Essendon players continually fumbled and turned the ball over against West Coast, putting the defence under enormous pressure. “It happened a bit in the mid-field and good sides will hurt you when you do that,” Harvey said. “The players know that and realise they will have to work harder on getting that aspect of their game right. Too much good work is coming undone.”
Harvey also said some of the players’ decision making needed to get better. “I don’t know why it happens sometimes – whether it is a confidence thing or a pressure thing – but suddenly the things which should be instinctive don’t come naturally. I think if we just get a bit smarter with the football we can bounce back this week.”
It certainly isn’t all doom and gloom, according to Harvey. “West Coast is a very difficult side to beat at home – they haven’t lost there this season,” Harvey said. “And after such a sluggish start, we should forget that Dean Rioli had the chance to level the scores early in the last quarter. So it wasn’t as if we were terrible. We just have to stop relying on our star players to do the job – we need a more even contribution from everyone.”
