Eleven senior-listed Bombers featured in Essendon's 67-point VFL loss to Sandringham at Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Sunday.

VFL senior coach Leigh Tudor has reviewed each of their performances below.

The Bombers will face the Kangaroos in round 14 VFL action at Arden St Oval from 2:05pm on Sunday, with the match streamed live via Kayo Freebies.

Brayden Ham

Key stats: 36 disposals, six tackles, two goals

“‘Hammy’ came with a fantastic attitude after playing a quarter on the Friday night (AFL). It was great to get a call from him the next morning, saying ‘Get me in the side, I really want to play’. We just knew he was going to play well, and he did. He played as an inside midfielder, got a lot of the ball and had 17 contested possessions, eight clearances and two goals. I was pleased for him.”

Dylan Clarke

Key stats: 26 disposals, 16 contested possessions, 11 tackles

“It was Clarke’s second game back. He was really good on the inside again with 16 contested possessions and 11 tackles. He did a lot of his work in a phone box and was really strong in there for us.”

Sam Durham

Key stats: 19 disposals, nine contested possessions, four marks

“He had another game on the wing for us. Defensively he was really good again. He had nine contested possessions, so he’s winning his own ball. It was just another good game for him to learn our patterns of play, which he’s picking up really easily. He’s a smart footballer and he’s started his career at Essendon really well.”

Brandon Zerk-Thatcher

Key stats: 17 disposals, four marks, two tackles

“‘Thatchy’ was OK for us. He won a lot of one-on-one contests and used the ball pretty well when he got it. A couple of times he got caught out in stoppage structures, where he found himself a little bit too ahead of the ball. All in all it was a solid game for him.”

Tom Hird

Key stats: 15 disposals, three goals, four tackles

“‘Hirdy’ has been playing forward the last couple of weeks. He made the most of his opportunities and worked himself into the game quite well. His work-rate was really good once again, and it was good to see him get on the scoreboard. He hasn’t played forward a lot, but was one of our better players on the day.”

Ned Cahill

Key stats: 13 disposals, four tackles, two behinds 

“Ned found himself behind the contest too much. He looked really dangerous when he was in the right position at the fall of the ball, but he just caught offside a bit too much, which hurt him in the end. There are some things to work on there, but I’m sure he’ll bounce back this week.”

Cody Brand

Key stats: 10 disposals, four marks, three tackles

“‘Brandy’ played full-back and he was disappointed with his ball use. He coughed up a couple of short kicks that really hurt us. Early on he defended really well, but being his first game back, he ran out of puff a bit. He’ll be good for the run after missing a couple of games with a broken hand.”

Nick Bryan

Key stats: Nine disposals, 38 hitouts, four tackles 

“‘Bryza’ had a really good contest with the opposition ruckman. He’s a strong boy. The longer the game went, the better Nick was. He ended up with 38 hitouts, which was a pretty good effort, and he took a couple of contested marks. It was another game where he kept presenting for us in the contests, which is an area he wants to improve.”

Cian McBride

Key stats: Nine disposals, six marks, one goal

“Cian was pretty solid for us as a defender, but we were getting beaten and tried to mix things up a bit, so we put him forward in the last quarter and he presented well for us. He kicked a really nice goal from 45 metres out, so it was good to see him get amongst it.”

Lachie Johnson

Key stats: Six disposals, nine tackles, one behind

“Again, his defensive stuff was really good. He had nine tackles, but we just want to turn them into possessions for him. He’s really good in close and played a structured role for us which he did quite well. We just want to see him get more of the ball, which he’s working on.”

Josh Eyre

Key stats: Four disposals, two marks, one tackle

“Eyre ended up having a pretty quiet game, but he got to a lot of contests and his work-rate was really good. We just need to help him out with a little bit of craft stuff. He was flying for a lot of balls, but his timing wasn’t quite there on the weekend. We’ll spend this week on his craft and timing for jumps, and he’ll start clunking a few very soon – I’m very sure of it.”