Tara Murray
Essendon isn’t getting carried away despite an impressive first up performance in the Victorian Football League Women’s competition.
The Bombers were dominant first up against the Western Bulldogs last weekend, winning 15.8 (98)-0.0 (0).
It was an even spread across all four quarters, with the Bombers kicking four goals in three of the quarters and three in the last.
Bombers coach Brendan Major said it was always a bit of an unknown how the side would go in round one despite ticking all the boxes during the pre-season.
“You don’t know how you will go in round one,” he said. “I’ve been burnt before after a good pre-season and then you don’t go so well.
“The way we went about it was really good.”
Major said one of their key focuses during the pre-season had been about the way they move the ball.
He said they were able to show what they had done against the Bulldogs.
“It was a big focus not to just be a defensive side,” he said. “We worked on how we can improve on that.
“We don’t want to be just a defensive side. We had some good structures in place.”
Major said winning the ball out of the middle was a key to keeping the opposition scoreless. The Bulldogs had just nine inside 50s.
Georgia Nanscawen and Jordan Zanchetta had 28 possessions, while Renee Tierney and Eloise Ashley-Cooper were the other standouts.
Natalie MacDonald, Jessie Davies and Celia McIntosh kicked three goals apiece.
Major said it was a strong team performance across the board.
While it was the perfect start for the Bombers, Major knows there’s still plenty of work to do.
“The Bulldogs were a bit undermanned due to Covid,” he said.
“They weren’t at full strength and that played a role in the match as well as us playing well.
“We get them later in the season and they will be back to full strength, so it could be a different story.”
The Bombers are set to play Port Melbourne on Saturday at the Hangar.
Major said before the match they were expecting a tough challenge.
“They are aligned with Richmond VFLW,” he said.
“They are a really good side. Casey ran over them and they are a good finishing team like their AFLW team.”
AFL Victoria confirmed the fixture for round three last week. The Bombers will play Carlton at Ikon Park on February 27.
