Why all is not lost for Essendon

ESSENDON’S loss to Melbourne on Friday night condemned the club to their worst start to a season since 1967.

The Bombers have lost their first three games for just the second time in their history, looking a different side from the one that stormed up the ladder and played finals in 2021.

While it may feel like the world is falling down around Ben Rutten, he led the Bombers to a two and six start through eight games last year before the side finished strongly to play finals.

It’s why Gerard Whateley wants to see how Essendon fare in their next three games before making lasting judgements, predicting the Bombers could soon be three and three.

“Don’t invent a crisis,” Whateley told SEN’s Crunch Time.

“They have lost to three terms that I think we would all feel they’re behind, Geelong, Brisbane and Melbourne, and their next three are teams that notionally we would think they’re in front of.

“They have Adelaide, Fremantle and Collingwood, so I think the ‘stay positive’ is based on that they should pick off the next three and square the ledger unless they fall into the zero and three [mindset’].”

While former Adelaide coach Brenton Sanderson agrees that the Bombers can yet influence the 2022 season, they’ve shot themselves in the foot with the slow start.

He believes Essendon now has no room to move and can’t show any inconsistencies in 2022.

“You can have three losses during a season at any point, you can go on a three-game losing streak and still make the finals, that’s no problem at all,” Sanderson said.

“The challenge is when you start the season zero and three, because then almost nothing can go wrong for the Bombers [if they are to play finals].

“They have to make sure that everything goes to plan, they can’t have another three-game losing streak at some point in the season, they have to get on a roll, and it has to start this week.”

Essendon take on the Crows at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.

– BY SEB MOTTRAM/ SEN