Essendon’s disastrous Round 1 loss to the GWS Giants prompted Lions legend Jonathan Brown to question the leadership among its star recruits. And that prompted some tense scenes on Fox Footy’s On The Couch as Melbourne great Garry Lyon moved to clarify whether Brown’s comments extended beyond the Bombers’ ‘big four’ recruits. Brown described Essendon’s 72-point loss to the Giants as “listless”, saying their lack of on-field intensity ensured their game plan fell in a heap. Live stream the 2019 Toyota AFL Premiership Season on KAYO SPORTS. Every match of every round. Live & anytime on your TV or favourite device. Get your 14 day free trial > “Sometimes we can a bit guilty of oversimplifying things. But with Essendon you can be guilty of over-complicating things,” Brown told On The Couch. “Recent history has shown that their game is all about pressure and effort, so it comes back to an effort thing. I’ve heard people talking about ‘it’s going to take (assistant coach) Ben Rutten time to come across and bring his defensive mechanisms’ — that’s got nothing to do with it. He can’t put his defensive mechanisms in if there’s no effort up the field. “We know what the MO is for Essendon: It is effort, it is pressure on the opposition, because they showed that in the back-half of last year … and that (on the weekend) was bloody horrible.” But Brown then shifted his attention to the Bombers’ big-name recruits that they’ve acquired over the past two off-seasons: Jake Stringer, Devon Smith, Adam Saad and, most recently, Dylan Shiel. Brown questioned whether any of those players had general-like leadership qualities that inspired their teammates. And those comments sparked a heated debate with Lyon. Watch the video in our player below and read the full transcript. Get the ultimate AFL experience on your phone with the FOX FOOTY App. Download it NOW for FREE on iOS and Android! Brown: One thing I will say — and we’re not throwing the baby out with the bathwater here by any stretch of the imagination — but they’ve brought in four mature-age recruits over the last two years — Stringer, Saad, Smith and Shiel. From the outside, it just doesn’t look like any of those types are general types. They’re the type of players that grab their teammates by the scruff of the neck and say ‘follow me out of this’. I don’t think Essendon were packed with that before those guys joined the list … Lyon: So you’re questioning the leadership? Brown: I am questioning the leadership OR the lack of generals there on the list in general and then … Lyon: So you’re questioning the leadership really, aren’t you? Brown: I just said … Lyon: Well don’t put … Brown: … are your ears painted on? Lyon: Don’t put … Brown: Don’t cut me off mate! I said … Lyon: Don’t make me (cut you off) … Brown: I have said I am questioning these guys. When you see them from the outside, I look at Shiel, I look at Smith, I look at Stringer and I look at Saad and I go ‘geez, I don’t see a general amongst them. I don’t see a guy that picks up his teammates and inspires them to do better than that effort … Lyon: That’s OK … Brown: … and they’re joining a list that doesn’t have a lot of them! Lyon: That’s OK you’re questioning those four, but at the same time you’re saying … Brown: No, I’m saying I’m not sure that’s the attributes they bring in a list that needs it … Lyon: Relax, I’m not having a crack. I’m saying you question those four about it — and that’s fine — (but) have they got it in the rest of their list? That says ‘that’s alright everyone’s not a leader’. Brown: That’s exactly what I’m telling you mate. They’re bringing in four guys that don’t have the attributes … Lyon: They’ve got Dyson Heppell. Brown: Mate, he’s one bloke … one guy. Lyon: No you don’t understand what I’m saying … Brown: No, I don’t think you understand what I’m saying! Lyon: No I do. I’m talking about four players and I want to know if you think they (the Bombers) have got leadership to make up and cover for those boys. Brown: All I’m saying is that in a list that was bereft of that anyway … Lyon: Well there, that’s right. That’s what I wanted to get to … Brown: … especially when (Cale) Hooker’s not out there, because I see Hooker as a guy like that. Lyon: If I can agree with you, Joe Daniher’s in that leadership group … David Myers, Orazio Fantasia’s in the young leadership group. That’s what I was trying to get to. I think Dyson’s a great leader and a personable fella, but have they got the depth in their leadership stakes.<doc-sep>Fremantle has burst out the blocks in 2019 with an imperious thumping of North Melbourne, after the Giants made similarly light work of Essendon and the Saints pipped the Suns by a point. Get the full lowdown from all the day's footy. Freo make an attacking statement, running rampant against Roos Cam McCarthy kicked a bag as Freo absolute destroyed the Kangaroos. ( AAP: Richard Wainwright Forgotten forward Cam McCarthy has silenced his knockers with a five-goal haul in Fremantle's 82-point AFL win over North Melbourne. McCarthy struggled in his first two years at Fremantle, and had fallen so far down the pecking order over summer that he wasn't even selected for any of the club's JLT pre-season games. But Jesse Hogan's alcohol slip-up and a hamstring injury to Brennan Cox opened the door for McCarthy to earn a surprise recall against the Kangaroos. The former Giant made the most of his chance, booting four first-half goals to help set up the 21.15 (141) to 9.5 (59) win in front of 40,033 fans. North Melbourne's loss was compounded by what appears to be a serious left knee injury to Ed Vickers-Willis, with the defender to undergo scans. Loading... Vickers-Willis suffered a season-ending posterior cruciate ligament injury in his right knee last year after crashing into a goal post in round seven, but his latest setback could be even worse. And midfielder Ben Cunnington could come under scrutiny for an off-the-ball hit that floored Nathan Wilson in the last quarter. North Melbourne entered the season with hopes of crashing the finals, but its error-riddled display against the Dockers would be a huge cause for concern for coach Brad Scott. Fremantle dominated the first half, opening up a 39-point lead by the long break. It would have been even more if it wasn't for North Melbourne's accuracy, with the Kangaroos registering 6.0 (36) in the first half. McCarthy was joined by Rory Lobb and Matt Taberner in a three-pronged attack for the Dockers, and he shone the brightest of the lot. Loading... The 23-year-old exploded in the second term, booting three goals to tear the game wide open. Fremantle won the inside-50m count 24-10 for the term, with Nat Fyfe and David Mundy winning some crucial clearances to set up the scoring onslaught. Fyfe had 20 disposals and seven clearances by half-time, and Fremantle's dominance continued in the second half. The Dockers had only cracked the 100-point mark six times during the previous two seasons. But they reached that mark late in the third quarter when McCarthy kicked a booming goal from 50m. McCarthy finished the match with five goals, 20 disposals and five marks, while Taberner (18 disposals, nine marks) was an important link man. Fyfe (32 disposals, 10 clearances, one goal) showed no ill effects from his recent elbow surgery, and was rested for long periods in the second half when the game was already in the bag. Fremantle won the inside-50m count 68-47, and clearances 40-27. Giants dismantle worryingly poor Bombers Lachie Keefe had an injury scare early but recovered to kick three goals. ( AAP: Craig Golding GWS has spanked a poor Essendon side by 72 points in their AFL clash, making it a wretched homecoming for a couple of former Giants. Playing at the newly rebranded Giants Stadium on Sunday, GWS cruised to a 16.16 (112) to 5.10 (40) win in front of 15,424 fans, the largest non Sydney-derby regular season crowd at the venue. It was a dark day for a Bombers side including former Giants Devon Smith and Dylan Shiel, who were booed by some of their old supporters, but that was the least of their problems. The large contingent of Essendon supporters would have left disappointed by the lack of fight from their side following the optimistic pre-season expectations. Jeremy Cameron kicked four goals, and Lachie Keefe and Stephen Coniglio three each, with the latter adding 31 possessions. Loading... Keefe, who limped off the ground in the first quarter after landing awkwardly following a marking contest, returned in the second term with a heavily strapped left knee and thigh and equalled his best goal haul from eight years ago. Tim Taranto logged two goals and 31 touches for a GWS side that won the contested possessions count 157-118 and were far more consistent with their pressure and ball movement. The Bombers lacked presence up forward without Joe Daniher and Cale Hooker and kicked just two goals in the first half and three in the second. Loading... GWS booted the first five goals to lead 35-4 early in the second quarter, before the Bombers landed successive majors to cut the gap to 20. That was as close as they got, as GWS slammed on the next five goals either side of half-time to lead 73-19 . The Giants piled on the first six goals of the final quarter to lead by as much as 85. Shiel, Dyson Heppell and David Zaharakis all collected 25 disposals and Smith 24 for Essendon, who had two more inside 50s in the first quarter, but trailed by 16 after logging just four behinds. Giants youngster Harry Perryman didn't return for the second half after taking a couple of big knocks in the second quarter. Saints hold on for one-point win over Suns St Kilda has rallied to record a one-point AFL victory over Gold Coast, holding off the Suns with a somewhat unconvincing performance. The nailbiter was memorable for the mediocrity of both play and the pitch, with a late Jack Lonie behind proving the difference between the two sides. The Saints held on for the four points... but only just. ( AAP: Julian Smith St Kilda prevailed 13.7 (85) to 13.6 (84) in the battle of two teams tipped to struggle in 2019. With just two minutes remaining after a see-sawing afternoon, Suns forward Peter Wright, in his 50th game, won a free kick in sight of goal with his team down by a solitary point. Staggeringly, he chose to centre the ball rather than shoot for goal, ensuring the Saints would claim a tightest of victories.<doc-sep>What went so horribly wrong for Essendon? That question will take some answering after the Bombers' 72-point loss to Greater Western Sydney on Sunday, but one damning statistic stood out. This was the Bombers' worst effort in contested possession in almost four seasons. Little surprise, then, that the players were told they were simply "not good enough" by their coaches in the immediate aftermath of the match at Giants Stadium. Embarrassed by the magnitude of the defeat in their season opener, the Bombers' abject day was best summed up by the fact they lost the contested-ball count by 41 (157-116) – their worst differential since a loss to Carlton in round three, 2015. Dyson Heppell (right) leads the defeated Bombers from the field. Credit:AAP The Bombers had averaged 2.3 more contested possessions than their opponents last season, ranked sixth, although there was a -29 count against Hawthorn in round 20.<doc-sep>Essendon skipper Dyson Heppell says he was shocked by the 72-point capitulation to Greater Western Sydney on the opening weekend of the season. Many believe John Worsfold’s men are ready to challenge for a premiership, but Essendon couldn’t have played much worse than they did at Giants Stadium, following two underwhelming performances in the JLT Community Series. Despite the Giants missing Josh Kelly, Callan Ward and Shane Mumford, the Bombers were smashed around the contest and on the scoreboard, finishing with only five goals on the board on Sunday. On a weekend full of upsets — Port Adelaide beat Melbourne, Brisbane beat West Coast, Fremantle beat North Melbourne — this was the most stunning. Heppell expects Essendon to thoroughly examine what went wrong against Greater Western Sydney before turning its attention to St Kilda this weekend. “It takes a bit to digest what’s just happened. There was a bit of shock, like ‘That’s not the way we go about our footy, what’s just happened?’,” Heppell told reporters at the club on Monday. “We certainly came into that game feeling we were prepared and ready. That’s far from what we’re all about. It didn’t show up the way we would’ve liked and we’ve got to look at that closely. Dylan Shiel walks off his old home ground after Sunday’s loss to GWS. Source: Getty Images “We can’t just sweep that under the rug. It’s going to take a little bit to move on from that. You’ve got to have a close look at where we did fall apart. “But you don’t learn unless you go through adversity and we’ve copped that round one early in the season, and we’ve really got to learn from this. I know we’ll bounce back.” The Bombers are anchored to the bottom of the ladder after Round 1 and will face the Saints at Marvel Stadium on Saturday. Alan Richardson’s side made a winning — albeit unconvincing — start to 2019, beating Gold Coast by the narrowest of margins on Sunday. And given only three teams since 2010 have recovered from a 0-2 start to play in September, the heat will be well and truly on Essendon this weekend.<doc-sep>
Plenty of AFL teams have received a rude wake-up call by means of a thrashing to start a new season. But not many in recent times have received a jolt as savage as Essendon suffered in Sydney on Sunday. North Melbourne’s 82-point defeat at the hands of Fremantle in Perth was heavier. But the Roos, whilst expected to improve in 2019, don’t have the same level of pressure to deliver as do the Bombers this year. Essendon’s 70-point pummelling against Greater Western Sydney was in a different category altogether. This is a team widely tipped to challenge for a top four spot. One, which via its upbeat finish to last season and the recruitment of Giants star Dylan Shiel, was believed to have all the necessary parts in place for a concerted tilt at something substantial. Those predictions didn’t necessarily have to be met with a first-up win. But they did require some sort of indication that the Bombers meant business. Instead, in the immediate aftermath, it was difficult to find even one positive from the wreckage. Just three goals in three quarters of football played in decent conditions. Two runs of five unanswered goals conceded to the opposition. And a couple of other statistics perhaps even more damning. Essendon’s improvement over the last two-thirds of 2018 was due in no small part to a better defensive work ethic. After losing six of their first eight games last year, the Bombers rediscovered their zest off the back of their commitment to the contest. From the depths of the rankings in either category, they finished the season sixth on the contested possession differentials and second for tackles. And really, those numbers against the Giants on Sunday said it all. Despite conceding 60-odd more disposals to GWS, they were still nonetheless out-tackled by the Giants. As for contested ball, well, that will be the number over which John Worsfold and his coaching crew will have their biggest concerns. The Giants finished the afternoon with 41 more contested possessions than Essendon, a staggering discrepancy between two teams widely viewed as being around the same mark. That number was the worst result under Worsfold’s coaching, worse even than 2016, when with most of their best players suspended after the drug saga, the Dons were fielding a severely weakened team. That, mind you against a side which was missing two of its best midfielders and two of their best contested ball winners in skipper Callan Ward and Josh Kelly. Three Giants mids – Jacob Hopper, Tim Taranto and Stephen Coniglio – won just on 40 contested possessions as a trio. Shiel was Essendon’s best with 18. No other Bomber even broke double figures on the contested ball count. Three of their leading on-ballers – Zach Merrett, David Myers and Kyle Langford – mustered just 15 collectively. Those are the bald numbers. What will have disturbed a now long-suffering fan base more, however, was the general air of lethargy which seemed to linger over a group which was supposed to be issuing a statement of intent. And particularly following an off-season in which Essendon hasn’t shied away from embracing the increased expectations. Any lingering impact on the club post the drug saga has been dispelled. Of those suspended by drugs in sport authorities, only six remain. Shiel’s recruitment has followed that of three other well-credentialed pick-ups in Devon Smith, Jake Stringer and Adam Saad, all of whom delivered performances for which the Dons had hoped last year. The noise coming from “The Hangar” over summer was boisterous and confident. Even a couple of lack-lustre performances against Carlton and Geelong in the JLT pre-season series didn’t quell the belief, supporters reassuring themselves that they were times for experimentation and avoiding injury rather than putting a best foot forward. Now that crutch has been removed, there really are no excuses. And why, when Sunday’s shellacking was finally at an end, the Essendon fan base on social media was one angry lot indeed. And what has angered the red-and-black hordes most is the sense of déjà vu. Essendon has ritually over the last decade been seen as a club which talks big but too often doesn’t deliver. Never more so than only 12 months ago, when after a 2017 finals appearance, it could win just two of its first eight games, the situation so dire by then it led to the removal of an assistant coach in Mark Neeld.