Essendon veteran Kyle Langford has had his half-time interview with Channel 7's Abbey Holmes heavily scrutinised following the Bombers' dismal loss to Richmond on Friday night.
Langford's half-time comments
Speaking to Holmes at the break with his team trailing by 15 points, Langford said: "Well, I think most boys will be playing full game time from here on out. I think we've only got one or two interchanges on the bench, so it's going to be tough, but the boys are up for the fight."
When asked about coach Brad Scott's main message, Langford paused before responding: "More about, let's just have a fair crack. I mean, we're four down, three down, whatever it is. We're kind of talking about if we win this, it's going to be a hell of a win."
Cornes' criticism
AFL expert Kane Cornes dissected Langford's words, labelling them defeatist. "'The boys are up for the fight.' There was already a little out there that he's giving himself. 'It's going to be tough .... We're up for the fight.' I just don't think you are up for the fight, Kyle. I just don't think you are," Cornes said.
Cornes pointed to the Bombers' lack of pressure, noting they laid just six tackles in the third quarter and only 19 in the second half. "There was zero pressure after half-time, so I just think it's all words. I don't think you are up for the fight. I think this is a group that is largely defeated, and a group of senior players that lack resilience. There's no doubt about that," he added.
Senior players under fire
Cornes also took aim at other senior Bombers, saying: "Langford, he's always whingeing about something, his body, 'is there a problem with our high-performance staff?' (Zach) Merrett when things get tough, 'I want out.' (Darcy) Parish has hardly played since he signed that long-term contract. (Jordan) Ridley wants to get out and escape the Essendon footy club. Not one of their senior players wants to dig in when things get tough, and it got tough tonight."
He criticised the team's discipline, giving away 26 free kicks and crucial 50-metre penalties, calling it "not reflective of a professional AFL side."
Bruising night for Bombers
Essendon lost multiple players during the match: Andy McGrath (jaw), Sam Durham (concussion), Matt Guelfi (hamstring), and Archie May (ribs), while Jye Caldwell played on with a syndesmosis injury.
The Bombers kicked 1.6 in the third term to reduce a 22-point deficit to seven points early in the last quarter, but Richmond kicked the final two goals to win and leapfrog Essendon into 17th position.
Scott's view
Despite Cornes' criticism, coach Brad Scott believed his team showed fight. "It would've felt like a steal and that's the pleasing thing, that there's fight there. But there's also a scoreboard and at the end of the day that's really all that anyone cares about," Scott said.
Essendon (1-10) have now lost six consecutive games, their worst start to a season in a decade, and face further scrutiny ahead of a clash with West Coast in Perth next week.
