""What I am worried about is how the whole thing is interpreted,"" Jackson said on Bomber Radio last night. ""If Essendon players stood back because they thought they were going to get reported for wrestling or fined in a melee while a couple of their mates get belted, none of us would like that, least of all the coach.
""You have to wave the flag, but the trouble is, as soon as you do, you are in with everybody else. That is a little bit disappointing under the circumstances of Saturday, so we will have to wait and see. As a general comment, some of our guys tried to wave the flag to save a few of their mates and I respect them for doing that.
""I think that is part of playing in a team and as a club we respect them and the coaching panel would respect them and their own teammates would respect them for doing that. It is the Australian way and I am not sure if the rules would allow them to be recognised for that, we will just have to wait and see.""
Jackson said he was disappointed so many people described Saturday afternoon’s events as ""great to see"".
""This football club doesn’t condone what happened on the weekend,"" Jackson said. ""We are not saying we haven’t done anything wrong in the past or won’t in the future but it is not acceptable. I get angry when I see that sort of thing and I’m sure a lot of parents do as well. For people to suggest otherwise is irresponsible and not in the best interests of football.""
Jackson praised the Essendon players for continuing to put their head over the ball in the latter part of the game.
""That was fantastic. They kept their head over the ball … every one of them. I didn’t see one fellow not keep his head over the ball and they didn’t look to go on with it (the brawl) or they didn’t look over their shoulder,"" he said.
""They played football and in that regard it was probably a good thing. In one respect we should maybe thank Hawthorn. We were coasting a bit at half-time and maybe that snapped us out of it and let us earn some of that percentage back. It might end up being a very defining moment in our season.""
Jackson said he was expecting The Pressure Cooker to be sold out for this weekend’s clash with Brisbane.
""This week will all be about football. It will be two great sides going at each other and there will be none of that stuff, well I hope not anyway. They will play good, hard attacking football and be very strong at the ball. Both sides will play that sort of footy because they respect one another,"" he said.
""People are going to come out and support this team after what they put in on Saturday. We will come out and take it up to Brisbane in front of a big crowd. We know we can get 48,000 to 50,000 to the Pressure Cooker this Saturday night. There are plenty of seats and it is easy to get in now. If ever a crowd was going to come along and support the team, this week is the one to do it.""
Please note: Essendon members that are not reserved seat holders need to purchase a reserved seat for Saturday night’s match as it is a reserved seat-ticketed match. Non-members wishing to attend the game must also pre-purchase a ticket-reserved seat to gain entry. Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster7 on 136100.
