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"This might be who they are": Brereton on Bombers after ANZAC loss
Nicholas Quinlan • April 25th, 2025 8:34 pm
Essendon has once again failed to beat Collingwood on ANZAC Day.
The Bombers lost by 41 points against the Magpies at the MCG in a game which they were in until the fourth quarter.
It now becomes four straight games that the Bombers have either drawn or lost in this clash.
This was despite a poor start in the first quarter.
After that, Essendon made the game competitive in the second quarter kicking four goals in a row in the space of four minutes to bring Collingwood’s lead to three points.
On SEN’s commentary, Dermott Brereton believed that being down as much as they had actually helped them in their second-quarter resurgence to only be behind by eight points.
“Essendon played cautiously in the first quarter without any flair,” he noted.
“They were behind as you called by four goals, so what do you have to do?
“They just said, let’s play with a bit of flair and the one player with flair was Dylan Shiel and that gave them a bit of impetus.
“And from that, they started to win some contested footy and got back into the game.”
But Brereton at half-time thought this may be unsustainable for the rest of the match.
“(Collingwood) are going to be too professional,” he said.
“They would have to go to a new level of pressure, that they have not shown.”
And it proved true as Collingwood would lift halfway through the third quarter to run out as winners.
Speaking towards the end of the match, Brereton thinks this performance by Essendon may be the truest indicator to where the Bombers are in the AFL ecosystem.
"They were brave in moments or in runs during the game the Bombers, but coming into this game, they were beaten by some good teams at the start of the year and then they got a down Port Adelaide, they got a down Melbourne team," Brereton said.
"But those teams have risen in the following weeks and then they got a soft kill against the Eagles which they only got by two points.
"This might be who they are."
Essendon will play North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium to open Round eight on Thursday night.
