A dominant second half performance from Essendon has helped the Bombers beat GWS by 39 points.
Essendon coach James Hird at Etihad Stadium against the Giants. Picture: Alex Coppel Source: Herald Sun
ESSENDON coach James Hird has backed his players' resolve to deal with the distraction of the ASADA interviews ahead of Friday night's clash with Geelong.S
Speaking after the Bombers survived a first-half scare against Greater Western Sydney to win by 39 points, Hird said that the start of the ASADA interviews with his players was something the club saw as another step in a process they want concluded.
"I think the players have done a great job on focusing on football,'' Hird said.
"They are a tight group, they have been looking after each other and spending a lot of time with each other, as we all have.
"It is another step towards finishing this process, which we are all very keen to get towards the end of.
"We want to be able to finish it, but we have got to go through the process and we are hoping it finishes sooner rather than later."
Hird would not be drawn on the off-field investigations by ASADA and the AFL, but insisted that yesterday's sluggish first-half had nothing to do with the pressure that has been on the club and its players since February.
"We didn't play well in the first half and the Giants played well in the first half,'' he said.
"I would say that they (the players) would be a little bit distracted, but the football they are playing has been very impressive.
"They are handling the stress and the pressure very well.''
Essendon lost Brent Stanton to a tight groin yesterday, but Hird has not ruled him out of Friday night's clash with the Cats, with scans to take place today.
But the Bombers could welcome back six players with Hird confirming that Dyson Heppell, Dustin Fletcher, Patrick Ryder, Jake Carlisle, Michael Hurley and Jason Winderlich will all be available to take on Geelong.
"They are all available - whether they all play is another matter,'' he said.
"We will have a challenge picking the team.
''He labelled Geelong the "benchmark'' of the AFL at the moment, saying the match would provide the Bombers with a great challenge to remain undefeated.
David Zaharakis admitted after the game that a ``spray'' from Hird and senior assistant coach Mark Thompson at quarter-time and half-time helped to sharpen the minds of the players after their slow start yesterday.
Hird said: "'We had to get the game back to the way we wanted it to be played and get our players defending rather than running past the contest too much.''
At one stage early in the third term, the Giants led by 28 points before the Bombers started on an eight-goal streak that started with a superb goal to Brendon Goddard, which Hird admitted was a momentum-changer.
Jobe Watson was kept to 21 touches by Jacob Townsend, and looked sore in the rooms after the game.
But Hird said last year's Brownlow Medal winner will bounce back hard against Geelong.
"Jobe's the best there is at the moment - there is no one better,'' he said.
"Jobe has had an outstanding year. He was a little bit down today, but that's football.''
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
Hird backs players' resolve
Dengan url
http://astagaberita.blogspot.com/2013/05/hird-backs-players-resolve.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
Hird backs players' resolve
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar