Essendon players Brent Stanton, Kepler Bradley, Ricky Dyson and Nathan Lovett-Murray are all first-timers at the Eagles’ home ground. Lovett-Murray hasn’t even been to Perth before. ""Both sides have a number of young players and perhaps we should just let them go at each other and see how we go,"" Sheedy said. ""We need them to play well.""
And Sheedy couldn’t resist having a crack at West Coast coach John Worsfold who claimed this week the Essendon coach didn’t have enough faith in his young players. ""We have played a lot of young players this season – all bar one of last season’s draftees have played senior footy this year and we have a rookie (Lovett-Murray) who has played nearly every game. We would have put more young players in than West Coast,"" he said.
The Bombers had a quiet day in Perth yesterday. A visit to the beach early in the day was followed by a short pool session mid-afternoon. The team then walked to Subiaco for a walk around the ground and a kick of the football. A team meeting followed then each player went their own way for dinner. This is in keeping with the routine that saw the Bombers get over Fremantle in last year’s final.
For those who want to get a real feel for the Bombers life on the road, tune into Channel 7s Sportsworld this Sunday. The 7 team has followed the Essendon players every step of the way and it will give Essendon fans a fascinating insight into the Bomber’s road trip.
