The team returned late Sunday night from Perth and had a recovery session on the Monday morning. ""The players didn't go out on the track at all on Monday. They were in the pool for rehab and that was it. The players had Tuesday off as usual and then they were back into full training on Wednesday,"" said Quinn. Quinn said he was pleased how well the players trained yesterday afternoon in their skills session. ""The session lasted about 90 minutes and the team trained solidly for the entire session. I think all of the players were refreshed from having the two days off prior.""
Dean Rioli and Dustin Fletcher were both noticeable exclusions for training yesterday. Both received injuries early in the game against Fremantle - Fletcher damaged ankle ligaments and Rioli strained a hamstring. ""Rioli is currently in rehab at the moment and doing light running. Fletcher is currently doing non-weight bearing stuff - he will miss the Richmond game and we expect him to play next week,"" Quinn said.
Essendon has continued to rotate young players through the side this season and Quinn said it is important to monitor these players to ensure the team and the player is getting optimum performance. ""We have to make sure we are looking after the young players and their game time. Say a Joel Reynolds who might only play half a game - if he does that for three weeks in a row we will drop him back into the VFL side. Otherwise he will start to lose match fitness and he is no good to either side. We do a lot of match simulation sessions but nothing prepares the player as much as playing the game,"" Quinn said.
