Essendon suffered a 48-point loss to the undefeated Casey Demons in its round 11 clash at Casey Fields on Sunday.

Despite a seemingly close start, the Bombers ultimately lost control of the game and allowed the Demons to break away and take home a 13.14 (92) to 6.8 (44) win.

The Bombers were impressive in the first quarter, remaining composed and controlled as they moved through the ground and into their forward half, dominating the inside 50s 11 to four.

Their defensive pressure was second to none, and thanks to the likes of Sam Durham, Martin Gleeson and Tom Cutler, many of the Demons' attempts at goal were dispelled with ease.

Ned Cahill was able to put the Bombers on the scoreboard which saw the two teams even at eight points apiece at the end of the term.

Essendon's strong defensive performance continued early in the second term but was soon matched with the Demons' own increased pressure. David Zaharakis and Nick O’Kearney were energetic and influential in the midfield, but the Bombers struggled to see much action in their forward half.

Cutler continued to skilfully set up many of the Bombers' inside 50s, which halfway through the second term allowed Cahill to kick the team's only goal of the quarter.

The Demons headed to the main break with a 15-point lead in a clear sign of their momentum.

Essendon had a hopeful start to the second half, hitting the scoreboard with three goals in a row, but these were quickly answered by the Demons, who were able to nab three consecutive goals of their own.

Going into the final term, the Demons had secured a steady 19-point lead. The home team's strong forward effort proved to be too much for the Bombers, who were outscored six goals to one to fall to a 48-point defeat.

Notable match-ups 

There was a series of key match-ups against Casey on Sunday, where many of the Essendon players faced experienced senior-listed Demons.

One of those key match-ups was the battle between Essendon's ruckman Nick Bryan and Majak Daw, who joined the Demons in March of this year.

VFL assistant and development coach Cam Roberts said that Bryan, who notched up 34 hitouts, was impressive against Daw.

“Majak is obviously an experienced player and has quite a bit of experience on Nick, but I thought Nick did a fantastic job in the ruck,” Roberts said.

“[Nick] won the hitouts, gave us first possession out of a lot of our stoppages, and as the game went on his around-the-ground stuff really improved, so I thought he did exceptionally well.”

Defender Zach Reid was pitted against star key forward Ben Brown, who also made the move from North Melbourne to the Demons at the end of last season.

Roberts said Reid held up well against Brown for the most part.

“I thought Zach got the upper hand in the first half, but those lapses from us further up the ground sort of opened up opportunities for Ben to get on the end of some nice kicks,” he said.

“So, there was some stuff that Zach just couldn't stop and also Ben is a magnificent player, played a lot of AFL footy, so I think Zach walks away from the game having learned a lot.”

Playing a top-four team

Casey has been a strong team this 2021 VFL season and remains undefeated.

Roberts said although the Bombers suffered some lapses particularly towards the last half of the game, the early signs that the team showed were promising.

“I think it was a bit of a continuation of our second half from last week where we learnt to be a bit more patient with the footy [and] allow our teammates to be able to set the ground up for us and when we did that we were able to play some really good Essendon footy,” he said.

“Unfortunately, there were some lapses that sort of started to come into the game throughout that second and third quarter and then in that last quarter they got away from us [and] we just weren't able to control the game.”

Second-half downfall 

While the Bombers showcased impressive skill and composure in the first half of the game, they lost control to Casey after the main break.

Roberts said what let the Bombers down in the end was mainly their decision-making and inability to find the right pace.

“We sort of rushed it or got caught up in the game. It's okay for us at times just to slow it down, allow us to get back in the game, and unfortunately we didn't do that. Casey are a really good side [and] they can punish you pretty quickly,” he said.

CASEY DEMONS 1.2 4.7 7.11 13.14 (92)
ESSENDON 1.2 2.4 5.4 6.8 (44)

Goals: Cahill 2, Johnson, McBride, Brown, Hird

Disposals: Cutler 35, Atley 31, O’Kearney 28, Zaharakis 27, Hird 20