Essendon VFL fell to the Sandringham Zebras in a 67-point loss at Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Sunday.

The Bombers started well and brought enough pressure to match Sandringham, with Sam Durham fighting after every ball, but fell away after half-time in a 10.10 (70) to 21.11 (137) loss.

Early in the first term, Sam McLarty earned himself a free kick and was able to get the Dons on the scoreboard, but Sandringham soon answered with four goals of its own.

A hitout from Nick Bryan enabled Essendon to get a centre clearance which allowed for a seamless transition inside 50. Tom Hird, who has been impressive up forward in recent weeks, was then able to mark the ball and nab his first goal of three for the game.

Despite a seemingly even contest, Sandringham found its rhythm and was able to make better use of its time in side 50, finishing the quarter 20 points in front.

The Zebras solidified their strong backline going into the second term, which made it hard for the Bombers’ forwards to get their hands on the ball.

Durham continued to impress defensively, and Bryan was not only strong in the ruck but continually presented throughout midfield.

While Sandringham was often too quick and efficient for the Dons, Essendon was still in the game upon entering the main break despite the 21-point margin.

The second half saw the whole momentum of the game change, with the Bombers starting to make silly mistakes, particularly in Sandringham’s forward line, causing turnovers which resulted in goals for the home team.

Hird was able to kick his second goal, but unfortunately it would turn out to be the only goal for the quarter as Sandringham outscored the Dons one goal to five.

The Bombers struggled to win clearances in the final term, while also making the same skill-based mistakes in their forward 50 which cost them goal opportunities.

After playing one quarter as Essendon’s medical sub in its clash against Adelaide on Friday night, Brayden Ham impressed against Sandringham, notching up 32 disposals and kicking a goal from 50 metres out early in the final term.

The Bombers seemed to find some momentum at the end of the fourth quarter, but unfortunately it was too late to make any sort of comeback, with Sandringham taking home an easy 67-point win.

Debutant impresses in first game

Jake Sutton played his first game for the VFL Bombers on Sunday, after returning from Adelaide where he played for SANFL club Central District.

He kicked two goals in his debut game, and was also impressive in helping in contests throughout the field.

VFL assistant and development coach Cam Roberts said Sutton had been training with the VFL squad for the last few weeks and had shown promise.

“[He’s a] really good decision maker [and] showed that he can finish off in front of goals,” Roberts said.

“The fact that he’s only been here a short time, it's hard to learn new structures and game plans but he’s sort of picked it up reasonably quickly. He showed some really nice signs and I think and he's just one that we keep sticking with.”

Hird comfortable as a forward 

Hird had another successful game as a forward, kicking three goals for the Bombers.

Roberts said Hird had been played as a defender early in the season to allow him to readjust to playing footy, but as the season has gone on, he said he saw Hird’s potential as a forward.

“I think earlier on in the year we played him in our back six. After having not played footy for a long period of time, that was to sort of reintroduce him back into the game and teach him some fundamentals and then [as he progressed] I think we see him as being more of a forward,” Roberts said.

“The fact the last three weeks he’s been able to hit the scoreboard for us, I thought that was pretty promising signs from him.”

An inexperienced team

Essendon VFL has had a tough season so far, having lost seven of the nine games it has played so far.

Roberts attributed much of the Dons’ season to the inexperience of the young VFL squad.

“I think the main thing is we’re quite inexperienced, so we have young draftees and NAB leaguers and some guys who are just out of NAB League, so you get a level of inexperience with that,” he said.

“They’re sort of in the early stages of their development, so they're not across everything. It just takes time - they've got to experience this sort of stuff to grow and get better. So hopefully in 12 months’ time with another pre-season in there, they’re in a much better position.”

ESSENDON 3.2 5.8 6.10 10.10 (70)
SANDRINGHAM 6.4 9.5 14.10 21.11 (137)

Goals: Hird 3, McLarty 2, Sutton 2, Clarke, Ham, McBride

Disposals: Ham 32, O’Kearney 31, Clarke 22, Dunkley 18, Durham 17