Adaptability has been a key element of Essendon’s strong start to the 2023 AFLW season, and Sunday’s comeback victory over Geelong was a strong reflection of it.
Going into the Country Round clash missing three starters in Jacqui Vogt, Jess Wuetschner and Brooke Brown through injury, Senior Coach Natalie Wood found herself impressed by the Bombers’ ability to hold firm in defence and stay balanced.
“We had a few injuries this week and a late out, we’d lost a few defenders but I thought our defensive work was outstanding,” Wood said.
“Our setup behind the ball was as good as it’s been, which allowed our forwards to come forward and compete. It was a really balanced game across all three lines.”
The Bombers brought the heat in a competitive opening 10 minutes, but the Cats took advantage of the breeze to snag the opening two goals on the verge of quarter-time.
Not deterred by the loss to Collingwood a week prior, Wood was in position to reassure the players they had the pieces in place to mount a comeback.
“There was probably a two-goal wind to the left of screen, so going in at quarter-time I tried to reinforce with our players that we were in a good position and we had the advantage,” Wood said.
“We had to go back to last week and fix a few things, we had the wind against Collingwood and they were able to outplay us convincingly, so (we’re) really happy we were able to play the conditions a bit better and improve from last week.
“I was probably just most impressed that we were able to adapt a few things in our game style and put ourselves in the contest which was most pleasing.”
Another shuffle from the Bombers was the move of Amber Clarke to the forward line, which paid dividends as the 18-year-old booted two goals from 16 disposals.
Earning a rising star nomination for the effort, Wood was proud of Clarke’s defensive pressure above all else.
"We were able to trial something different to move Amber Clarke forward, who has really good speed and footy IQ,” Wood said.
“She was in some really good spots as a forward last week, so I thought (it was good for) her getting that continuity today. She had a couple of chase-down tackles as they were coming out of our forward 50.”
Another headline from the Bombers’ win was the 50th career game of midfielder Maddy Prespakis, who racked up 33 disposals and six clearances in a head-to-head clash with sister Georgie.
Alongside Prespakis, Wood was thrilled with the even spread of contributors in the Bombers’ inside game.
“Maddy’s got a great ability to step up every week, she shoulders a lot for us,” Wood said.
“With the expectation of playing her 50th game against her sister, what Maddy and I spoke to the whole group about was it (being) a team effort, and it was going to take that today.
"We needed better balance around the contest and more contributors. Georgia Nanscawen, Steph Cain and Brooke Walker did a great job of stepping in.
“Just the contributions in what Sophie Alexander’s doing, you see Daria Bannister put her head over the football day in and day out, Georgia Gee’s doing a really good job of getting up the ground and helping us around the contest.
“We’re really pleased.”
Sophie Van De Heuvel and Georgia Clarke lining up against their old side was another storyline from the day, with Wood particularly impressed by the growing confidence of Van De Heuvel’s running game.
“Sophie has come leaps and bounds in the last couple of years just with her confidence, she was pretty motivated (along with Georgia) against their old team,” Wood said.
“’Soph’ has built across this season in continuity and understanding where to be, which gives her the freedom to run and provide some carry.”
The opportunity to coach a win in her hometown of Warrnambool wasn’t lost on Wood either, who continues to enjoy the support of the wider Essendon fanbase.
“It’s great to have the regional games, and I won’t lie it’s nice to get the win in front of friends and family, they support us and everything we’re doing,” Wood said.
“It’s nice to keep giving the fans some success as well, and that’s something we’re trying to build at Windy Hill.”
