Saturday Fallout: Bombers officially in crisis mode

Saturday

Oh boy...

In a contest set to define the spotlight, Essendon failed to fire, falling well short of the mark against North Melbourne to slip to 0-3.

A rather flattering 12-point loss, the Bombers were beaten with relative ease, with the Roos finishing the contest +77 in disposals, +10 in clearance, +61 in uncontested possessions and +53 in marks.

The result marks the first time in over a decade that Essendon have fallen to the Kangaroos, and it was far from North Melbourne's best performance.

It's nothing short of a crisis for Essendon, and while club officials can pull some tough levers in the upcoming months, it's hard to see much changing from an on-field perspective.

Zach Merrett is proving an easy tag, dominated by young Finn O'Sullivan in dramatic fashion. The talent so often lauded are well out of form, and the depth of said talent lacks severely.

Their schedule is hardly friendly; the Western Bulldogs to come, followed by Melbourne, Gold Coast, Collingwood, Brisbane, GWS and Fremantle. It's highly plausible that the Bombers start 0-10...

16 straight losses - time is surely up for Brad Scott, and the fallout over the course of this week will not be pretty for the Dons.

Jaiden Sciberras

Friday

Nick Daicos dazzled in Collingwood’s statement win over the Giants.

The three-time All-Australian collected 36 disposals, 12 inside 50s, seven score involvements, six clearances, five tackles, and two goals – superb numbers.

When looking at Collingwood’s performance itself, the Pies ball movement was excellent, allowing them to expose the undermanned Giants outfit.

However, the incredible showing wasn’t without some injuries for the Pies.

Skipper Darcy Moore and veteran Scott Pendlebury are both expected to miss next week’s Easter Thursday clash against Brisbane.

Pendlebury was ruled out of the game in the second half due to Achilles tightness, while the captain is being sent for scans on his hamstring, thanks to an issue he experienced just before quarter-time.

With Nick likely to poll three votes on Brownlow night, thanks to Collingwood’s win, the question beckons: Is this the year Nick Daicos can finally win a Brownlow?

Connor Scanlon

Thursday

The consequences from this one won’t be drastic. It’s hard to take a lot away from a dirty wet weather game.

But there could be some queries over the depth of the losing team.

Geelong found a way to grind out an eight-point win (68-60) over Adelaide in wet and windy conditions at GMHBA Stadium on Thursday night to kick off Round 3.

The Crows had been fortunate with their personnel in 2025 which helped them finish on top after the home and away season.

So it was always going to be interesting to see how their depth went when it was tested.

Going out of the side was Jordan Dawson, Taylor Walker, Callum Ah Chee and Rory Laird - tallying 903 games.

Coming in was Hugh Bond, Finnbar Maley, Luke Nankervis and Zac Taylor - tallying 77 games.

That’s a massive difference in experience - 826 games to be exact.

Taylor was good with three goals, Maley chopped out in the ruck, Nankervis and Bond were quiet but played their roles and did nothing wrong.

But they lacked class, punch and inspiration without Dawson and there was way too much for Josh Rachele to do, especially with Izak Rankine tagged and often deep forward.

The depth of Matthew Nicks’ Adelaide side was exposed. The Crows were brave, but without that experience some cracks started to show - not dramatically, but decisively in the end.

The contest was there, the pressure was there, the effort was there. But there was some sturdiness and know-how in the clinches missing.

Last year the Crows rode a wave of momentum and continuity. The injury toll didn’t bite. But without that luxury against the Cats at a venue they've found it hard to win at, the experience gulf was noticeable.

For Chris Scott’s Cats it was a grind, but they found a way as they always seem to do. The system stood up, again.

Bailey Smith and Max Holmes went crazy in the middle, Tom Stewart led from the back, Jack Martin and Ollie Dempsey were crucial inside 50, and the weight of numbers (67-45 inside 50s) told in the end.

The fallout isn’t massive, yet, but the Crows would want to avoid any further injuries to key players if they want to contend.

If they're serious about taking the next step, their depth players can’t just be present, they have to be reliable under pressure.

Andrew Slevison