Essendon coach Ben Rutten is under increasing pressure after the club slumped to its sixth loss in seven matches.
Having recovered from a 2-6 start to play finals football in 2021, the Bombers’ hopes of doing likewise in 2022 are fading quickly, with the team already three wins adrift of eighth place.
Speaking on SEN Breakfast, 2003 Brownlow Medallist Nathan Buckley said the club hasn’t been able to put a hard start to the season behind it.
THE MOLE: Shock State of Origin bolter emerges
READ MORE: Relegation candidates spring huge upset
READ MORE: Wallabies return to scene of world record mauling
“I’m seeing a side that are a bit spooked by their really tough start to the year. They played three of the best sides in the comp – they played Brisbane, they played Melbourne and they got smacked,” Buckley said.
“I reckon you’re seeing the fruits of a full pre-season and a bit of confidence going in and then just getting whacked and then not being able to cope with the reality of what they faced.
“That’s an excuse, but I think it’s something that’s there in them because what I’m seeing is a group that are fractured on-field.
“They’re not playing with any synergy, they don’t value defence, and I think every one of the good sides in the comp value defence.”
Buckley’s comments come after former premiership player David King called the club “rudderless” after Dylan Shiel was dropped, then played nearly half of the match against Western Bulldogs as the medical sub.
King said Rutten’s decision to pick Shiel was a “whole lot of nonsense”.
“I hear what Ben says and he’s got a different view than us and that’s fine, but when your team’s going the way they are and you make a decision to change the course of your season (by dropping Shiel) and then reverse that, this is what happens,” King said on Fox Footy.
“The only thing they’ve got to gather this season is to recommit to being a blue collar football team – they are not doing that by their selection and their words.
“You know what? You’re a club without standards right now.”
For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!