David King was left impressed by how Essendon’s defensive system worked in the AAMI Community Series, but says he’s waiting to see whether it can be trusted during the season.
An inaccurate Bombers had more scoring shots against Geelong but still lost despite debuting a noticeably improved defensive game under new coach Ben Rutten.
King said the performance a fortnight ago was as good as he’s seen the side defensively for several years, saying the club were defending “like it meant everything”.
“I really like what (Essendon) did against Geelong in the last pre-season game,” he said on SEN’s The Picks.
“They played frantic, fast football when they obtained possession and when they didn’t have it, for the first time in about five years they defended like it meant everything for them.
“It was a pre-season game and you usually get offence no worries as people want to play, but you don’t normally get them putting pressure on and guarding the right areas and Geelong couldn’t move the ball (during the game).
“It was as good as I’ve seen Essendon defensively for a very long time, but I just want to see whether it’s true and whether we can trust it.
“We thought we were going to see it last year, if they bring that intensity and defensive pressure on Saturday night, they’ll win this (match against Hawthorn).”
The Bombers will be looking to get off the perfect start in the season-opener against Hawthorn, before a tough trip to face Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval next weekend.
