Rutten explains Bombers interchange blunder

By Sean Mortell August 4, 2021 â€" 4.45pm

Essendon coach Ben Rutten has labelled his side’s interchange mistakes in the final stages of Sunday’s tight loss to Sydney a rarity.

The Bombers reached their limit of 75 interchange rotations for the match with just under four minutes left in the last quarter, meaning small forward Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and midfielder Dylan Shiel were among the players left stranded on the bench.

Essendon coach Ben Rutten signals from the bench that the Bombers have used all their interchanges, while medical sub Brayden Ham looks on.Credit:Getty Images

Rutten admitted on Wednesday that his coaching staff spent extra time on the slip-up, and pinned the mistake on a few key reasons.

“It’s a bit unlike us. We haven’t got that close to our rotation cap in a heap of games,” Rutten said.

“There were a lot of goals scored in the game, which is generally a good opportunity for guys to come off the ground.

“Part of it was about ensuring that we had the players that we wanted on the field actually out there â€" to be able to do that we had to speed up our rotations.

“In the end we had Jayden Laverde come off with a shoulder injury that he couldn’t keep playing with, and then a couple of others came off exhausted.”

The major issue with Essendon’s interchange woes was the absence of McDonald-Tipungwuti on the field, whose goalkicking presence appeared crucial to the Bombers staging a late comeback. But Rutten explained the “little things that go into” managing late-game scenarios.

“‘Walla’ [McDonald-Tipungwuti] is a good chance of kicking a goal, but we thought other guys we had out on the field had a good chance as well,” he said.

“We wanted to make sure we got Kyle Langford on and up forward â€" he was one we prioritised considering he kicked three goals for the game.”

Rutten added that the miscalculation was not to blame for the seven-point loss.

“As much as we try and have a system around our rotations, we also have a bit of flex in that for injuries and for us to get the players we want on the field,” he said.

“That was kind of what happened in the end. It wasn’t the reason we didn’t get the result we wanted.”

After coming off in the late stages with a shoulder injury, defender Laverde is still a chance of playing in Sunday’s clash with the Western Bulldogs Bulldogs.

Captain Dyson Heppell has already been ruled out for the game, while young forward Harrison Jones is out of a moon boot in his recovery from a foot injury.

“Dyson won’t be available this week, while Jayden’s pretty sore. He’s been cleared of any major structural damage in his shoulder, but we’ll have to wait and see how the week goes for him,” Rutten said.

“Harry [Jones] is out of his moon boot, the really pleasing thing is we got that really early â€" there was no crack in the bone, just a stress reaction.”

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