At 3:15 at the MCG on Monday, the only sounds were a bawling baby and the Australian, Aboriginal and New Zealand flags flapping at half-mast. As a fan, it’s the one minute where the AFL and its sponsors aren’t trying to flog you something. For the Essendon players, it was a momentary respite from what had been a noisy week. Former players, ex Collingwood coaches, fans, pundits, panellists, professional fault finders – they were climbing out of trees to bag them. The Bombers were too soft. They were too nice. They had no depth. They had no grunt. They had no backline. They had no brand. They had no business playing on Anzac Day.
Some of it was warranted. Some of it was plain ridiculous. One newspaper headline read “AFL’s disgraceful acts exposed”. I was half expecting a story about a glassing in a bar. But no, it was David King lamenting Essendon’s lack of midfield pressure. Kane Cornes took exception (you can set your watch to those four words) to the way they laughed with their opponents last Sunday. Mick Malthouse, fresh from tipping them to win the premiership, said they were “pathetic”. In an emotional and historically questionable speech to his former club, he said there was nowhere to hide on Anzac Day. “It’s either victory, or disgrace,” he said.
