It’s hard to be calm when you seemingly lose control.
But, somehow, Brad Scott was a picture of pure calm when faced with a chaotic situation.
Former captain Dyson Heppell had just missed a shot on goal with two minutes left against North Melbourne on Friday night, with the Bombers leading by a slender three points. This late in the game there are no magnets left to swing, no moves really left to make.
Other coaches might scream or exclaim, but Scott was barely moved.
Maybe the reason for Scott’s calm was the message he’s preached all year — namely that patience pays off. At the start of the year he cautioned against immediate hopes of finals contention and instead focused on the development of his list.
“I’ve been impressed with the capability on our list but the reality is, and the facts are, that they’re very young and they’re going to take time to develop,” Scott said before the season started.
“Everything that we’re coaching and drilling we’re seeing transfer through in training. That’s the pleasing part but in terms of (finals) projections, we don’t get too involved in that. We’re just trying to be the best we can right now.”
Many loud voices from the media cried out in fury at this plea.
“Essendon have been telling everyone all summer ‘we’re not ready yet’. They’re the only team in the AFL, Essendon, who tell their fans, ‘We’re not ready yet, it’s going to take time,'” said Fox Footy talking head Mark Robinson angrily on the eve of the season.
Why have patience when you can have constant fury?
Despite this the Bombers control their own fate with two weeks left in the season. If the Bombers win their final two games of the season against the Magpies and Giants they will almost certainly play finals in Scott’s first season at the club.
Few clubs have had a more chaotic decade than the Bombers both on and off field. The club’s battle back from the fallout of the battle with ASADA has been long, with occasional signs of progress and unity often disrupted by chaos.
Few constants remain — aside from longtime list management czar Adrian Dodoro and their longstanding finals winning drought.
At the start of the year new captain Zach Merrett noted that Scott would be the fifth coach he’d play under in nine years at the club.
In that sense the cry for patience was a breath of fresh air.
The signs that Scott’s message might be sinking in are there if you look closely. Some teams might panic after such a crucial miss by Heppell, but the Dons got back to work.
They structured up immediately, denying the Roos any quick options to move the ball upfield. Instead of feeling downcast about his miss, Heppell worked hard and got back, winning a contested mark and regaining possession.
Then the Bombers’ new-found sense of on-field control set in. In a league where chaos and counter-attack are emerging at the top end, the Bombers temper their directness in attack as much as any club.
Heppell kicked backwards to Andrew McGrath standing alone in the corridor, finding one of the club’s best ball users. Some have questioned McGrath’s move back to a defensive distribution role, but he’s quietly excelled in a role closer to his strengths. Instead of blazing away, McGrath waited and summed up the North Melbourne defence.
Heppell, not to rest on his laurels, sprinted into unguarded space towards the boundary near the 50 metre arc. Seemingly this was to stretch the defensive zone as much to present an option — but North didn’t track him closely.
McGrath, taking his time with solid vision away from the hotspot, saw Heppell in an acre of space and delivered him the ball on a platter. Heppell, with the ball yet again, slowed down the play once more.
You might be spotting a pattern by now. That’s because no side controls the play as much as the Dons. They are leading the league for kicks to a teammate’s uncontested mark, indicative of a kick-mark type game more synonymous with years’ past.
Once called to play on, Heppell didn’t opt for one of his renowned tall targets, risking an intercept mark. Instead, he shot the ball towards Archie Perkins, one out on a lead against fellow youngster Harry Sheezel. The ball hit Perkins in the perfect spot.
The former pick nine went back and iced the game.
That late game control in tight situations against North, and the week before against West Coast, has left them with the ability to control their own fate.
To be able to control these situations, Scott had to get the buy-in of the playing group, shaken after the departure of yet another coach. At the start of the year Kyle Langford (a revelation up forward this year) talked briefly about the differences that Scott had brought into the club.
“There’s been a big focus on hard work and a team-first mentality,” Langford told SEN in February.
“It is different and we’ve taken some time to adjust…the way we defended probably didn’t help us.”
Langford went on to explain that the side was attempting to drive the ball down the field instead of blazing away. Instead of following the lead of Richmond and Collingwood and trying to attack quickly, gaining distance and helping their defence set up to prevent a counter attack was more of a priority.
That focus has seen the Dons focus on ball retention and defensive support. The Dons probe opposition sides, chipping it around to shift opposition presses and find angles of attack. The march up field happens in small chunks, taking what defences will give them.
No side has been tackled less per disposal against the Dons, allowing them the chance to be composed in a chaotic game.
This control happens in the defensive third much of the time. They have more kicks to uncontested marks in the defensive part of the ground than any other team.
While the Dons still have highlights of explosive ball use and line-breaking play, it often occurs from stoppage.
This decision to control the pace has significantly improved their ability to defend. They aren’t being burned in transition as much as last year, and they are seeing four fewer defensive one-on-ones per game than they did a year ago. That’s the difference between a defensive unit bleeding goals, and one holding up.
The approach doesn’t come without drawbacks. Because they have been focused on helping their defensive unit, their attack has suffered somewhat. Instead of quick entries to favourable situations, the Bombers have often had to make do with more clogged inside 50 situations.
Last year their efficiency when using the ball inside 50 was the envy of other teams, despite their lowly finish. This year they’ve sacrificed some of that deadliness to support their defence.
It has made it harder for the Bombers to find clear targets inside 50. It’s also made it more difficult for their true tall options to thrive. They’ve often been forced to present as decoy options, bringing the ball to deck for their small forwards.
Instead, their mid-sized targets have had to shoulder more of a load. Langford, as mentioned above, has thrived on beating third and fourth defenders.
Despite this, their forward line is still performing above average at putting points on the board compared with league average. Sometimes you have to sacrifice a strength to cover a weakness. Given the results so far this year, the gamble has paid off so far.
This has all combined to put Scott and fans in a position that they may have not expected at the start of the year. With finals firmly in play, Scott knows the challenge ahead.
“We’re going into round 23 still in contention. Our destiny is still in our hands. So, you know, you’d certainly rather be there than out of contention.” Scott said after the North Melbourne win.
But Scott is also aware that the path to top level contention is one that might take some time.
“We’re not sacrificing the long term for the short term. Which would be doing things like playing Jake Stringer because we just need to roll the dice and get our good experienced players in,” Scott added.
“It is exciting to watch Nick Bryan in the ruck at 21 (years old). Elijah Tsatas has never been in the centre bounce of an AFL game before…he’s in there with Ben Hobbs and Archie Perkins.”
While Bombers fans near and far want to see their finals win drought break this year, they are more keen to see their 23 year premiership drought crack in years to come.
As long as they have the patience to see this process through.
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