Let’s be honest. Round one for Essendon was one we'd rather forget - an afternoon when after matching their opponents for 20-odd minutes, the Bombers were beaten in virtually every area of the game.

But a week is a long time in footy, and on Saturday the Bombers have the chance to respond in front of the home faithful at Marvel Stadium.

Given the context, this is a big game against the Saints. How will it pan out? Here are the five biggest questions which need to be answered.

1. In which specific areas does Essendon most need to improve this week?

Forget attitude and intensity generally for a moment. When last week’s performance is picked apart, it was the smashing the Bombers received in terms of contested possessions which proved most damaging.

The 41 fewer contested possessions Essendon won was the worst return under John Worsfold, and came against a team missing two of its best contested ball winners in skipper Callan Ward and Josh Kelly. Dylan Shiel won 18 contested balls. The next highest figure for the Bombers wasn’t even in double figures, while three Giants managed just on 40 between them. You can’t get the ball on the outside without winning your share of it inside.

The tackle count was telling also - Essendon having 60-plus fewer disposals than their opposition but still being out-tackled. The two facets were a major factor in the Bombers’ improvement over the last two-thirds of last season, their ranking on the differentials for contested ball climbing from 10^th to sixth after round eight, and on tackles the Dons going from No.9 to No.2. There’s your intensity. And it simply must be recaptured this week.

Dylan Shiel led the way for contested possessions last week, but the Dons need more contributors. (Photo: AFL Media)

2. How much more smoothly does the forward set-up need to function?

A lot. One of the biggest disparities between GWS and Essendon last Sunday was in marks inside 50. The Giants took 16 of them, the Dons just six. That, however, can’t be attributed just to the forwards, with a lot of sloppy entries courtesy of poor disposal.

Inaccuracy was another bugbear - Essendon’s 5.10 a massive waste of what chances did present themselves in what was a very inaccurate round across the competition.

The other big failure inside the forward 50 was the application of sufficient defensive pressure. Four Essendon forwards last Sunday had just six tackles between them. That failure to lock the ball inside the scoring zone denied the Dons repeat entries and allowed the Giants 47 rebound 50s, comfortably above their average last year of 42.

3. How important are the centre bounces this week at Marvel Stadium?

Very. While the consensus on the new 6-6-6 rule was that it had little impact on scoring, with the lowest round one tallies posted since 1965, one statistic overlooked was that round one also produced more scoring opportunities than the corresponding weekend last year, just chances not converted.

As one of the shorter grounds in the AFL, Marvel Stadium has always provided plenty of scores to teams winning the centre breaks. Indeed, the Dons last year averaged 12.5 centre clearances per game, ranked equal third in the competition, while last week’s opponent managed 11.9, seemingly a small difference, but one which left the Giants ranked 15^th.

But those standings were turned on their head last week when GWS dominated the centre takeaways 12-6. The Giants’ Jacob Hopper won almost as many on his own as the entire Essendon midfield. St Kilda last week ended up with 15. That can’t be repeated at this venue.

4. What do we need to be aware of about the opposition?

A narrow one-point win at home over a Gold Coast team nursing a couple of injured players doesn’t appear an overly encouraging first-up performance for St Kilda. But maybe that sells the Suns’ effort short. And either way, there were enough positives for the Saints to take away beyond the four points.

St Kilda has worked hard over summer to inject more speed and quicker ball movement into its game. And it looks more dynamic up forward, too, for the addition of mature-age recruit Matthew Parker and former Demon Dean Kent, alongside keys Josh Bruce (who kicked three goals last week) and Tim Membrey.

The Saints will go taller this week with the addition of key defender Nathan Brown and ruckman-forward Rowan Marshall. At the other end of the size spectrum, Jack Steven is one to be watched closely, a good performer in last week’s win despite his lack of conditioning, while ball magnet Seb Ross also needs to be curbed.

Mature-age recruit Matt Parker has brought energy to the Saints' line-up. (Photo: AFL Media)

5. What can we expect from the Bombers’ on-field leaders this week?

Hopefully more than was offered against the Giants. Skipper Dyson Heppell gets a pass mark for his performance, but the captain’s leadership group cohorts had games with which they couldn’t be satisfied.

Zach Merrett was unusually subdued, David Myers struggled for impact, while Orazio Fantasia was very quiet up forward. The lack of impact extended beyond lack of possessions, Essendon seemingly unable to halt any opposition momentum with GWS twice slamming of runs of five unanswered goals.

It was the most senior members of the team who drove last year’s fightback when the situation looked dire at 2-6. While things are hardly at that stage yet after just one game, the Dons need a strong showing from the leadership group to not only drag their younger teammates back up on the horse with them, but to prove to the football world the round one defeat was nothing more than an aberration.

You can read more of Rohan Connolly’s work at his FOOTYOLOGY website.