THE Western Bulldogs’ thrashing at the hands of Essendon on Sunday had nothing to do with new-age forward presses but everything to do with the age-old first principle of football, according to coach Rodney Eade.
 
Speaking after his side went down to the Bombers by 55 points at Etihad Stadium, Eade downplayed the affect Essendon’s defensive pressure had on the result, saying his side’s inability to win the ball had been the biggest factor.

"The more the game changes the more it stays the same doesn’t it? You’ve just to win the footy, that’s the first premise," Eade said.

"We just didn’t win enough of the ball. It doesn’t matter about how you use it or what decisions we made. We didn’t get enough of it."

Eade’s comments were backed up by the statistics - the Bombers had almost 100 more possessions than the Bulldogs over the course of the match, racking up 413 disposals to 317.

Eade did pay tribute to Essendon’s pressure and work-rate, acknowledging it had outperformed his side in both areas.

"It was extremely disappointing and, I think to be honest, unacceptable," he said.

"It (wasn’t up to) the standards we’ve set for the past few years. It’s not up to what we expect."

Given the dominance of Essendon’s midfield, Eade said he thought his defensive six had been "OK", praising first-game player Lukas Markovic for his game on Michael Hurley, who he kept to two goals despite the Bombers peppering the ball inside their forward 50
71 times for the match, and Brennan Stack.

"Full credit to them they really competed well and hung in there," he said.

Eade also found positives in the performances of another first-game player Tom Liberatore - the son of club great Tony - emerging players Callan Ward and Jarrad Grant, and Josh Hill.

Of his senior players, Eade said Robert Murphy was the only one who’d been "OK".

The Bulldogs coach was also clearly still coming to terms with the new interchange rule.

He acknowledged playing a sole ruckman, Ben Hudson, had been a mistake, with Essendon’s ruck duo David Hille and Patrick Ryder influential in the ruck, around the ground and up forward.

Eade also said he had considered sending his substitute player, Justin Sherman, onto the ground at the start of the third quarter, in an attempt to stem the momentum Essendon had built in its six-goal-to-one second quarter.

But he had delayed doing so until the 10-minute mark, fearful an injury would have left his side a player down on the interchange bench.

The Bulldogs did suffer an injury but it occurred late in the match when defender Easton Wood went off with an ankle injury that, Eade said, was likely to sideline him for six to eight weeks.

Eade conceded his side’s round one exit from the NAB Cup in round one had denied it the intense match practice Essendon had gained in making the Grand Final of the pre-season competition, but stressed that was no excuse for its lacklustre performance.

As disappointing as the loss was, Eade was adamant it would not affect team morale. He also said All-Australian defender Brian Lake, who played for Williamstown in the VFL on Friday, and Lindsay Gilbee could return in time for next week’s game against the Brisbane Lions.