Where Essendon needs to build

FORMER AFL list manager Matt Rendell is confident Essendon will play finals in 2023, providing they get busy in the off-season.

After yet another slow start to the season, the Bombers have improved in the second half of the year.

They fell agonisingly short of making it four wins in a row when going down to Collingwood in round 19.

One of their biggest problems, especially to start the year, was their inability to kick winning scores. With Cale Hooker and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti both retiring after combining for 67 goals last year, Essendon lost plenty of firepower.

Eight times this year they’ve kicked 72 points or less, including a four-game stretch of less than 55 points between rounds nine and 13.

Despite an improvement in recent games, Rendell still hopes to see the forward line bolstered in the off-season.

“Their biggest problem at the moment is they’re relying on Peter Wright and Harrison Jones,” he said on SEN’s The Sporting Capital.

“Jones is going to be a future star obviously, but he’s still a young kid playing in that second key role, really, he’s more suited as a third tall.

“But what they really need is a gun forward, they haven’t got one since Tippa [McDonald-Tipungwuti] retired, they miss him badly.”

Peter Wright has been a revelation for the Bombers to average 2.5 goals a game this year, while Jones has kicked 11 majors in eight games.

Ben Rutten has also dealt with an undersized backline throughout 2022.

Jayden Laverde, Brandon Zerk-Thatcher and Jordan Ridley are currently the side’s three key defenders.

Rendell further called on Adrian Dodoro’s list team to go after a bigger key back, suggesting that will get them right into the finals mix.

“They’ve got a really good young key back in Zach Reid, but I think if they’re going to cause some havoc next year, and I think they can, they need to try and get a senior key back,” he said.

“James Stewart did a really admirable job last year but hasn’t been about this year… I think they had a really poor pre-season, and they paid the price for it, but they’ve shown what they can do.

“They should make the eight next year I would have thought, with any luck with injury.”

Reid and Stewart are both plying their trade in the VFL, with the latter swinging forward to kick 14 goals in his last four games in the reserves.

The club has already highlighted plans to be active in the 2022 trade period, however they’re unlikely to trade their first-round pick.

– BY SEB MOTTRAM/ SEN