Essendon great Tim Watson believes his former club is still a fair way off being a consistent premiership outfit, such is the lack of physicality at the Bombers.
Brad Scott helped his side to an improved ladder finish in 2023, but a disappointing back half of the season leaves a big summer looming at The Hangar.
The Bombers had eight wins before the bye before finishing with just 11.
Watson explained that he was of the view Essendon had improved earlier in the year before their drop-off.
“There were times where I thought they were better than what we’ve seen in the past, I thought they were better organised, I thought they were playing a brand of football that was sustainable for success,” he told SEN Breakfast.
“But I’m of the view that Essendon has been a ball movement type team for a long time, it’s been successive coaches that it seems to me have played almost in a similar vein about moving the ball and in recent times, we haven’t picked strong, physical, robust teams.
“You talk about the ABCs of the game and the basics and the fundamentals, I don’t know that we’ve been a super, super competitive team and that has been the baseline for performance, that part of the game.”
He added: “I think that Brad Scott will get there, I think it’s probably been a couple steps back for him this year in the performance of the players.”
Speaking after the loss to Collingwood, Scott himself has stated there’s plenty of work to be done, while Zach Merrett pledged to stop the Bombers being a mediocre club.
But Watson doesn’t think it’s a quick fix for the Bombers, who he warned are still some way away from contending.
“I’ve coached so I know sometimes you put players out there and they don’t necessarily play the way you want them to play because they can't and they’re not capable,” he continued.
“We don’t have the personnel to be the best team… who are the stand-up, physical, aggressive players? It’s a really good question because I think most sides have those players and we can identify readily and easily who they are, but I don’t think that’s the case with Essendon.
“I’m not talking about recruiting a thug because thugs don’t play the game anymore. But players that are super aggressive… you’ve got to have a combination of players.
“I think we still are a long way from being able to build a team that is capable of competing as a top four-type team.”
The 2023 season marks the end of a streak stretching back to 2017 where Essendon has played finals in every second year. The club’s last finals appearance came in 2021.
With an 11th-placed finish this year, it’s just the third time a Brad Scott-coached side has finished lower than 9th in 11 years.