DAMNING vision of Essendon’s forward line during its poor performance against the Western Bulldogs has been described as “the walking dead” by North Melbourne champion David King.

The Bombers struggled mightily last Sunday, being beaten by the previously winless Bulldogs and allowing them to transition the ball with ease.

But it was the forwards that were the target of King’s ire on AFL 360, with a lack of effort in his opinion to blame for the Dons’ troubles.

“When you go and have a look at the vision, I don’t know where they start,” he said.

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“It’s easy to sit back and say ‘what are they doing tactically? What’s the match committee doing? What’s John Worsfold doing?’.

“But when you see the lack of effort, and particularly defensively. The scoring profile of the AFL has changed — it’s a forward half game now. You’ve got to try and lock the ball in.”

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In a piece of vision examined on the show, Essendon’s forward six was simply walking slowly as the Bulldogs transitioned out of their defensive 50.

And King was damning of them for it, with Herald Sun journalist Mark Robinson calling it “stunning”.

“This is the walking dead. They just walk. There is no influence on this ball going down the ground, no support for their midfield or their defence,” he said.

Essendon's forward line is shown to be inactive as the Western Bulldogs transition out of defence. Source: FOX SPORTS

“Now their midfield’s not the quickest, but they’re offering nothing. Absolutely nothing. That’s well short of AFL standard, and it’s disrespectful to the rest of the team. You can’t go with a forward line like that.

“I don’t care what the debate is, what the argument is — and I’ve heard (John) Worsfold coming under criticism, and rightly so because the buck stops with him.

“He cannot pick that six again. He cannot. It’s about roles and standards — if you reward those guys with more opportunity, then shut the gate. That’s just well short of the mark.”

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King also focused on the performance of small forward Josh Green, with one piece of play involving his lack of defensive effort on Jason Johannisen spotlighted.

“I don’t care that he has kicked six goals. It’s not about what goals you kick, it’s what you earn for the team,” King said.

In the footage, Green goes from being alongside Johannisen at midfield to 10 metres’ away by the time the ball goes to Johannisen in the forward 50, with the running defender goalling and under no pressure.

Essendon's Josh Green shown against the Western Bulldogs. Source: FOX SPORTS

“Josh jogs off the ground to the bench, ‘wasn’t me. Not my problem’. There’s just no care,” King said.

“There’s no real care and until that corrects, there’ll be no change.

“I like their squad — this is not a talent issue, it’s an application issue. They’re a dangerous team, they can score, but unless that changes then their win-loss ratio won’t change.

“That ball flipped over to the open side of the ground so easily out of their forward line. They cannot go with three talls at a bare minimum.”

Essendon coach John Worsfold speaks with his players during the loss to the Western Bulldogs. (AAP Image/Julian Smith) Source: AAP

King was also concerned with who Essendon is targeting once it goes forward.

Cale Hooker has received a team-high 26 targets so far this season, but only 30 per cent of those have resulted in scores for the Bombers.

James Stewart is second with 17 targets at 56 per cent score rate, while surprisingly Joe Daniher has been targeted just 13 times for a 53 per cent score rate. Big-name recruit Jake Stringer is sixth.

“The game’s about maximising your assets now,” King said.

“You can say what you like about Jake Stringer — he’s had five targets in the first three games.

“He’s not a midfielder, can we give up on that? Can we just play him where he’s strong, coming out of the goalsquare? Wake up and smell the roses.”