For a club already reeling from a 62-point beating at the hands of Hawthorn seven days earlier, Sunday's encounter with Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval offered a chance at redemption. Instead, Essendon's early season nightmare intensified dramatically. Port Adelaide inflicted a 63-point defeat on the Bombers in a 20.13 (133) to 10.10 (70) triumph. That result has sharpened the focus squarely on Brad Scott and whether the Essendon coach can arrest the decline that has characterised his tenure.
It wasn't a gradual unravelling. The Bombers surrendered eight straight goals in Port's opening assault, a collapse that set the tone for what would become a one-sided contest. At one stage, the inside 50m count was Port's by 21 to two. Midway through the second term, the Bombers were 50 points down and already out of the contest. The damage was comprehensive and demoralising.
Look, here's the thing about the contest itself: Port logged eight consecutive goals as Zak Butters and Connor Rozee pulled the strings in the midfield, with Jason Horne-Francis slotting three successive majors to establish a 32-point quarter-time lead. The Power controlled stoppages, dominated the air, and suffocated Essendon's transition game. Port's new coach Josh Carr secured a much-needed victory despite his captain Connor Rozee suffering a leg injury after recording 21 disposals and four clearances before limping from the field in the third quarter.
For Scott and Essendon, there were some bright spots in a dark afternoon. Jhye Caldwell collected 27 possessions, Zach Merrett 25, Darcy Parish 24, Nate Caddy booted four goals, and Isaac Kako kicked 1.4. Yet individual efforts proved futile against Port's ruthless efficiency and Essendon's leaden hands in defence. Essendon also lost backman Mason Redman to a left knee issue and second-gamer Dyson Sharp to an ankle injury, compounding what was already a grim week.
Scott's task grows more difficult by the round. The 2026 season marks his fourth year as Senior Coach of Essendon. His track record at the club has been mixed at best. In his first season, Essendon started with an 8-5 record but won only three of their final ten games post-bye to finish 11th; his second year followed a similar pattern, starting with an 8-2 record before winning just three of their final twelve games to again slump to 11th. Fans and commentators had hoped 2026 would be different. Instead, back-to-back 60-point defeats in the opening fortnight have created a sense of crisis before the season has properly begun.
The counter-argument, of course, is that catastrophising based on two early losses ignores the reality of AFL football. Young sides develop through adversity. Essendon have invested heavily in youth and development; results take time. The club extended Scott's contract in March 2025, signalling institutional confidence in his direction. Two rounds do not a season make.
But there's a line between patience and avoidance. When a coach's team is being dismantled in the first two weeks, when they're trailing by 50 points at halftime, when they're conceding eight straight goals without answer, the questions demand to be asked. Scott himself acknowledged the scale of the challenge. Following the Hawthorn loss, he said: "Our inability to stop them transitioning out of our front half was just nowhere near the level. I don't think anyone's under any illusions we've got a big gap to bridge". Sunday proved that gap remains alarmingly wide.
At the end of the day, sport demands results. Scott has had time and resources. The Bombers' form across his tenure suggests either structural issues that require fixing or the possibility that this football operation has misaligned its ambitions with its capacity. Neither scenario offers comfort to supporters or the coach himself.