‘In for the grind or in for the glory?’: Essendon has four weeks to avoid another collapse

Essendon has four weeks to save themselves from another disappointing collapse.

That is the opinion of footy legend Garry Lyon who wants to see the Bombers show something of substance in their remaining matches.

Brad Scott’s Dons have lost three matches in a row and have only won two of their last eight which has seen them unceremoniously dumped from the top eight.

In a bid to avoid a similar fate to last year when losing seven of their last 10 to miss finals after an impressive first half of the campaign, Lyon has urged them to “grind” the season out.

“This is what frustrates everyone. At various stages this year we went, ‘Yeah, they're getting better and yeah, their recruits are ok’,” Lyon said on SEN Breakfast.

“They're ok for a short time and then it disappears and the good sides just hang in and hang in.

“They've got four weeks to grind, to say, ‘I will grind this year out’.

“They didn't grind out last year. They lost the last game by 70 and the second last game by 100-plus.”

Bombers great Tim Watson has questioned whether or not his former club possesses the “competitive stamina” over the course of a long season that is required to push for finals.

Watson also pondered the club’s recruitment of players in recent times and whether or not that sort of grind and competitiveness is taken into account using the selection process.

“They collapsed badly,” Watson said.

“Our old mate Michael Lombardi, he calls it competitive stamina, and I think that's another great way to describe it as well.

“Your ability to be able to hang in there, particularly when things aren't going your way and to find a way. Grinding is another great word.

“If if you've got an over-supply of a certain type in your team and it's not counterbalanced by the other guys who are the grinders who can sometimes bring others along with them. They can find a way to inspire their teammates and almost embarrass them to the point, but you need to have a certain number of blokes that play like that and have that competitive stamina to be able to do that.

“If you're at Essendon, to go forward, you've really got to go back. You've got to start really analysing the selection process and why you recruited certain players and what sort of analysis did you do on those players and their abilities to do what you and I are talking about and whether or not they displayed enough of it at different stages when you got down to the critical stage of choosing them and choosing somebody else.

“What were the differences that you applied to those selections?”

Lyon concurred, asking if the majority of the players at the coalface for the Dons are there to grind or only in it for the glory.

“I know what you're saying because I had a look at all those players that you're talking about,” he said further.

“At different stages, they showed a bit and you go, oh yeah, this is what recruiting is about.

“You go, ‘are they in for the grind or are they in it for the glory?’

Watson added: “It’s a very good way of putting it.”

The Bombers were demoralised by St Kilda to the tune of 53 points to drop to 10th on the ladder.

They will aim to bounce back against Fremantle at the MCG on Sunday.

After that they have Gold Coast and Sydney at Marvel Stadium before a Round 24 date with Brisbane at the Gabba.