Former Essendon captain Tim Watson isn’t buying into the criticism being directed at the Bombers ahead of season 2023.
There has been some negativity surrounding Brad Scott’s Dons on the back of their disappointing 35-point practice match loss to St Kilda on Friday.
Following the defeat, vice-captain Andrew McGrath said it was important to have patience with the youthful team and the direction the club is headed.
“I think just to stick the course, we're improving every day and working really hard in the four walls every day at training,” McGrath said.
“Our best football is not going to come straight away, we're going to improve every game. We've got a very young list that's only going to get better with experience and games together.
“So just be a little bit patient and we'll bring the results hopefully.”
That led to Fox Footy’s Mark Robinson criticising the Dons for again telling the football world that they aren’t quite ready to challenge.
“I’m not jumping the gun, it was only a practice match, but there wouldn’t be an Essendon supporter that’s happy with what happened at Moorabbin on the weekend,” Robinson said on AFL 360.
“Essendon have been telling everyone all summer, ‘We’re not ready yet’.
“They’re the only team in the AFL, Essendon, who tell their fans, ‘We’re not ready yet, it’s going to take time’.
“That’s ok, Essendon have only been saying it for 15 years, no worries, we’ll do it again.”
He added: “You’ve got enough experience there, but straight away Essendon people are thinking, ‘Oh well, we're no good, they keep telling us. We’re young and we’re probably not going to be great this year’.
“I thought that was really disappointing.”
Club great Watson was not as reactive when addressing the club’s stance of preaching patience even if he cannot identify a recognisable game style under Scott.
He was asked if Robinson’s comments were an overstatement or understatement.
“No, that is a reality check,” Watson said on SEN Breakfast regarding the Bombers calling for patience.
“I think other clubs have said that too though, haven’t they? Hawthorn are saying ‘be patient’, they’re on a build, they’re on a reset and all that sort of stuff.
“There hasn’t been a lot to get too excited about watching Essendon play yet. There’s no discernible difference in the way that they are playing. It’s a practice match and sometimes these things take a while to kick in and you’ve got to give them time and that type of thing.
“I want to see from Essendon something that underpins the way they play. A solid foundation about defensive mechanisms and something that is recognisable as a way of playing.”
Watson compares the chatter around Essendon to the talk around Hawthorn, who have also said they will need to be patient as they go through a rebuild under second-year coach Sam Mitchell.
“We were talking about Hawthorn, I can see what they are doing. I can see what Sam Mitchell is doing and how he wants his team to play and their athleticism and speed and bounciness out of the backline,” he added.
“You can see all of that, but having said that the two teams they’ve played against, Geelong and Collingwood, have kicked a lot of goals against them.
“They’re not stopping the scoring, but at the same time they’re looking like they want to be a really attacking unit and score themselves, which is a good thing. At some point they’re going to have to get a better balance.”
The negativity will likely continue to swirl around The Hangar until the Bombers win some games of footy which they’ll get the chance to do against the Hawks at the MCG on Sunday, March 19.
