Essendon great Matthew Lloyd has responded to Ben Rutten’s first interview of 2021, saying the club had “taken a step back to go forward” as a result of their off-field movement.
Adam Saad, Orazio Fantasia and Joe Daniher all departed in the off-season, with the club selecting gun trio Archie Perkins, Nik Cox and Zach Reid within the first 10 draft picks of last year’s draft.
Lloyd reiterated his frustrations with the club’s inconsistency with its leadership group in recent years, saying he was once again waiting to see actions on the field rather than just words.
“The question was put to Ben (Rutten) about the leadership (group),” he said on Sportsday.
“(He was asked to) talk us through why you take (Dylan) Shiel and (Zach) Merrett in and out (of the leadership group) and I think that just about sums up the inconsistency across the board.
“I said last year that it was all words and it was frustrating me at the time, I wanted to see actions and responses on the field.
“You give every team a clean slate at this time of year, but every team at this time of year feels amazing as no one has lost a game at this point.
“What is great for Ben (Rutten) is he’s the coach now, as great as it was to have John Worsfold over the top of him, he still was on probation in a sense and now this is his team."
When asked by Gerard Healy whether Essendon would play finals in 2021, Lloyd said they’d miss out on September action for a second consecutive year because of their lack of forward firepower.
“I think there’s a great young squad there – I don’t expect them to play finals this year,” he said.
“I don’t see how they put scoreboard pressure on with the forward line they have got with (Jake) Stringer, (James) Stewart and (Cale) Hooker.
“I think in their own minds, I think they’ve taken a step back to go forward.”