Essendon may have only played in two games, but the early signs are not great for fans of the club.
The Bombers have lost by 62 points and 63 points over the past fortnight with the club conceding 278 points in those outings.
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That figure is six points worse than how they started the 2025 season, shining a bright light on their defensive inability.
Through the opening eight quarters of the season, the club have won only one quarter which came in Round 1 against Hawthorn when they outscored the Hawks by one point in the final quarter.
“Nothing’s changed, and Essendon are still easy to play against. I think they have huge concerns,” David King said Fox Footy’s First Crack on Sunday night.
“My fears weren’t alleviated in any way by Brad’s press conference at the end of the match. I just want to take particular note of some of the discussions he had about the way they’re defending, how they’re defending and whose responsibilities they are.”
After being blown off the park at Adelaide Oval at the hands of the Power, Brad Scott unleashed on the playing group.
The 49-year-old stated some of the players were playing selfish footy and that many didn’t have the will to get down and dirty when the contest got away from them.
The Herald Sun’s Jon Ralph was blown away by the comments from the man in charge of the club who sit dead last on the ladder.
“That was an extraordinary press conference from Brad Scott,” Ralph wrote on X.
“Admitted some players didn’t have a will to defend, admitted some went into self preservation mode, admitted there is a cultural problem with older players not digging in when it gets tough.
“Even on top of diabolical skills and players fumbling and handballing way too much. Just wow.”
The horror displays against the Power and Hawks left King pleading for the club to make sweeping changes to the playing group ahead of Saturday’s match against North Melbourne.
“You’ve only got one way to go from there, and that’s to omit the players that are playing selfish footy and keeping you on this path — the tram tracks of not making any alterations or visible changes,” King said.
“They’re just words, they’re always words. They talk about pressure rating … I had a look at them last week, 161 was their seventh-worst game for pressure in five years. I thought: ‘It can’t get any worse than that, going to play Port Adelaide’.
“149 today, their second-worst result on record — just unbelievable numbers. You would think that the one thing they could guarantee today, is an attitude and manic level of effort and desire to throw yourself across a boot if you have to.
“In the end, you end up with another smacking, and I think the Essendon fans are getting a little bit sick of the same stuff.”
The Bombers will enter the contest on Saturday night at Marvel Stadium as the underdog and will be without Mason Redman and Dyson Sharp after both suffered injuries in Round 2.
In a worrying sign for the club, the Kangaroos produced a stunning performance in their Round 1 clash by knocking off Port Adelaide by 46-points.
That’s right, the same club that just rolled the Bombers to the tune of 10-goals … lost to their next opponent by around 8-goals in their season opener.
Fans who have more likely than not already lost patience with the club will be hoping they can finally get on the board in 2026, if not they could be staring down the barrel of a 0-4 start to the season.
The Bombers will take on premiership contender the Western Bulldogs in Round 4.
