""We really want to get off with a good start on Saturday night,"" Essendon young gun Brent Stanton said today.
""It’s pretty important to the boys to win against Carlton. The NAB Cup is a stepping stone to getting the show on the road and for us to get some wins on the board early and then take that confidence into the season proper.""
Eager to get a winning culture back at the club, Stanton sees Carlton as the just the first step, in which he hopes will see the club involved in week four of the pre-season competition.
""If you get through the NAB Cup you are obviously playing at a higher standard and it prepares you better for Round 1. We are looking to progress right through to the final and start our season really well.""
Lining up against a team on Saturday night that also has something to prove to the football world, Stanton is expecting a good game from the Blues and expects them ot unveil number one draft selection Bryce Gibbs.
""Obviously we haven’t seen much of them and it is going to be hard to know who is going to line up for them,"" he explained.
""But you would expect Bryce Gibbs to probably be in there and Marc Murphy, so we need to make sure they can’t get under our radar and really take it to them straight up.""
And while the Essendon squad for the match hasn’t yet been announced, Stanton is hoping there are some new faces that appear in the Bombers line-up.
""Hopefully we have some new fresh blood in the team and it creates a lot of enthusiasm. I’m not sure who is going to play yet but hopefully it is some of the young guys.
""They have been doing a lot of hard work over the summer and that’s where the energy and excitement is going to come from this year.
""We want to put pressure on the older guys to get the club back up to where we want to be and obviously that is up in the top eight and really have a crack at it this year.""
To view today’s NAB Cup Press Conference click here.
