ROOKIE Essendon coach Matthew Knights extended his record to 2-0 with his side’s 54-point mauling of the Western Bulldogs in the NAB Cup quarter-final at Telstra Dome.

Speaking post match, a beaming Knights could barely contain his excitement as a broad smile projected across the room.

And why not? A team some have predicted will earn the wooden spoon completely outclassed the Dogs on Friday night in an effort Knights says was built on two key factors.

“We were really keen to generate some more run through the midfield and out of defence and it sounds a lot easier than it is implementing it,” Knights said.

“What we have to do is get some game time into the people that can help us in that area because in the past we were potentially looking at too few to carry the load in the midfield. That was a really pleasing aspect tonight.”

Four young players to heed the coach’s pre-season call were Bachar Houli (20 possessions), Rick Dyson (30), Leroy Jetta (16) and Sam Lonergan (14).

Knights said he was equally impressed with his side’s work without the ball as he was with it.

“I thought each player contributed in that area, rather than leaving it to Alwyn Davey,” he said. “We’ve got to get people sharing that load.”

All night the Bombers chased, tackled and harassed every Bulldog with the ball as the new breed of red and black hunted in packs.

Knights said he has been mindful not to overload his players over summer and is happy with how the players have embraced his edicts.

“As a new coach I’ve been mindful of not trying to squeeze too much into the players from a learning perspective,” he said.

“I’ve tried to build a base foundation to work from and we’ve got to keep doing that. We can’t afford get ahead of ourselves.

“Sometimes you have a tendency as a coach to try and get too much done too quick.

“I guess our players have really embraced the defensive side of the game, but it’s only early.

“We’ve been able to do it for two weeks in the NAB Cup, but the AFL season is a journey and our challenge is to be able to make sure that we are able to do that over a period.

“The good thing about it is it’s the younger players doing it.”

Knights, who coached many of the Bombers younger generation at Bendigo for the past two seasons, said it was important for the likes of Houli, Lonergan, Jetta, Tayte Pears and David Myers to back up last week’s win over Brisbane.

He said the plan was to play star full-back Dustin Fletcher and key onballer Brent Stanton, but decided to err on the side of caution after a big week on the training track.

Also rested were Henry Slattery, Jay Nash and Heath Hocking, but Knights hinted all three would return for next Friday night’s semi-final against the winner of Geelong and St Kilda.

Whichever the opponent, the Bomber coach said his young charges would attack the game head on.

“It’s great for our club,” he said.

“Young players don’t care who they play, they just want to play.”

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.