A week is a long time in football - as cliches this is about as worn out as Matthew Lloyd's football boots after a big day in front of goals. But never has it been more true than when you look at the turnaround in the form and fortunes of star Bomber mid-fielder Mark Mercuri. As far as footballers go, Mark Mercuri is from the top shelf - a superstar of the game with sublime skills. Essendon skipper James Hird describes him as the best player he has ever played with, hardly faint praise from one of the game's greats. Yet just two short weeks ago people wouldn't have recognised him.

In round 22 against Richmond, the Bombers went down to the Tigers. The critics were quick to look for reasons and Mercuri had the finger fairly and squarely pointed at him. Rarely if ever in his magnificent career has Mercuri had a day like it - he continually missed targets and turned the ball over. He was shadow of the player whose footballing genius had Essendon fans in awe.

Mercuri to his credit was the first to admit he had an ordinary day - in fact he told a media gathering he couldn't remember a worse day out the football ground in terms of his own form. ""It wasn't good,"" Mercuri said. ""I just struggled to hit targets and when you do that in front of 80,000 people they certainly let you know.""

Last Friday night the Bombers again took on Richmond. This time the stakes were high - it was a Qualifying Final and the Bombers needed its stars to stand tall. Four minutes into the game Mercuri gathered the ball on the outer wing, he took a bounce and then drilled a superb pass to Hird who didn't have to break stride in marking the ball. Essendon fans breathed a sigh of relief - the imposter was gone and the real Mark Mercuri was back.

""It was nice to get a bit of the football early and your confidence grows with that. I didn't let the week before bother me as much as it seemed to bother everyone else. I knew I was a better player than that so I just put that match behind me and tried to contribute last weekend,"" Mercuri said. And contribute he did collecting 20-plus quality touches.

Mercuri is now looking forward to the remainder of the finals' series. ""I think last weekend was a real confidence boost for the whole side. We played much better football and I think we can improve further. It is an exciting time of the year and everyone wants to perform well in big games.""