Bombers have flown ‘under the radar’ to become a major AFL contender’. These stats prove it – Fox Sports

AFL greats Garry Lyon, Nick Riewoldt and Jonathan Brown were all in-tune on Monday night as they sung high praise for the new-look Bombers that are flying high.
After back-to-back wins against Collingwood and North Melbourne, Essendon is just one win behind ladder-topping Port Adelaide with a game in hand.
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Round 7
Bombers hold off Roos
2:01
Once seen as a team that could run-and-gun with the best but often came up short in the contest, Essendon now has more strings to its bow which has gone somewhat unnoticed, Lyon said.
This is an under-the-radar club, I reckon, he said during Fox Footys On The Couch. Lets not forget theyve got a game up their sleeve and theyre sitting in the top four.
Ladder position aside, the numbers show that Essendons defence stacks up in 2020.
The Bombers rank among the leagues best for points against (3rd), opposition scores per inside 50 (3rd), points against from turnovers (4th) and points against from stoppages (6th).
This is pretty significant this sort of stuff, Lyon said about the numbers. We always used to look at them (Essendon) and think theyre a great slingshot team but they were a bit all-or-nothing. This is much more sustainable again.
Theyre being able to defend much better, theyre being able to defend turnover much better as well.
Their setups and structure behind the footy, whether its a (assistant Blake) Caracella or a (incoming coach Ben) Rutten influence I dont know … could be (coach) John Worsfold.
Riewoldt agreed, saying that the Bombers are now playing with more balance.
Bombers press conference
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They were always an outnumber team, (now) they just seem to be holding their ground at times to provide that little bit of cover so theyre not all just getting bees to the honey pot, sucked into the contest, he said.
And theyre being a bit safer out of the back half as well which is making them less vulnerable on the turnover.
Meanwhile, Brown singled out for praise 22-year-old midfielder Andrew McGrath, who has helped set the tone for the Bombers around stoppages.
McGraths 32 tackles is comfortably the Bombers most, six ahead of second-place Devon Smith. McGraths also averaging 22 touches a game, which is just 1.4 less than club leader Dylan Shiel.
Hes brought a hard edge to their midfield, Brown said of McGrath. I love the way he attacked the Collingwood midfielders last week and, for a young guy, I think hes really leading the charge in there.
Essendons next two games are against the Western Bulldogs followed by the winless Adelaide Crows.

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