Young gun Bombers goalsneak told to defend first
Before attack, think defence. It's the counter-intuitive advice that Peter Wright says will turn things around for fellow Essendon forward Isaac Kako.
The highly-rated Bombers young gun has played 10 games in his debut AFL season, but last kicked a goal in round eight.
Ahead of their King's Birthday eve clash on Sunday night against fierce rivals Carlton, Wright said the rewards will come for Kako as the youngster develops his game.
"Clearly Isaac is someone with just a tremendous amount of talent. For him, it's just bringing that real defensive mindset," Wright said.
"That's how small forwards get into the game - that chase pressure, those tackles.
"Obviously we want the ball in his hands as much as we can, because he's able to create so much.
"But if he can just bring that consistent pressure, the rest of his game will flow from that."
The Bombers are a game plus plenty of percentage outside the top eight, while Carlton similarly need a win at 4-7.
Essendon lost no friends with last Thursday night's narrow loss to Brisbane and that is the effort they must bring against the Blues.
They are unlikely to regain key defenders Ben McKay and Zach Reid to help quell a Carlton attack led by key forwards Charlie Curnow and Harry McKay.
But Wright said Essendon showed against Brisbane that with the proper intent and system, they can add to Carlton's well-documented woes in attack.
"We showed how we were able to handle that," Wright said of their personnel woes.
"Our back six held up really well, playing more assertive and that team side of our defence showed through.
"We'll make do in the meantime.
"The fight we showed was really promising. It was the way we wanted to play."
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