ESSENDON had their best win of the season and kept themselves alive in the finals race on Sunday, knocking off the top-of-the-table Western Bulldogs.<\/p>\n
The performance impressed Garry Lyon and Tim Watson, particularly the on-ball unit.<\/p>\n
The Bombers won the clearances 47-31 and gave their forwards the advantage across the afternoon.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir centre square work, and this was two midfields that just went at it, their clearance work was really significant in the end,\u201d Lyon told SEN Breakfast.<\/p>\n
\u201cTwo weeks ago it was said that making finals wasn\u2019t that important and that they might have gotten there too early, I think it\u2019s very important.\u201d<\/p>\n
Club great Watson is excited by what the Bombers are building, but understands coach Ben Rutten\u2019s reluctance to mention finals.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very important to them as a group of players,\u201d Watson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBen Rutten talks about improvement. That\u2019s what he\u2019s aiming to do. He said it post-game again yesterday and he just wants them to be more consistent across four quarters of football and everything looks after itself.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s boring to say, but that\u2019s exactly what he thinks about where his team is at.<\/p>\n
\u201cYesterday they got great field position because of their centre bounce work and then they kicked incredibly accurately.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter quarter-time they upped the pressure around the ball and they are a very fast side. They\u2019ve got great speed around the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Bombers swung Aaron Francis forward on the weekend and he looked at home playing essentially as a centre half-forward.<\/p>\n
He kicked two goals and took seven marks, while Peter Wright did the damage with a bag of seven.<\/p>\n
The Bombers in all likelihood will need to win both of their remaining fixtures to play finals.<\/p>\n
They take on Gold Coast this weekend at a venue to be determined, probably in Victoria, before playing Collingwood at the MCG.<\/p>\n
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