Essendon has once again shown some strong form to end the season as they fly home after a slow start.
Ben Rutten’s men are still a mathematical possibility to play finals but are almost certain to miss out having won just two games before the bye.
In 2021, the Bombers began the season 2-8 before finishing 11-11 to sneak into the top eight.
However, as club legend Matthew Lloyd notes, it’s not a sustainable method for success.
He suggested he was frustrated to see the trend emerge again in 2022, and revealed why he wouldn’t judge them until the middle of the season next year.
“We whack them when they lose, so you don’t want to keep whacking them when they win, but I’ll judge them strongly again maybe Round 10 next year,” he told Sportsday.
“Round 10 next year, can they be 7-3? Because seasons are gone at the midway point all the time, after finishing this way last year.”
Essendon has recorded wins over Sydney, Brisbane and Gold Coast in the last three weeks as one of the form teams of the competition.
Lloyd was also asked who the Dons should look at in the draft.
The club’s list management team, led by Adrian Dodoro, has had good success with draft picks in recent years, particularly in the mid-season draft with Will Snelling, Sam Durham and Massimo D’Orazio all now a part of the club's best 22.
They’ve also had good success in the national draft, with Harrison Jones, Nikolas Cox, Archie Perkins, Zach Reid and Ben Hobbs all showing plenty of promise from the last three drafts.
As it stands, the Bombers haven’t traded any of their 2022 picks, with their first almost certainly to fall within the top 10.
Head of footy Josh Mahoney recently confirmed the club will look to “attack the trade period”, but added they’ll look to hold onto their top draft picks.
Given their midfield depth, Lloyd suggested a key position player would be the way to go.
“I do often feel for Jayden Laverde because he has to play undersized, but they recruited Zach Reid a few years ago who’s 203cm, 204cm but has had a lot of injuries, stress fractures in his back, so he is the future in terms of key defence,” Lloyd added.
“Peter Wright is their key forward, Harrison Jones is developing, so I think (a) key position (player is the way to go in the draft).
“They don’t lack for too much.”
Rutten’s men will look to stretch their winning run to four consecutive games when taking on Collingwood in front of what is expected to be a huge crowd at the MCG on Sunday.