Justin Leppitsch believes Essendon’s “ping-pong game” is unlikely to make a splash in September, should they make finals.
The Bombers thoroughly dismantled the Crows by 63 points in a dreadful Friday night affair, and now find themselves a game outside the eight as they push for a finals return.
“Their scoring profile is almost the reverse of Melbourne in a lot of ways,” ex-Lions coach Leppitsch said on SEN’s Crunch Time.
“Melbourne doesn’t always get the scoreboard ticking over, but their defence is what keeps them in games.
“So their attack’s fine (and) they will worry people through their attack, but finals footy isn’t about that.”
The Bombers put in an improved defensive display to keep the Crows to just two goals for the match.
It left Leppitsch confident that if they continued to adjust that balance between attack and defence, then they could “make a difference” at the business end of the year.
“If they keep getting that balance a little more slanted this way where they keep (the) opposition to low scores, yes they can make a difference,” the former Richmond assistant said.
“But if they keep getting the high scores against like they have, their ping-pong game won't last, well it might last one final, but it’s not going to last consistently (for) two, three, four finals.”
Essendon (7-9) face the rebuilding Kangaroos next Sunday in a match they will expect to win if they are to continue their push towards the top eight.