Dons’ biggest problem that requires urgent fixing

IF Essendon don’t improve defensively, then finals is out of the question, says David King.

After three straight losses to start the year, the Bombers got a much-needed win on Sunday under stand-in coach Blake Caracella, beating Adelaide by four points in a match that went to the wire at Marvel Stadium.

King says the Bombers still have plenty of work to do, particularly when they don’t have the ball, if they’re to match it with the best sides in the competition.

Essendon are conceding on average 108 points per game so far this season.

“Essendon’s biggest problem is they can beat anyone, but they can get beaten by anyone,” King told SEN’s Whateley.

“They only engage when they have possession of the footy and they rely on their key defenders to win the ball back, take intercept marks but with no help.

“It’s a game of two-up when you play them, you’re turn our turn.

“They’re the poorest in the competition without the footy, that’s a model that doesn’t bring any success. They’ve got huge problems, Essendon, to fix that.

“This is the second pre-season now under [Ben] Rutten and we haven’t seen the defensive stability come to this group yet, so when will it come? I think there’s a level of frustration with the Essendon fans about it now, it’s starting to bubble.

“I feel for the Essendon back six, I’d hate to be an Essendon defender because not only do you have to beat your man, you have to actually win the ball back to start the next chain.

“They never looked comfortable against Adelaide… I thought Adelaide were going to win that game. Every time they went forward, they looked like scoring.

“In the end, it was the win they had to have. We had this conversation last week; they’ve got to bank 1-3 and then they’ve got to go 2-3 and they’ve got to square the ledger.

“But if they can’t defend and stop the opposition at all, which is what we’re talking about right now, don’t worry about the end of the year, it ain’t happening.

“There’s no finals for the Bombers if they can’t engage when they don’t have the football.”

Essendon who are one and three play host to Fremantle at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.

– BY ALEX ZAIA/ SEN