Essendon completed an unbeaten pre-season with a tough four-point win over Geelong in Colac on Monday.

Midfield and team attack coach Blake Caracella spoke to media after the victory, and we’ve looked at five key points to take away from the press conference.

1. Young defender’s giant strides

Brandon Zerk-Thatcher has just one senior game to his name, but all signs suggest that is likely to change very soon following a sensational performance against the Cats.

The key backman got the better of important Geelong pair Tom Hawkins and Esava Ratugolea, showcasing his athleticism, composure and ability to read the play to finish the game with 18 disposals, 12 intercept possessions, nine contested possessions, seven marks and five rebound 50s.

Zerk-Thatcher was supported well by several teammates including experienced defender Michael Hurley (32 disposals, 13 intercept possessions, nine marks and seven rebound 50s) and fellow youngster Jordan Ridley (20 disposals at 95 per cent efficiency, seven rebound 50s, seven intercept possessions and six marks) and Caracella was full of praise for the emerging Bomber.

“I thought our whole backline was really good today; we got beaten in the stoppages pretty badly and the backs stood up,” Caracella said.

“Ridley, Zerk-Thatcher, Hurley, (Marty) Gleeson – all of those guys bounced the ball back out, which was fantastic from us.

“I didn’t know much about (Zerk-Thatcher) before I arrived at the footy club, but he’s gotten better and better in every training session and today he was almost best on ground.

“I think he’s probably playing in round one, but I’m not the coach.”

2. Flexible ball movement

One of Caracella’s key responsibilities is to coordinate how the Bombers move the ball forward and pre-season performances suggest the side can be more flexible this year.

While the run-and-gun style that has been a trademark of Essendon’s ball movement in recent seasons remains, the ability of the team to better adapt to different situations and show more patience when necessary could generate greater consistency in 2020.

“Ideally, (we) win more stoppages first and foremost, and that gets the ball in our forward half and then we can try to score.

“We’ve got a few modes of attack that we want to use. There’s been a bit of discussion about our handballs and I think that was on show again today.

“But we’re happy to kick the ball, we’re happy to take a contest, we’re happy to go around, through or over the defence depending on what’s ahead.”

3. Midfield versatility

Caracella wants that flexibility to flow into Essendon’s midfielders, allowing more players to roll through the centre.

Young onballer Darcy Parish’s excellent effort against the Cats was a fine example of what the assistant coach hopes can become the norm.

Parish racked up 22 disposals and was influential on the ball, but it was his ability to impact the scoreboard with 3.3 and free up other players that pleased Caracella the most.

“Most of our mids went through the forward line at one stage and (Parish) kicked three goals in the third quarter. He’s played a bit of footy forward in the past. We want our players to be flexible and play in different positions.

“If we can roll our midfielders – Parish, McGrath, Shiel – through the forward line, we get a chance to maybe see (Anthony) McDonald-Tipungwuti and (Jake) Stringer playing through the midfield as well.

“We’ve got a fairly young midfield group and the generic template of our players is that they’re pretty quick and powerful and have got some really good agility.

“That’s probably the one thing that separates us from the rest of the competition, so we want to use that to our advantage.”

4. Plan of attack

Parish’s trio of goals were particularly valuable given the side’s undermanned forward line, which was missing powerful goalkicker Jake Stringer (personal reasons) and injured key forwards Joe Daniher and James Stewart.

Stringer is expected to be available for round one, while Stewart is back training with the main group after overcoming a niggling groin injury that restricted him to one VFL game in 2019.

Daniher is further away and while Caracella would love to have the star forward available, he was encouraged by the pre-season performances of Jayden Laverde (one goal against the Cats) and recruit Jacob Townsend (three).

“It would be nice to have a couple of tall players down there, but unfortunately we don’t have those available right now. We’ll find a way, whether they are small players or contested players.

“Jayden Laverde has been really good, against West Coast he kicked two goals and he was a good competitor today.

“Townsend was playing forward as well, so we’ve got some players who can compete. You don’t want to be outmarked, ideally, but we’re still managing to kick a winning score.” 

5. Ruck options

Experienced Bomber Tom Bellchambers has been Essendon’s long-term first-choice ruck, but pre-season knee surgery has opened the door for new Don Andrew Phillips to stake his claim for selection and he has grasped the opportunity with both hands.

The former Blue and Giant competed well in Colac on Monday with 14 disposals, 17 hitouts and three inside 50s, backing up an impressive performance against West Coast where he claimed 12 disposals, 21 hitouts, four tackles, four inside 50s, three clearances and a goal.

Bellchambers has made good recent progress in his recovery and could also put his hand up to be considered by selectors ahead of the Bombers’ quickly approaching round one clash with Fremantle, leaving Essendon with an important decision to make.

Caracella praised Phillips’ pre-season efforts and wouldn’t rule out the possibility of Essendon fielding two rucks against the Dockers at Marvel Stadium on March 21.

“It’s great to see Andrew Phillips, he took a really good mark. He’s taken a few grabs in the last two weeks – (he did) against West Coast as well.

“He’s a different type of ruckman to what I’m used to; a really tall, athletic type who can run around the ground.

“We’re not quite sure where our team is going to end up sitting - whether Tom comes back in, we play two rucks or play one ruck.

“It’s a work in progress, but it’s going pretty well.”