Bombers unfazed by finals inexperience

TODAY’S elimination clash between Sydney and Essendon shapes as a case study in the value of AFL finals experience.

In the red-and-white corner stands a force that has finished outside the top eight only once in the past 14 seasons.

The Swans have progressed to the grand final in three of the past five years.

With the exception of evergreen Hawk Shaun Burgoyne, no current player has featured in more finals than Jarrad McVeigh (25).

Lewis Melican and Nic Newman are the only Swans making their finals debut at the SCG.

In the red-and-black corner is a club that has not progressed beyond week one of the finals in the past 12 seasons.

The Bombers will have nine players contesting their first final.

“At some point you’ve got to grow up and they all said they want to play finals. It’s a great opportunity,” Essendon coach John Worsfold said yesterday.

“I’d rather (players making their finals debut) this year than next year.

“This is just another game they get to play together, learn.”

Swans skipper Josh Kennedy, gearing up for his 20th final, and vice-captain Luke Parker, who has already played 15 finals at age 24, recently high- lighted the value of September experience.

“A lot of guys have played in numerous finals. Those conversations (with Melican and Newman) will be happening all through the week,” Kennedy said earlier this week.

Lance Franklin, who has tormented Essendon in recent years, is another of Sydney’s September specialists, with 21 finals under his belt.

Worsfold was keeping his cards close to his chest when it came to his plans for Franklin, who kicked 0.6 when the sides clashed in Round 14.

On his side’s one-point loss to the Swans earlier this year, when the hosts scored 3.2 in the final 270 seconds of a dramatic match, Worsfold admitted “we learnt a bit about what we should be doing in tight games”.

The season has already delivered plenty of good news for Essendon players, coaches and fans all of whom were affected by the supplements saga.