""I have been disappointed with consistency of the players in the midfield – I am talking about the likes of Dean Solomon and Mark Johnson,"" Sheedy said.
""They haven’t had enough of the ball consistently and their form was down a bit (against Melbourne), there is no doubt about that. And we put too much reliance on Hird.
""We could put Mark Johnson back in defence. (Adam) McPhee might come in (to the midfield). You need people who can really run and have real engines – we did that late against Melbourne just to have a look.""
Sheedy said that while everyone needed to lift in the second half of the season, he said a younger midfield might just give the side the vibrancy it needed to beat quality opposition.
""I think we have to put some young players in the team to get that vibrancy into the side. We have recruited midfielders but they have been very young and it takes time for them to develop. Brent Stanton, Jason Winderlich, Darren Walsh and Ricky Dyson,"" Sheedy said.
""It takes a while for that to happen and it is why clubs like Melbourne and Geelong have been up and down a little bit. Until you actually get games into that midfield area that happens. The easiest thing to do is to go and trade and not get a player like Kepler Bradley.
""But we are putting Brent Stanton on for the amount of time we think will help him develop and Ben Haynes has been a positive. We also have Mark Alvey who is coming off a knee reconstruction and his first 12 months was always going to be important in terms of him getting back to full fitness.""
The Bombers’ couldn’t consider Winderlich or Dyson for the clash against Melbourne with both players still recovering from concussion.
Sheedy says Essendon is still very much focussing on a top-four finish despite losing its past two games. He says there have been some positives to come out of the losses and that gives the team something to build on in the second half of the year.
""I think Kepler Bradley will be a good player if he consistently keeps trying as hard as he does. He has a very good work ethic for a six foot six player. I think David Hille played a little bit better,"" Sheedy said.
""We are in the middle of trying to transform this side into one that can do the job for us. We have got players out but that gives a few of our youngster the chance.
""If we can get through the bye and win two very important games against the Kangaroos and Richmond, that will give us 10 wins out of 15 games and that gives you a chance.""
""Anyone in the top eight should be talking about top four – of course that it still the aim. It is a tough competition and things can change quickly. Melbourne copped a couple of injuries, have got to go to Adelaide and then cop St Kilda the week after that. The AFL draw, because it is uneven, is really challenging.""
