Essendon started the game well and put together four consistent quarters – something the team has struggled to do all season. Lloyd said the team was conscious to get off to a good start. ""We didn’t want to give Port a free run, so we played one on one football around the ground,"" Lloyd said.
The Essendon coaching panel produced a few match-ups that caught Port off guard that Lloyd said worked in the team’s favour. ""Mark McVeigh in the middle and Solly (Dean Solomon) on (Warren) Tredrea – they were probably a few moves that they wouldn’t have expected.
""Kane Cornes has taken out a lot of players this year and he would have expected just to go straight to Jason Johnson in the middle. So with McVeigh going into the middle and Jason onto a wing, just mixed things up a little bit,"" Lloyd commented.
The move of Mark McVeigh into the mid-field played dividends. He won his fair share of the ball and was damaging with his precise foot skills. McVeigh finished with 20 possessions and booted one goal.
""Mark has been in the back pocket for a few years and hasn’t been as attacking as he could be. It gave him a new lease of life and it is great for the club to know they have another quality mid-field option,"" Lloyd said.
Dean Solomon has been playing back in familiar territory for the past few weeks. He was moved back to defence in Round 15 against Richmond to curtail Matthew Richardson. He has not played in the midfield since.
""I have actually loved watching the way Solly has gone about his footy since he has moved from the midfield to the backline,"" he said. ""He provides a great contest and I know that the forwards playing on him could be a little intimidated by him because he is always the putting the pressure on. He is playing on guys bigger than him every week but rarely does he let you down.""
Youngster Brent Stanton was another solid contributor in Essendon’s win against Port Adelaide. The 18-year-old used his electrifying pace and strong attack on the footy to set up a number of forward attacks. ""Brent was fantastic again for us. He collected 17 possessions and his pace is just so exciting. Once he gets his kicking to a level with a bit more experience, he is going to be a great midfielder for the club,"" the triple Coleman Medallist said.
The victory on Saturday night was soured with the injury to Dean Rioli (hamstring) and Matthew Allan (knee). Rioli returned after six weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury and re-injured himself in the final quarter. ""Dean showed how important he is to our side.
""It will be a tragedy if he never gets his body to a level that he can play 22 games in a season. To come back after an extended period on the sidelines and have the impact he did was just amazing.""
