The Northern Blues slumped to their fourth consecutive loss on Saturday afternoon, going down by 44 points to Essendon at Windy Hill.
After an undefeated start to the season, this latest loss sees the Blues slip below the ledger, now sitting at three wins and four losses.
A tight opening term ladened with stoppages saw the Blues trail by five points at the opening change, with neither side able to wrestle the ascendancy.
Only three goals were kicked in the term and only one was for Northern: it came off the boot of the returning Andrew Carrazzo, who got through his return match unscathed.
The second term saw somewhat of a more open affair with the Bombers kicking out to an early lead, before the Blues responded.
However, inaccuracy in front of goal cost the Blues dearly as they mounted their charge, allowing the Bombers to take back momentum and enter half-time with a 16 point buffer.
The second quarter spell proved to be the most promising of the afternoon for the Blues, with the failure to capitalise on the abundance of opportunities created proving costly.
After the break, it was all Essendon, with only consolation goals of note for the Blues: the Dons piled on 9 goals to 4 in the second half to run out comfortable winners.
For Northern, Nick Graham was among the shining lights as he continued with his impressive form, having 28 disposals to lead all comers along with nine tackles.
Along with Graham, it was the youngsters of the Blues which provided the majority of the good news despite the heavy loss.
In his first VFL game of the season, Daniel Watson finished with 22 disposals - 13 of those in the first term - and didn’t look out of place among an experienced back six.
Sam Cattapan also continued his great form, being as prolific as ever around the stoppages, while Jesse Tardio once again impressed both in the clinches and around the ground in just his third taste of VFL football.
Tom Wilson also continued his impressive form, providing a lively target up forward while pinch hitting through the midfield to finish with 22 disposals and two goals.
Essendon proved to be the better team on the day and it showed on the scoreboard, with their marking prowess up forward a particular highlight.
Jack Langford and Alistair Kefford combined for four goals and seemed to mark just about everything that came their way, while Coghlan and Dell’Olio loomed large if the ball hit the deck.
Whenever the Blues looked to get forward and make inroads with the margin, Ariel Steinberg was irrepressible with his intercept marking and was constantly thwarting any Northern forward thrust.
Speaking post-match, Nick Graham spoke of the disappointment among the group, along with the significance of the game against Sandringham in a fortnight’s time.
“It was a disappointing loss for the team, so with the bye to come we’ll assess our deficiencies during the week and see what needs to be done. We had some KPIs before the game and we hit those, but going forward we were wasteful with the ball and we were made to pay on the rebound,” Graham said.
Graham singled out the return of Carrazzo as a highlight for the Blues, labelling the Carlton vice-captain as “one of the best players he’s ever played with”.
“He’s an absolute champion on the field with his leadership credentials, and his direction all over the ground benefits both the young guys and it’s a great experience.”
The Blues’ next chance to get back on the winners’ list will come in two weeks time due to the VFL/SANFL State Game next weekend.
Northern host Sandringham at Visy Park on Saturday 7 June, with the game commencing at 2pm.
ESSENDON BOMBERS 2.3 7.5 11.8 16. 11. (107)
NORTHERN BLUES 1.4 4.9 5.11 8. 15. (63)
GOALS: Wilson 2, Carrazzo, Reynolds, Bransgrove, Wood, Sheehan, Graham
BEST: Graham, Wilson, D. Watson, Sheehan, Cattapan
