IF THERE was ever a time for Essendon fans to begin to dare to dream, surely this is it.

But things need to change if they’re to genuinely push for a flag, according to a premiership coach.

The Bombers look to be well and truly free of the shackles of the saga that captivated the club for so long. Any players that were suspended have been back in the fold for a year or more. Many of their teammates either weren’t at the club during those years or were hardened by their experience of it (think Zach Merrett’s development in that 2016 wooden spoon season.)

Now, the Bombers have made their mark — and picked up some handy recruits on top of it. And off the back of their efforts last year, they returned to the finals.

Finals Week 1

But AFL great Paul Roos remains unconvinced by the Bombers, who were shaky in both of their JLT Community Series games against Richmond and Geelong.

“I reckon they’re a teaser at the moment,” Roos said of the Bombers on Fox Footy’s On The Couch.

“What I like about Carlton is they’ve built from defence to forward ... we’ve seen Stuey Dew do that at the Suns and I was part of it at Melbourne. But what we’ve seen with ‘Woosher’ (coach John Worsfold) is he’s probably done it the other way.

LIVE stream the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership on FOX SPORTS. Get your free 2-week trial >. If you’re overseas, you can still stream it LIVE on Watch AFL >

Joe Daniher gets congratulated by Jake Stringer and Dyson Heppell. Pic: Michael Klein Source: News Corp Australia

“Whether that was a result of coming after a shocking four or five years (due to the supplements saga), getting the boys excited, getting them scoring ... statistically, they’re not going to win a premiership doing that.”

Roos pointed out that the Bombers last year were ranked third for scoring, but just 11th for forward-half scores, 13th for time in forward half and 17th for creating stoppages — numbers that don’t stack up in the modern, territory-based game.

“If you look at the way the game’s played, they’re a teaser at the moment,” Roos said.

“I think with the personnel they’ve got, it’s definitely correctable. They do have speed in the forward half ... but they slaughter it from defence.

“Games are forward-half games now and you can’t expect to go from defence to forward and expect to win a premiership.”

While their performance in September last year left plenty to be desired, Worsfold’s side will have taken plenty of lessons from their loss to Sydney.

From here, they will expect to better their performances of last year, improve their consistency and add a harder edge to their game.

Then, the Dons can dare to dream.

THE BURNING QUESTION

Can the Bombers’ midfield stack up?

In the elimination final against Sydney, Worsfold’s side were simply blown off the park around the ball by their bigger, harder Swans counterparts.

To be frank, their work around the contest wasn’t good enough on multiple occasions — and the stats reflected that.

According to Champion Data, the Bombers ranked 15th in contested possession differential and 14th in clearance differential. Of the other top-eight sides, only West Coast ranked worse.



They also conceded the third-most “initial entries” — the first inside 50 after a centre bounce without a throw-in or ball-up.

Dyson Heppell and Zach Merrett. (Photo by Adam Trafford/AFL Media/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

While their defence generally held up well, Essendon still had the third-highest points against in 2017.

Reducing this will in turn lessen the burden on their forwards to kick a high winning score.

For that to happen, the midfield will need to provide the workrate and defensive efforts required to limit their opponents’ inside 50s, and ultimately, scores.

That said, Zach Merrett is a star, while Dyson Heppell will hope to return to his best

Their recruiting should help the situation.

A fully-fit Devon Smith has been a shining light this pre-season, with the recruit slotting seamlessly into Essendon’s midfield.

Meanwhile, the acquisition of Adam Saad has released young gun Andy McGrath to continue his midfield development.

And Jake Stringer can always be thrown in the mix to add something different.

Devon Smith. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

JOHNNO’S TAKE

Fox Footy expert Brad Johnon reveals his take on Essendon’s upcoming season.

“I think the Bombers will have a really good year.

“I think they traded in really well and all those recruits appear reasonably settled into the line-up. Saad is going to be very good for them, as will Devon Smith as well.

“The Bombers tall forwards move really well and are really dynamic, so Joe Daniher, James Stewart and Cale Hooker are really dangerous up there.

“Hurley back into the side last week was important. They tried Ambrose on Hawkins which didn’t really work so maybe they need to look at different options for a second key defender.”

THE BLOWTORCH

Jake Stringer

If there was any doubt this would fall on anyone but Jake Stringer, the recruit’s pre-season form all but wiped that out.

In the first JLT Community Series match against Richmond, Stringer looked well out of sorts running through the midfield, struggling to get his hands on the football.

Things didn’t get much better against Geelong.

The high-profile recruit may have midfield ambitions, but that doesn’t mean he’ll stay there.

That said, we’re all well and truly aware of what Stringer can do at his best.

Essendon's Jake Stringer celebrates. Pic: Michael Klein Source: News Corp Australia

We need look no further than that explosive 2015 season, where he was named an All Australian and looked set to go on to bigger and better things.

But since then, he’s failed to hit those heights.

While the Dons would love to see him fire in the midfield, they’ll surely settle for a Stringer who can make his mark at half forward, providing a foil for Joe Daniher, Orazio Fantasia and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti.

After all, at his best, he’s simply dynamite.

THE NEXT BIG THING

Andrew McGrath

Picking the reigning Rising Star is probably the easy option here, but it’s arguably the correct one.

Andrew McGrath was brilliant in his first season for the Bombers, playing predominantly off half back.

The teenager impressed with his poise and composure in a defensive role, and also showed signs he can make a move into the midfield in the future.

Essendon's Andrew McGrath. Pic: Michael Klein Source: News Corp Australia

That looks certain to happen this year, with McGrath already spending a significant amount of time on the ball this pre-season.

The Dons have needed class, hardness and composure through the midfield.

McGrath provides all three of those.

Expect the young gun to only get better.

THE PASS MARK

Winning a final.

The Bombers haven’t achieved this since David Hille kicked three final-quarter goals to sink the Demons in the 2004 Elimination Final.

That’s quite the drought.

Brendon Goddard. (AAP Image/David Moir) Source: AAP

Essendon entered last year’s finals series with high hopes — but those were quickly crushed by the Swans.

Given the amount invested in their team this year, with the Dons recruiting Stringer, Saad and Smith in the off-season, anything less than a finals win would be simply inexcusable.