When Matthew Lloyd left the Queen Elizabeth Oval clutching his right forearm, it sent shock waves through the Essendon camp. A seemingly minor incident after a collision with Geelong’s James Rahilly during the club’s final practice match in Bendigo was more serious. Lloyd was immediately taken from the ground to Bendigo hospital where x-rays revealed he had broken his ulna.
""The message came up to the coaches box that we had to get Matthew off, and you know the only time he would say that there must be something pretty wrong."" assistant coach Mark Harvey recalls.
""We didn’t see the knock to his arm, but he came off and they sent him off to hospital for x-rays. Before the end of the game it got back to us that he had broken his arm.""
""Its just not something that the team and the coaching staff needed as there is a heavy reliance on Matthew and his goal kicking, but out of that comes a great challenge.""
But the challenge that now faces Mark Harvey is to find an alternative forward line that will provide enough impetus to kick a winning score against Melbourne, Carlton and Hawthorn.
It is something the assistant coach has embraced.
""The challenge for me is one of being able to replace Matthew’s scoreboard ability. It is something that I have really sat down and analysed and focused on, and hopefully I have come up with the right combination to replace him."" Harvey said.
So with all the pondering and speculation, what can Bomber fans expect to see on Saturday night against the Demons?
""I think they are going to see a few different players evolve as forwards, its very hard in the game now to find guys with goal kicking instinct. The forward line is the hardest position to play now because there is a lot of flooding and a lot of players dropping back into that forward 50.""
""Scotty (Lucas) will now be in charge, with Matthew out, but we’ll throw guys down there like Hird and Murphy at times and Rioli at times.""
""What people should be looking for is a new dimension to the forward line, and that may well be a Henneman, it’s the first time that he has put together a pre-season of five practice matches.""
In the first two rounds, Essendon face teams with a strong forward presence in David Neitz (Melbourne) and Brendan Fevola (Carlton). However, Harvey isn’t relying on the likes of Fletcher and Welsh to save the game for the Bombers. He believes the forward line can still create enough of a presence to get the Bombers over the line.
""I’ve told the forward line that we aren’t relying on the back line, we want to reward the hard work that is done up the ground and hopefully that will be enough to win games."" Harvey said.
