
We're not teaching him a lesson - we were trying to support him as best we could - but this is what happens when you play really good sides.
Essendon Football Club
We thought Ridley was doing a pretty good job on Cameron. We take Ridley off Cameron, move (Mason) Redman to Cameron and move Ridley to Hawkins, that means they can manipulate Redman a little bit ... whatever you do, there's risk attached to it.
Geelong are a big, strong side so we asked him to get around the ball and compete and he had 20 contested possessions and looked really strong in the tackle.
Stringer was widely criticised for being unfit at the start the season but has strung together some strong form since returning to action in round three.
Bombers To Welcome Back Exiled Figures
I get the frustration and you'd love to have him in great shape at the start of the year but there were reasons why he wasn't in perfect shape.
The four goals is the finishing stuff that we know he can do but what I was really pleased with was his effort in the contest.
The West Australian exclusive The West Australian exclusive Shock break-upVideo Premium The West Australian exclusive Billionaires Andrew and Nicola Forrest announce split
Afl 2022: Nic Martin Kicks Five Goals On Debut For Essendon Against Geelong, Reaction, Round 1 Scores
The West Australian exclusive The West Australian exclusive Cyber attack CommentsPremium The West Australian exclusive Hackers target secretive high-security prison inside FSH
The West Australian exclusive The West Australian exclusive ‘Too serious’ Premium The West Australian exclusive Barmaid machete attack accused’s Supreme Court bail fail
I get the frustration and you'd love to have him in great shape at the start of the year but there were reasons why he wasn't in perfect shape.
The four goals is the finishing stuff that we know he can do but what I was really pleased with was his effort in the contest.
The West Australian exclusive The West Australian exclusive Shock break-upVideo Premium The West Australian exclusive Billionaires Andrew and Nicola Forrest announce split
Afl 2022: Nic Martin Kicks Five Goals On Debut For Essendon Against Geelong, Reaction, Round 1 Scores
The West Australian exclusive The West Australian exclusive Cyber attack CommentsPremium The West Australian exclusive Hackers target secretive high-security prison inside FSH
The West Australian exclusive The West Australian exclusive ‘Too serious’ Premium The West Australian exclusive Barmaid machete attack accused’s Supreme Court bail fail