The two things that ‘galvanised’ Essendon

VFL/AFL legend Leigh Matthews identified two specific areas of Essendon’s game in their recent win over Sydney that impressed him the most.

The Bombers bounced back from their round 15 loss to lowly West Coast when they accounted for the Swans by nine points at the MCG a week later.

What stood out to Matthews was the Dons midfield, which has been accused of racking up plenty of touches, but not working hard the other way.

He highlighted the fact that Zach Merrett had just 24 disposals – his second lowest tally for the season – while laying six tackles and was damaging with three goals.

Additionally, Darcy Parish had 21 touches – his lowest aside from the Carlton game when he was injured – plus seven tackles.

The former Collingwood and Brisbane coach praised the impact the on-ball duo had.

“I remember on Anzac Day [against Collingwood] when they got high possessions but were beaten on the scoreboard,” Matthews said on Sportsday.

“At the end of the Essendon-Sydney game, the highest possession gatherer on the ground was Luke Parker with 26 disposals. Nick Hind [and Dyson Heppell] had 25.

“No one got possessions in the 30s, it was a very unusual game.

“Zach Merrett has had 24 disposals, but 17 kicks and seven handballs. I used to think when you get the ball, you only handpass it because you can’t kick it, generally speaking.

“Zach got into space and had his 17 kicks and kicked three goals. In other words, much lower disposals but much higher impact. The same with Darcy Parish.

“It’s not all about numbers in the hand, it’s about the impact you have.”

What made the win even more special was the fact the Dons were smashed by the Swans in round nine and ridiculed in the aftermath in relation to the Luke Parker-Dylan Shiel altercation.

Matthews believes there is little doubt that loss and the incident “galvanised” Ben Rutten’s Essendon side.

“The other thing that hit me, you can’t measure motivation or determination,” he added.

“But Essendon were obviously galvanised by the aftermath of the Parker-Shiel thing a few weeks ago.

“Even when they were off it early and they were behind on the scoreboard, it’s amazing how deep down there was a galvanised spirit within the Essendon team in that game.

“Even though they were behind, they found a way and were very strong late in the game.

“You can’t measure it, but I suspect being galvanised by a little issue like that can be so good for the team sometimes.”

– BY ANDREW SLEVISON/ SEN