Essendon’s Henry Slattery said the Bombers have a lot of work to do despite claiming a two point victory over Brisbane in a nail-biting finish at the Dome tonight. Slattery identified missed tackles and poor execution of skills as two key areas the team will focus on in the build up to next Friday night's NAB Cup semi-final clash with Collingwood.
 
It was anything but free flowing football from the first bounce to the last. In the absence of some big names - including Simon Black, Jonathon Brown and Luke Power - the Lions put numbers behind the ball and the game became a battle of wills at ground level.
 
Despite this the Bombers looked safely home, holding a three-goal lead halfway through the final quarter. Andrew Lovett was the star for Essendon and his two clinical finishes in the last quarter looked to have put the game beyond doubt. However the undermanned Lions surged late and almost pinched the game at the death.
 
Despite the nail-biting finish, Slattery said the Bombers will take a lot from the match and build on their performance to ensure the side is ready for Round 1.

“It was a tough game. It was a pretty scrappy game but we wanted to work on the structures and we thought we did that pretty well. We just needed to hold our tackles and not be stepped,” Slattery said.

“We got stepped a lot but that is something that we can definitely work on and overall the skills could have been a bit better but if we fix up the little things we can produce a lot better football.
 

“We probably got a little bit slack there and took it a little bit too easy there at the end of the game so once we get 20 points up we really need to keep work on building on that score. I am sure in the future we can work on finishing off sides.

“We will go back and fine-tune things over the next couple of weeks. There is a lot we can take out of the game and learn from and that is the best thing about pre-season games is that we can learn from these and build on it.”

Essendon’s Round 2 team was a sight for sore eyes with the Bombers fielding a near full strength side for their clash with Brisbane including big name inclusions; Scott Lucas, Jason Winderlich, Alwyn Davey and David Myers.

It had been almost six months since Lucas and Matthew Lloyd had last lined-up in the Bombers’ forward line with Mark McVeigh in the centre and Dustin Fletcher down back. Despite the big names on the park, it was the youngsters who showed the most promise early.

Wanting to back up a promising performance in Essendon’s Round 1 NAB Cup game, Jay Neagle looked like doing just that early - outmuscling his opponent to mark strongly and kick the first goal of the game.

A pin-point pass from Andrew Lovett set up a Heath Hocking goal and Angus Monfries also booted a major in the opening term.

Jason Winderlich was solid early, winning plenty of the ball. He racked up eight touches in the first quarter and while his use of the ball could have been better, he will be much better for the run and he looks set to play an important midfield role for the Bombers this season.
 
Hayden Skipworth was another excellent contributor for the Bombers, particularly in the first half. He kicked an important goal in the second quarter, had 13 possessions at the main break and laid three tackles. He and Sam Lonergan were relishing the contest at ground level
 
The term was marred by an injury to Mark McVeigh who appeared to twist his ankle when rolled in a tackle. He limped off the ground and he is expected to miss somehwere between two and four weeks.

Essendon’s 11-point lead heading into the second half could have been significantly higher had the team converted opportunities in front of goal.

The third quarter started well with skilful goals to Leroy Jetta and Myers but just as the Bombers looked to be creating a healthy lead, Brisbane hit back with two quick replies - one via a freakish snap from Daniel Bradhaw.

In the final quarter David Hille made amends for earlier misses, putting an major on the scoreboard before two quick runing goals to Lovett further extended the Bombers’ lead. But the Lions kept coming and but for some poor kicking at goal could have hit the front for the first time late in the game.

Slattery said the performance of Skipworth was one of the positives to come out of a mediocre display by the Bombers.

“I lived with Skip for a year and he is the hardest working bloke. He is very disciplined and wants to get the most out of his footy. He has led the way at the club during the pre-season with his voice and his leadership and knowledge,” Slattery said.

“He has been fantastic for the club. He is a great pickup and will have a great year.”

The win progresses Essendon to the semi-final of the NAB Cup next Friday night against Collingwood at the Dome.

“Collingwood have a great side. They have a lot of good young players and that will be a good test for us and we are looking forward to it,” Slattery said.

Watch Matthew Knights full post-match press conference in Bomber.tv now