Brad Scott admits Essendon's list needs wide-ranging improvement but says their late-season AFL slide does not reflect the club's progress as they enter the post-Dyson Heppell era.
The Bombers were outplayed for three quarters but kicked five unanswered goals in the final term as they finished 20 points shy of Brisbane in Saturday's regular- season final-round clash at the Gabba.
Heppell, recalled for a farewell game after being omitted from their final Melbourne encounter a week earlier, finished with a season-high 34 disposals in their 11.21 (87) to 10.7 (67) defeat.
The former captain and All-Australian also had a game-high 12 intercepts in his 253rd appearance.
He will close a 13-year career without ever winning a finals game, the Bombers having faded after a terrific start that had them nestled inside the top four to miss finals for a third-straight season.
Heppell embraced former teammate and Lions forward Joe Daniher, who played his 200th game, immediately after the siren and was emotional as he was chaired off before both teams and his family.
"If anyone had the right to sit down and say poor me ... he would," coach Scott said.
"But he's the opposite ... unfortunately he's the ultimate example that there's a lot of luck in our game.
"You can be in the right place at the right time or wrong place at the wrong time.
"Heart and soul ... he's been someone who's hoisted the club on his shoulders.
"He'll leave an indelible legacy on the club and the young players."
The Bombers won eight of their first 11 games but lost six of their last seven to slide from the top four, and they were out of finals contention altogether before the final round.
"We need to improve our list ... forward, back and midfield," Scott said.
"It's not one specific area ... it's not going to be tweaks, we've got a lot of work to do."
Yet Scott insisted his side weren't far off the mark.
"It's true if you look at the wins and losses and that's ultimately what counts," he said.
"There were parts of our game in the first half (of the season) we weren't happy with at all. We found a way to win a lot of games, where in the second half we did the opposite."
Scott said the progress of midfielders Sam Durham and Jye Caldwell and rookies Nate Caddy and Archie Roberts was encouraging.
"There's a lot to be optimistic about ... and the great thing about this comp is that it's really tight," he said.
"We were outclassed today by a better team but a little bit of improvement, more than everyone else, can lead to pretty good things."
