Essendon VFL ran out winners in Saturday’s practice match against Geelong VFL.
There were a number of promising signs for the Bombers who overpowered a young Cats outfit to win by 17-points.
After a slow start, Essendon were able to find space and play with greater freedom in the second half.
Head Coach Matthew Egan said there would be a number of lessons to take out of the first half, which will ultimately benefit the team throughout the season.
“The first half was a real scrappy kind of game with a lot of stoppages,” Egan said.
“It was slow, but that gave us a real opportunity to work on our contest.
“They started to throw a few things at us, which gave us a chance to practice a number of different stoppage scenarios.
“At half-time we spoke about freeing our ball movement up a little bit. We were initially a bit hesistant to take options straight away in the first half.
“As the game opened up, however, we started to take the better options through the corridor.”
A number of senior Essendon players shone through on the day, leading what was a young VFL list to a solid victory.
Egan was particularly impressed by the efforts of veteran Courtenay Dempsey, whose experience in defence was important in restricting the opposition’s opportunities.
“Dempsey really showed something today,” Egan said post match.
“His communication when he was on the field really helped guide our younger players and he definitely took a real step forward with his leadership.
“He also gave us plenty of run and provided us with that aggression that helped keep the pressure on the Cats.”
Youngster Will Hams was also hard to miss as he collected 26-possessions through the midfield.
As further recognition to Hams’ impressive pre-season, he named Captain for the day and did not let the coaches down.
“I thought Hams was excellent,” Egan said.
“He was definitely one that stood out as one of our only listed players who played the inside midfield position.
“Hams took some real ownership around the ball and helped get the play started which was very encouraging to see.”
Essendon fans will also be pleased to hear of the performances of Matthew Leuenberger, Jake Long, Alex Morgan and Aaron Francis who all played solid games.
Egan was also impressed with the signs showed by several of the senior VFL players with McNiece, Dobson, Darby and Aaron Heppell all having an impact on the game.
“Our more experienced VFL players really stood out for us today," he said.
“They were led by McNiece and Heppell down back, who were calm under pressure and then really attacked the play when they saw the opportunity.”
The team will have a week off before they take part in their next practice match in two weeks.
Essendon’s only concern will be Jason Ashby, who will undergo scans on his knee after injuring himself during the second quarter.
Essendon 1.1 3.3 6.6 9.7 (61)
Geelong 1.0 3.1 4.5 6.8 (44)
Goals – Dobson 2, Dempsey, Leuenberger, Heppell, Michael, McLeod, Walters, Darby
Best – Hams, Dempsey, McNiece, Heppell, Leuenberger
Injuries – Ashby (knee)
