Essendon forward Kyle Langford says it is the senior playersโ fault that the Bombers team defence is โnot up to AFL standardโ after two poor displays to open their season.
Langford, who fronted the media on Tuesday, said a player-led meeting held immediately after the game was called to ensure a blame game didnโt start and to acknowledge that the responsibility for the performance against Port Adelaide rested with the players.
โ[We] do have a group that when the pressure is on us, we might buckle a little bit,โ Langford said.
The early season crisis led to former captain Zach Merrett joining the leadership group meeting on Tuesday morning as they searched for ways to respond against North Melbourne on Saturday night.
โHe is right in amongst us. He is not shying away from everything. He knows he needs to improve as well in certain areas, as we all do,โ Langford said.
The pressure is building on coach Brad Scott as he enters his fourth year at the helm, but Langford said the players were not putting into action what they were being taught on the training track. He also said their fundamentals were below par.
โWe have to look at ourselves in the mirror,โ Langford said. โ[Our] team defence isnโt up to AFL standard. Itโs not individuals, itโs on all of us.โ
He said the display showed the players were โstruggling to put into actionโ the game plan but denied that had anything to do with the message from the coaches or their capability to execute. He said they would improve as the team spent more time playing together.
โ[Scott has] done everything he can now. It is on to us players. It is frustrating,โ Langford said.
Langford said he wasnโt sure he would have described the team as being โdemoralisedโ when the game started drifting away from them on Sunday, as Scott suggested after the loss, but he admitted there was confusion as to why they were performing so poorly.
โWhen you get beaten by 10 goals, itโs not fun,โ Langford said. โIโm not sure if demoralised is the right word, but it is not great when you are out there.โ
He conceded it was frustrating to be answering questions about his sideโs performance after just two matches, but claimed the culture was the best it had been in his time there. However, it was yet to translate into performance.
โItโs been a while since we have had that consistent winning culture,โ Langford said.
Langford doubted key forward Nate Caddy would have taken any notice at the coach highlighting the impact his missed goal from point-blank range had on the group. Describing him as โan athletic freakโ, he said he was glad he was able to play well.
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