IF Essendon don\u2019t improve defensively, then finals is out of the question, says David King.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
King says the Bombers still have plenty of work to do, particularly when they don\u2019t have the ball, if they\u2019re to match it with the best sides in the competition.<\/p>\n
Essendon are conceding on average 108 points per game so far this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cEssendon\u2019s biggest problem is they can beat anyone, but they can get beaten by anyone,\u201d King told SEN\u2019s Whateley<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cThey 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a game of two-up when you play them, you\u2019re turn our turn.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re the poorest in the competition without the footy, that\u2019s a model that doesn\u2019t bring any success. They\u2019ve got huge problems, Essendon, to fix that.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the second pre-season now under [Ben] Rutten and we haven\u2019t seen the defensive stability come to this group yet, so when will it come? I think there\u2019s a level of frustration with the Essendon fans about it now, it\u2019s starting to bubble.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel for the Essendon back six, I\u2019d 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThey never looked comfortable against Adelaide\u2026 I thought Adelaide were going to win that game. Every time they went forward, they looked like scoring.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the end, it was the win they had to have. We had this conversation last week; they\u2019ve got to bank 1-3 and then they\u2019ve got to go 2-3 and they\u2019ve got to square the ledger.<\/p>\n \u201cBut if they can\u2019t defend and stop the opposition at all, which is what we\u2019re talking about right now, don\u2019t worry about the end of the year, it ain\u2019t happening.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no finals for the Bombers if they can\u2019t engage when they don\u2019t have the football.\u201d<\/p>\n Essendon who are one and three play host to Fremantle at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n