Bombers plant the seeds for success
Finals drought continues
ESSENDON added some unwanted markers to its long finals victory drought but coach Ben Rutten firmly believes the seeds have been planted for future success.
The Bombers entered the elimination final against the Western Bulldogs in Launceston without a post-season victory in 6203 days, dating back to 2004.
A goalless second half – the first time the team had been so in 44,899 days – resulted in a 49-point defeat, a seventh in succession in finals.
Essendon’s 4.12 (36) was also its lowest score since 1908.
However after being widely expected to not feature in the top-eight race at the start of the season, the Bombers have put the foundations in place to become a contender in the coming years.
“Certainly success for us this year was not always going to be about the scoreboard,” Rutten said.
“We embarked on a journey about us, building a really sustainable, strong footy club again that’s consistently competing at the top of the ladder for premierships.
“To do that, we had to build and build a really strong foundation and a core group of guys.
“We had a lot of new players come to our group so it’s about really establishing that, planting some really strong seeds and some strong roots in the ground for us to keep building on.
“It didn’t happen for us tonight. We’re bitterly disappointed as we came here to win. It is a time of the year that we absolutely want to be playing in.
“We didn’t get the result that we wanted but that ability to go through what we needed to go through this season, qualify for the finals, put ourselves in a position where we need to go through the week, prepare, they’re only going to be better for that, no doubt about that.
“There’s a lot more to this story to be written, this group’s really committed to doing it.”
Essendon’s cause was not helped by some 50-50 umpiring calls going against it, with all of Cody Weightman’s match-high four goals coming via free kicks.
The Dogs were on the right side of a 22-14 free-kick count by the final siren.
Rutten remained diplomatic when asked if it zapped the energy from his players in the third quarter.
“I think it’s part of the game. It’s those conditions that the team that put themselves in the best position, puts their head over the ball and were prepared to absorb the tackle, there’s opportunities there for free kicks,” Rutten said.
“They probably did that a fraction better than us in that third quarter and it was costly for us on the scoreboard.”