“I thought they were past this”: Hodge and King go head-to-head on Essendon after Adelaide loss

Luke Hodge and David King went head-to-head on Essendon following their 113-115 loss to Adelaide at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.

While the loss was Essendon’s fifth from their last seven games, the four-time premiership Hawk is adamant that the side has come a long way and are improving in 2024 under Brad Scott.

Through 18 games, the Dons hold a 10-1-7 record, but King isn’t sure they’ve really improved as much as Hodge considers given that the side was 9-7 at a similar stage just last season.

The North Melbourne great doesn’t believe that the side should still be learning, describing Essendon as an ‘experienced group’ as they were top five across the entirety of Round 19 for games played per team.

King felt the Dons had gone past their old ways but has seen similarities to recent disappointing campaigns in recent weeks.

With both Hodge and King taking different viewpoints on the Dons, the two went back and forth in a heated debate on SEN Crunch Time.

Watch the full Dons debate below!