‘Tired’ Bombers likely to be without star Ridley

Oliver Caffrey | July 22, 2023

Star Essendon defender Jordan Ridley is set for a stint on the sidelines as coach Brad Scott admitted the Bombers midfield appeared “tired” and “flat”.

After surging to an early lead against the Western Bulldogs, Essendon were comprehensively beaten after quarter-time to slump to a 41-point defeat.

A win on Friday night would have allowed the Bombers to go as high as fifth on the ladder.

Instead, Essendon could finish the round as low as 12th, putting their finals hopes in jeopardy ahead of a crunch match against Sydney next Saturday.

Ridley left the field in the final quarter with a suspected strain to his right quad and remained on the bench for the rest of the game.

Ridley will undergo scans to determine any damage but Scott was not optimistic.

“I’ve been watching it as a footy fan (Aaron Naughton) v Ridley over the last few years and I thought he was great,” Scott said.

“We will just get it scanned and hope he’s OK.”

Essendon led clearances 12-4 at quarter-time, but the Bulldogs ended the match ahead 48-26 as Marcus Bontempelli and Tom Liberatore completely overwhelmed the Bombers.

“It was probably the first time this year where I thought our young mids looked a bit tired and a bit flat,” Scott said.

“Who knows why that is but that’s the way it certainly looked to my eye so we struggled to get some spark and energy around the ball at quarter-time.”

Scott admitted dynamic forward-midfielder Jake Stringer was struggling with his body.

Stringer started the game in the midfield, appearing to be at his explosive best.

But like the rest of his team, Stringer’s influence waned as the game went on.

“Every player at this stage of the season is carrying something and Jake is no different to that,” Scott said.

“Jake would never make excuses and he wouldn’t want me to make excuses for him either.

“We’ll have to think through that as to whether the niggles that players carry at different stages impact their performance to the point where maybe you have to think about having a week off to get it right.”