Where were Green's 13 disposals? I saw two.

Couple of out of character performances. Bail and Trengove both a bit rusty at times with simple stuff. Garland stuffing up every short kick! Bartram sloppy defensively as well as with ball (as expected).

Jones along way off but it was his first effort. But I do agree he should only come in as a back up to best 22 inside mids ie. Moloney (who started pretty well).

Warnock rubbish but it was his first go as well. He needs to play the next 2 to be ready to cover Frawley.

Martin I thought wasn't horrible. We have to stick with him at the moment. Certainly showing more attitude. Spencer - the less said the better. Jamar should now be rested for the next game. He made a couple of mistakes but still worked tirelessly.

A leopard can't change his spots re: Bate people! Take the good with the bad but no point knocking him.

Maric the big positive.

Lack of forward pressure and tackling pressure the massive negative. Should be not negotiable by now.

We're still in a strong position I think. We've got a core group healthy and with 2 runs under their belt. Others aren't too far away. Some problems just won't be fixed over night - second ruck, tall forwards, class in the back half, speed - but we've drafted in an attempt to alleviate them. Even if we drop off personnel for one or both of the next 2 matches if we can get the work rate up a notch and sort some simple disposal errors out then I'm confident we can get off to a winning start.

Midfield seems to have boarded the fail-train, stopping all stations to Shitsville.

Sylvia however got off early.

Backline was average but given no Frawley and no Garland for a half plus odd match ups and experimentations, I'm unconcerned.

Midfield continues to be our biggest weakness but also where we have the greatest scope for improvement.

Martin, Warnock, Strauss, Jones and a couple of others are complete dead wood and I hope none of these blokes get seen in the red and blue this year.

Watts must have read his article 5 mins before the game as he was back to his 2009 perform. I can't believe people actually think we'll play finals.

Not having a crack at Grimes, but isn't it typical that as soon as the club mentions the word finals we go to compete water. Happened in 2007, late last year when people were talking us up and again tonight.

Crap effort 2nite and more work ahead than first thought.

Thank god this game will mean nothing come tomorrow morning.

Vent over!

Totally agree with your poor performers andd gee where were our leaders.Green, Maloney,Jones put in real shockers whilst Grimes & Rivers at least put in. Wow what are poor performance out of the guts. We looked too small, too slow and just outclassed.

I would have been happier if we won, obviously, but I still feel we have improved on last year. Out intensity has increased from this time last year. Make no mistake, the Bombers are probably better than people are giving them credit for, unfortunately. They are fast, desperate, have great hands and good clearing handballs to wide receivers to make space to run the ball and they hit the ball at stoppages with pace. We continue to receive from stoppages flat footed and pass by hand to people in trouble.

I still expect us to move up the ladder from last year but I didn't ever think all of out shortcomings had been resolved and remedied. Patience people. Look at where we have come from in recent years and you'll realise it is still an improvement against what we were and an improvement against what I assume the level of competition will be this year

Warnock isn't best 22, simple as that. Every time he received a handball he was standing flat-footed. It was very poor. Also, the turkeys out there complaining that Gerard Healy was picking on Melbourne when he said the kicking in our backline was a weakness should watch the replay of this game. Some absolute shockers. It's only pre-season and that's fine. But there were some really disappointing moments. Essendon's ability to make tackles stick and break ours was one that I noticed.

I was watching the 2008 game against Fremantle and Moloney bombing the ball to nowhere in that match. Little has changed in three years. I like the guy because his heart is in the right place. But he doesn't seem to learn.

Lynden Dunn takes the honours for me tonight. Applied a little physical pressure that sent a Bomber off with the trainers. Nice!

Where the hell was our intensity tonight? They laid nearly 80 tackles, mostly in their forward line; 10 goals from turnovers. They harrassed our forwards, tagged our best runners out of the game, niggled us all night, and really got up our noses in the last 20 mins. They even staged for frees with intensity. They played as if their lives depended on it.

They played as if it was an elimination final. We played like it was a practice match.

Hmmmm.

What sort of a team tags guys in a practice match??!! How does a team get 78 tackles in a practice match??!!

We lost because they killed us for intensity & desperation. In a practice match. Good luck to them.

Smashed in contested possessions, inside 50s & clearances. Easily won the clangers.

End of story.

Lets remember Essendon had many fringe players fighting for a round 1 spot.

Tonights effort was mighty ordinary but it is not yet Round 1. Let us not forget that.

We do miss Frawley in the Backline don't we.

My biggest fears about our team were on show tonight.

We don't win enough clean ball from clearances.

We have some serious liabilities with ball in hand in our backline.

We are not as good as what we are pumped up to be.

Your two points are exactly why I came on here to post. We were smashed in the clearances and everytime we got first touch we second grabbed it or tried to break 5 tackles (Hello Mr Moloney).

We cannot play Warnock and Rivers on the ground at the same time. Bartram and Grimes (tonight) were not much better in their delivery and choices out of defence. We had no drive and seriously need to fasttrack Strauss (who I though was good), Bail, Tapscott or Blease off halfback. It is a serious issue.

Martin, Warnock, Strauss, Jones and a couple of others are complete dead wood and I hope none of these blokes get seen in the red and blue this year.

have to disagree on Strauss. He was showed signs tonight.

Where the hell was our intensity tonight?

We lost because they killed us for intensity & desperation. In a practice match. Good luck to them.

I sat quite close to the bench tonight and I have to say that a lot of our senior players seemed to be in self preservation mode.

The Essendon players were going ape sh*t, but Davey, Green, Moloney, Rivers, Jamar, they all seemed to lack intensity. I suppose when you've battled as many injuries as they have (Green aside), you tend to take these pre season comps lightly.

To be honest, I'm happier that we lost and sustained no injuries, it's better than winning at a cost (Essendon copped a few injuries).

Screw the NAB Cup. Bring me a healthy team for round 1 and lets take it from there.

Also while we are venting our spleen, can our midfielders please STOP TAKING ON 6 OPPONENTS. You are NOT Superman. I repeat, NOT Superman.

I'm sick to death of having a ruckman who wins pretty much every clearance, only for the midfield to either grab the ball and ram into a wall, or watch as their opponent takes off. We barely got a sniff in there tonight.

Hopefully McKenzie, Scully and Gysberts make some difference in there, because without a decent midfield we are going nowhere fast.

Edited February 24, 201114 yr by Jaded

Lets remember Essendon had many fringe players fighting for a round 1 spot.

While we had a few fringe players fighting for their careers ...

Biggest problems tonight - lost all the clinchers in the packs (credit to my mate who kept saying this) - so our midfielders were no good: Beamer, Jones (who looked injured to be honest), Sylvia, Trengove, Evans etc - the two players we missed who can fix this are Scully and Mckenzie - really missed their ball winning ability.

Defence looked dodgy trying to get it out - HATED the way we went back to old habits of kicking it sideways in front of goal - the bombers did not do this all night! Missed Chip - McDonald has to keep his head we cannot afford to have him get reported this year. Warnock had a shocker - not sure if he's worth keeping as backup anymore...

Jetta, Watts, Spencer and Bennell had too little influence. Should have rested the big russian more - he doesn't need to be played for that long in the NAB cup.

POsitives were Jurrah, MArric, Spencer looked OK when he came on - thought Dunn and Bate did a bit. Rivers disposal was good.

That's it. whatever it's the NAB cup - we hate Etihad it's a crap ground. We can't play there so screw it.

While we had a few fringe players fighting for their careers ...

yes you could be right, but my point was that Essendon had more no name players fighting for a round 1 selection.

I think we found out tonight Warnock is not in the long term plans....

Forwards were ok, not great with the defensive pressure.

Mids smashed in stoppages, allowed far too many I50s, and didn't provide options in the corridor (That last one was infuriating...).

Defenders overworked and frustrated, left to their own devices by the mids, and consistently picked the wrong option (I feel the mids were to blame partly for this).

Plusses - Maric, Spencer, Grimes, our new kick out technique of kicking it to the centre square.

Negatives - Batram's brain, Warnock, the mids laziness, decision making in defense

With all that said - it's the NAB Cup.

Miles to go before we sleep.

Ohhh..... So beating Adelaide and port in a double header doesn't make us top 4?

7 to 11 is where we might finish.

AS much as I hate losing to Essendon full credit to them they out played us and looked much better than we did. But it is only a practice match and there is no point playing your best footy when it does'nt count, September is a long way away. I still think we will finish above the Bombers at the end of the year.

Not a Maric fan but he played well tonight, hope he can keep it up.

There was too much fiddling around with the ball tonight, kicking backwards and sideways. If under pressure kick the ball long, don't handpass sideways.

Melbourne just always looked second to the ball.

Trengove has painfully slow acceleration.

I can't wait for the day that Jurrah puts in a four quarter effort.

I can't wait for the day that Jurrah puts in a four quarter effort.

Jurrah can't do it all , the only time we looked dangerous was when he was near it .

Performances like this are what happens when you read repeated articles in the media about how good you are.

Wake. Up. Call.

Jurrah can't do it all , the only time we looked dangerous was when he was near it .

No, I mean he will kick ten goals one day if he puts in a four quarter effort.

Shizen of a night at the footy. Thoroughly got the touch up we deserved, guess we are still a bit frail mentally, Grimes talking of finals, big Jack Watts story in the Hun, we were beaten by a far hungrier team 2nite, a team who were relentless in their pressure.

Positives for mine:

Maric- excellent pre season and attitude change paying dividends

Grimes- general down back, little sloppy at times, usually bcoz he is always under the pump

Howe- did a few nice things once he was brought on, took a nice grab and moved well

Jurrah- continued his impressive form, sky is the limit

Rivers- cool customer down back

Trengove- class act, grab and goal in first quarter was mint

Strauss- thought he showed some signs 2nite, may be a future there for the kid

Negatives:

Warnock- absolute spud, frawley cant come back quick enuff, reckon he had a hand in 3 essendon goals

Bartram- got pantsed by Alwyn Davey 2nite, took a great grab but disposal is hit and miss

Senior players Sylvia, Davey and Moloney really let the team down 2nite, Sylvia got off to a good start that was it, Davey struggles with a tag and Moloney is just a dumb footballer, wish he would spend less time a training gettin into other players and worry bout his defficiencies of which their are many.

Jones- first game but was very rusty, good honest battler but thats about it.

Green- yet to find the form of last season

Watts- head was in the clouds 2nite, concerned that he doesn't really worry bout losses, he played exactly like that 2nite

Base camp at everest is right, having lost junior and bruce maybe we may take a step back, scully, gysberts and especially chip will be welcomed back into the side,

I thought Sylvia, Grimes, & to a lesser extent, Bartram, Rivers, Maric, Jurrah, Bail, McDonald, were our most effective.

On tonights performance, those out of touch were,,, Bate, Dunn, Green, Warnock, Moloney, Jones, Jamar.

A bit disappointing, but with so much more to come.

I sat exactly where I sat one year when Al Nicholson did some of his finest (read pure rubbish) on Gherig.

Thought I travelled back in time tonight, but it was Warnock.

SOS Chip ASAP