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Camporeale: Added experience will be a bonus
<P style=""MARGIN: 0cm 0cm 10pt"" class=MsoNormal>An extra 12 months experience should give the Bombers the confidence they need to challenge last year’s Premiers in the club’s opening match of the season according to Essendon assistant coach Scott Camporeale. “We’ve had a really solid pre-season and have taken some real positives out of the games that we’ve played so far,” Camporeale said.
An extra 12 months experience should give the Bombers the confidence they need to challenge last year’s Premiers in the club’s opening match of the season according to Essendon assistant coach Scott Camporeale.
“We’ve had a really solid pre-season and have taken some real positives out of the games that we’ve played so far,” Camporeale said to Bomber.tv today.
“We’ve got guys in the side now who’ve played in the midfield for another 12 months - they’re fitter, they’re stronger over the pre-season and it makes a difference. They’re also more confident mentally going into a game against Geelong.
“We’ve probably got the healthiest list that we’ve had, in Matthew’s (Knights) tenure anyway. We’re quietly confident that we’ve got the list where we want it to be.”
Camporeale says Essendon’s emerging group of players will not be intimidated by the Cats’ reputation as one of the most dominant midfields of recent eras.
“We’re not too concerned about what Geelong is doing, our focus is on Essendon - how we play the game and our structures,” he said.
“We know we have a job on our hands with the likes of Gary Ablett playing for Geelong tomorrow night - he’s obviously a pretty valuable player to their side. They’ve also got Selwood and Bartell but if we focus on our game style then hopefully we can match them on the night.”
Returning for his first game since a serious knee injury last season, David Hille said the Bombers would need to be at their peak in all areas of the game to beat the reigning Premiers.
“It definitely won’t be an easy night for us and we will need to be at the top of our game,” Hille said.
“I personally thought Brad Ottens had a wonderful effort in the Grand Final and didn’t get as much credit as he perhaps deserved so it definitely won’t be easy, that’s for sure but we just need to get the small things right and who knows what the end result will be.”
Friday night’s blockbuster against the reigning Premiers will be a celebration of sorts for Essendon ruckman David Hille who will return for his first AFL game since rupturing his ACL in last year’s Anzac Day blockbuster. The match will also mark the 28-year-old’s 150th senior game of football, but despite the career milestones, he is not feeling the heat.
