‘This caught my eye’: AFL great stunned by poor response to fierce spray… and claim he ‘can’t accept’

Triple premiership Tiger Jack Riewoldt said he was left stunned by the lack of response from Essendon players after a fierce Brad Scott spray, suggesting the Bombers “looked panicked” during their horror loss to the Western Bulldogs.

But Riewoldt said he also couldn’t accept a post-game claim from Scott that the Bombers had two match-up wins during the night.

The Bombers went down to the tune of 91 points at Marvel Stadium as the ruthless Bulldogs issued a statement to the rest of the competition.

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The Bulldogs set up their demolition of Essendon in front of more than 47,000 people on Saturday night at Marvel Stadium with a blistering first quarter, kicking seven unanswered goals to record their highest opening term against the Bombers since 2006.

It led to a quarter-time address that “had a bit of sting in it”, according to Herald Sun chief football reporter Jay Clark, as the goalless Bombers trailed by 42 points at the first change.

But speaking on Fox Footy’s Super Saturday LIVE post-game, Riewoldt bemoaned how Essendon players consistently lost their feet during the early stages of the next term.

“This caught my eye at the start of the second quarter,” Riewoldt told Fox Footy. “You’ve been beaten comprehensively in the first quarter, you’ve had eight players lay tackles.

Scott sees defeat as "self-inflicted" | 07:52

“This is why the Bulldogs cut them to pieces tonight, (Essendon) players are just falling over left, right and centre. You can’t tackle and you can’t put pressure on if you’re on the ground. No Bulldogs player is losing their feet here – and that is why they were able to walk it out.

“This is just after getting a spray from your senior coach about the fact you’ve only had eight players lay a tackle.

“They looked panicked. As soon as they were hit between the eyes in that first quarter and the fact they were so far down and then a spray at quarter-time – and that’s what you serve up the first chance you get in the second quarter.”

Speaking to reporters post-game, Scott lauded the Bulldogs’ performance, saying they were “very slick with their hands” and “had really good workrate”. But he claimed the Bombers had two small wins on the field.

“Somewhat ironically in a big loss like that, some of the important things we needed to get done tonight, we actually did,” Scott said.

“(Ben) McKay on (Aaron) Naughton, (Will) Setterfield to (Marcus) Bontempelli – if you’d said at the start of the night that we’d manage those two things, you’d think ‘that’s a pretty good start’.”

Scott sees defeat as "self-inflicted" | 07:52

“But I thought they were exceptional across the board in terms of team performance. And equally as good as they were, we were poor.”

Riewoldt took umbrage with Scott’s claim about McKay and Setterfield’s jobs.

“I’m not sure I can accept the fact he said they got the job done on Naughton and Bontempelli as well,” he said.

“Bontempelli was the highest-rated player on the ground, he’s had 24 (disposals) and kicked two (goals) out of the midfield and Naughton’s had 10 score involvements from 11 touches and fifth-highest (rated) on the ground. I don’t know whether I can accept the fact they got those jobs done.”

Riewoldt said the loss to the Dogs was a well-timed reality check for Essendon.

“I like the fact you do get a shake-up because all of a sudden, there is a bit of a false dawn and we were looking back to Round 2 … they are clearly in a rebuild,” he said.

“But their gamestyle, you just don’t want to flow along and get a few wins against some poor sides and not know where you’re at. They know where they’re at – and tonight shows exactly where they’re at against a side we think can challenge for the premiership.”

Redman: Tonight's not what we stand for! | 02:38

Shattered Bombers defender Mason Redman suggested the loss was a step backwards.

“It’s pretty disappointing, to be honest,” Redman told Fox Footy post-game.

“I feel like the last six weeks we’ve been building an identity that we’re hard to play against, tough in the contest and bring pressure. Tonight we definitely took a step back in that area … There’s nothing really more to say.

“It felt like they outworked us all over the ground … they outnumbered us at all the contests then they spread to the outside and get it on the outside on us.”

Asked if fatigue was an issue for Essendon – considering four of their five wins were between three and 12 points – Redman said: “Not really. I don’t think we can come up with any excuses for tonight. It’s just not good enough. We know we’re better than that.

“It (Dreamtime at the ‘G) is definitely one that you circle. A big night at the ‘G, the whole footy world is looking at you. We get to come up against another good, young side in Richmond … I know we’re going to bounce back next week, because tonight is not what we stand for.”

Savage NBA taunt sums up Dons' night | 00:33

Scott said the Dogs were his team’s hardest test to date, but made no apologies for never trying to minimise the damage.

“We were well aware of their strengths and, as I said, it was a bit like trying to keep mice under the blanket there for a while,” he said.

“Because if ‘Bont’ (Marcus Bontempelli) didn’t get you, (Ed) Richards gets you, ‘Libba’ (Tom Liberatore) gets you, (Bailey) Dale gets you – they’re a good team and that’s where we aspire to be.

“I make no apologies for trying to attack the game rather than trying to hold up and not get beaten by a big margin.

“We got beaten by a bigger margin because we did that, but you know, we’ve got to use this as an opportunity to practice against the best teams to bridge the gap to where we want to be.”

— with NCA NewsWire

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