Training at a ‘Grand Final’ standard will continue to be a focus for the Bombers throughout the pre-season, according to Brendon Goddard.

Essendon’s season came to an end after a 65-point loss to Sydney in the Elimination Final.

Goddard said lapses were a common theme for the side throughout the season and that inconsistency will be exposed during the finals.

“When you get to the finals it is the best of the best so you expect it to go down to the wire and that’s where all of the training and the mental toughness comes into it,” Goddard told RSN.

“We often make reference at training, ‘is that Grand Final worthy’ in drills and in efforts … that’s what we’re all striving for.

“It’s giving your best effort, over 120 minutes and down to the last second.

“That’s where that mentality will go in the pre-season.

“I think we’ve shown we can score, our defence was pretty inconsistent – that’s what we talked about a little bit in the wash-up too – and then it will be about that mental resolve and giving effort consistently over 120 minutes and over 23 rounds.”

Goddard said the Bombers would review the match against the Swans when they returned for training in November.

Sydney fielded a team with 164 more finals games in that match and Goddard expects his younger teammates to benefit from the finals exposure. 

“They got a sense of what footy is about and they witnessed it from a great team that has done it for a long period of time,” he said. 

“They would be taking things in and have learnt a lot from that without us having spoken about it in detail, as such, post game. 

“There is no doubt they learn … they’ve got a taste for it and even the build up to the game … people being at training early in the week and then seeing us off interstate, that would have been a good buzz for them.”