Essendon veteran Kyle Langford has had his interview with Channel 7 star Abbey Holmes pulled apart and shoved under a burning microscope.
In the Bombers horrible loss to Richmond on Friday night, Langford spoke to Holmes at half-time when his team was trailing by 15 points after losing Sam Durham (concussion) and Matt Guelfi (hamstring) in the opening 15 minutes, and Andy McGrath (jaw) before the long break.
WATCH THE INTERVIEW ABOVE: Kyle Langford’s half-time interview in the spotlight
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“Well, I think most boys will be playing full game time from here on out,” Langford told Holmes as the team headed out for the third quarter.
“I think we’ve only got one or two interchanges on the bench, so it’s going to be tough, but the boys are up for the fight.”
Holmes also asked Langford what was coach Brad Scott’s main message at half-time.
After a pause, Langford said: “More about, let’s just have a fair crack. I mean, we’re four down, three down, whatever it is. We’re kind of talking about if we win this, it’s going to be a hell of a win.”
Looking back on the interview, AFL expert and Seven commentator Kane Cornes dissected Langford’s words, noting his language already sounded defeatist, despite the fact the game was in the balance.
“’The boys are up for the fight.’ There was already a little out there that he’s giving himself. ‘It’s going to be tough …. We’re up for the fight.’ I just don’t think you are up for the fight, Kyle. I just don’t think you are,” Cornes said.
Cornes said if the Bombers were indeed willing to bravely dig in, why did they lay just six tackles in the third quarter.
“I can’t remember a tackle count as low as that. It was 19 tackles in the second half,” Cornes said.
“There was zero pressure after half-time, so I just think it’s all words. I don’t think you are up for the fight. I think this is a group that is largely defeated, and a group of senior players that lack resilience. There’s no doubt about that.
“Langford, he’s always whingeing about something, his body, ‘is there a problem with our high-performance staff?’ (Zach) Merrett when things get tough, ‘I want out.’ (Darcy) Parish has hardly played since he signed that long-term contract. (Jordan) Ridley wants to get out and escape the Essendon footy club.
“Not one of their senior players wants to dig in when things get tough, and it got tough tonight. There’s no doubt about that.
“You lose three players early, yep, that’s hard. But how about you just show some resilience and some fight, and they just were unable to do that.
“I thought the lack of pressure and also discipline, so they gave away 26 free kicks and some crucial 50-metre penalties is just not reflective of a professional AFL side, and that’s largely down to a lot of their senior players.”
It was a bruising night for the Bombers, who not only lost McGrath, Durham and Guelfi, but also Archie May (ribs), while Jye Caldwell played out the match with a syndesmosis injury.
Essendon kicked 1.6 for in the third term to 1.3, and managed to cut a 22-point margin back to just seven points when Caldwell kicked the first goal of the last quarter.
But the Tigers steadied with the last two goals of the match to leapfrog their opponents into 17th position on the ladder.
Despite Cornes’ take, Scott thought his team did show some true grit.
“It would’ve felt like a steal and that’s the pleasing thing, that there’s fight there,” Scott said.
“But there’s also a scoreboard and at the end of the day that’s really all that anyone cares about.”
Essendon (1-10) have now lost six consecutive games in their worst start to a season in a decade and will face further scrutiny ahead of a clash with West Coast in Perth next week.
— with AAP
