ESSENDON'S shoddy goal and field kicking is so poor it has become "a full-time job" to fix, coach John Worsfold says.
Worsfold was bitterly disappointed with his team's skills during Sunday's loss to the Brisbane Lions, a showdown with major repercussions for this year's wooden spoon race.
The Bombers were jumped from the start, trailing by 19 points before they took the ball inside 50, and when they tried to claw back into the game they let themselves down with poor disposal.
Essendon had 31 scoring shots, three more than the Lions, and 12 more inside 50s but still fell 37 points short of the visitors – with small forward Orazio Fantasia booting the final three goals to add some respectability to the scoreboard.
"Very disappointing (loss) for a number of reasons and really around conceding our opportunities through inaccuracy," Worsfold said post-match.
"Shots for goal obviously, but some field kicking that isn't good enough when we set up great opportunities to go forward and score and the kick through midfield wipes that opportunity or makes the opportunity to score a lot harder.
"That is a pattern over the last six weeks, we've started to create ball-winning and ball movement to get the ball inside 50, but we're not finishing the job off as we should."
Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd has previously worked with Joe Daniher as a part-time specialist goalkicking coach, and despite kicking 4.1, the young forward was again symbolic of the Dons' kicking woes.
Daniher snapped a brilliant major with his non-preferred boot early in the second quarter but then missed with a straightforward set shot moments later to rob his side of momentum.
Worsfold didn't point the finger solely at Daniher, but lamented his team's overall sloppiness.
"If we brought someone in to try and address our kicking for goal, on how bad it is at the moment, I'm saying it would need someone to put in a lot of hours," Worsfold said.
"It would be a full-time job at the moment, not a part-time job for us, where we're at.
"We're going to have a look at why we're spraying our kicks so much."
On a more positive note, last year's No.6 draft pick Aaron Francis made a strong impression on debut, finishing with 16 touches and seven marks.
The 18-year-old defender competed hard in the air and was swung forward late, in a move that could become a more regular posting if that looks like it will be an opening he can fill next season.
"I thought he showed some really good signs. There's areas of his game that we know he's got to get a lot better at, but his ability to take a mark is really top-notch already," Worsfold said.
"If his form warrants it, he'll remain in the team, and I would guess get a lot more opportunities at both ends throughout the remainder of this year."
Although the Bombers are now languishing in last spot, a game and five per cent behind the Lions, and in danger of "winning" their first wooden spoon in 83 years, Worsfold said his team wouldn't be putting the cue in the rack, content with the No.1 draft pick.
"We would like to win some games, challenge ourselves to play good enough to win another game of footy, and if we did that this week then we'd aim to win another one after that," he said.
