Too big, too strong and too experienced - that basically sums up the Port Adelaide side that gave a young Essendon side a football lesson at The Dome this afternoon. The Bombers went under by 64-points but the final margin could have - and probably should have - been greater.

For the Essendon coaching panel, the bye could not have come at a better time. They need to get some experienced players back from injury and they need to find a midfield set up that gives the forward line some hope of kicking a winning score.

People will point at the fact Essendon again conceded 20-plus goals but it would be unfair to point the finger at the back six. They had to deal with wave after wave of attack. Port continually won the contested football in the middle of the ground and when Essendon did, they coughed it up far too often.
 
The lack of poise under pressure hurt the Bombers. Unfortunately it can be symptomatic of a young side and the simple fact is that Essendon had 11 players with 37 or less games under their belt. However, Essendon assistant coach, Adrian Hickmott, made no excuses for the Bombers’ ordinary performance.

“Our skills really hurt us today,” Hickmott said. “We ask our players to run and carry and when you miss easy targets, you are going to get caught out. The positive thing to take out of the match is the opportunity that we gave to our young guys today.

“We gave them their first taste of senior football and they will be able to build on that the next time they get an opportunity.”

Jay Neagle, son of Essendon legend Merv, was one shining light in the otherwise dull display. Neagle was strong overhead and contributed two goals to Essendon’s side of the scoreboard and should have finished with four after missing two gettable goals.

Hickmott was pleased with the young man’s display

“He was good today,” Hickmott said. “He led up to the ball well and he chased hard. I think David Myers went alright for a young bloke playing his first game. I think he was overawed on a couple of occasions but he did his job.”

Port Adelaide, renowned for their hardness around the contest, had Essendon’s defence working overtime early in the match. But the Bombers’ tried hard against the onslaught, their linking up by hand to move the ball quickly occasionally looked promising, but they did not hit enough targets across half forward.

Matthew Lloyd was the exception. He worked hard throughout the term, kicking two majors and presenting himself well.

Facing a 27-point deficit heading into the second term, it was crucial that the Bombers found something to inspire them. However it was Daniel Motlop that was proving the inspiration and he had five goals to his name at half time.

Neagle showed some promise, marking strongly overhead. Andrew Lovett also showed some brilliance late in the quarter, sealing a major and assisting Jobe Watson to secure another.

However, the lead had stretched to 45 points by the half-way mark of the match and showed no signs of slowing. Motlop continued to wreak havoc in attack, putting through his seventh for the match in the third quarter. And, had it not been for some wayward kicking in Port’s offensive fifty, the Bombers could have been in a lot more strife.

To their credit Essendon continued to fight. However as per previous weeks, poor disposal hurt the side. By the time the final break came around, 53 points separated the two teams.

The Bombers tried hard throughout the final quarter of football. Goals to Matthew Lloyd and Neagle helped to repair some of the Power’s damage but Port Adelaide had done enough early in the match to run away with a 64-point victory.

Despite the disappointing end result, Hickmott believes the match will provide valuable experience to the younger players who are breaking their way into the senior line-up.

“Any match that the young guys are able to play is going to develop them as a player,” Hickmott said.

“They are able to get a taste of the pace of the game and test their skills against quality players so that next time they go out there, they will understand more.”