Bombers need to find ‘hard edge’

ESSENDON coach Ben Rutten admits his team has been conditional with its tackling and pressure all season as he implores his players to respond on the massive Dreamtime stage on Saturday night.

The Dons will back underperforming midfielder Dylan Shiel to play, despite suggestions they should make a selection statement, but are unlikely to have an Indigenous player in their team.

Rutten said on Thursday that the mocking of his club by Luke Parker on Saturday night was not out of line given what his team had dished up.

“The vision was not reflective of the moment, it was of us as a club. The Luke Parker one was reflective of us as a club during the game,” Rutten said.

The coach gave a strong defence of the club’s development and said the improvement from last year’s finals appearance was never going to be linear.

But he did not hold back about the lack of tackle pressure and toughness all season that was once a trademark of so many great Essendon sides.

“Dylan is hurting like a lot of our players are about the way they are playing, that’s the bottom line,” Rutten said.

“We are supporting Dylan, making sure he is very clear with our expectations.

“Dylan is a great person. He adds a lot to us out on the field. We haven’t played with the hard edge we need to consistently enough throughout the season and Sydney was a game where we were way off the level. It’s not about Dylan Shiel, it’s about all of us.

“The players now have all seen the vision, we have been really clear on the game.

“We have reviewed it really hard, we have honest reflections and it’s about us going to work and making sure it doesn’t happen again. It’s about us and how we can rediscover that hard edge.”

Rutten said a club that logged only 30 total tackles should have stood up after Parker’s taunting, pointing at Andy Mcgrath as one of few Dons prepared to fly the flag.

“Andy Mcgrath after the Jye Caldwell incident was the level we expect,” Rutten said.