Bomber coach Kevin Sheedy has urged Essendon fans to get behind the team this Friday night against Carlton at the MCG. Essendon is currently eighth on the ladder, losing three of its past four games. ""It is a challenge for our whole club, our coaching staff and our players - perhaps all the supporters. In the end they have probably only had a dozen loses for the last few years. The fans have to come and support these young players and other players who can lift back to where we would like to get them back to. Eighth is probably not a position where they have been to for a while. Now we will find out who the real Essendon people are,"" Sheedy said.

Q.Were you happy with the teams performance against Fremantle?
A. From a playing point of view we are in the middle order now and we have to make sure we can bounce back and that is really a challenge to all of us here. We are not happy with the way we played and we have to get better.

Q. How would you rate the form of Blumfield and Heffernan this season?
A. Heffernan and Blumfield can lift - they know that and they will because they are that sort of character of player. They will work hard and they know that they can play a bit better and use the ball and play with a bit more confidence.

Q. Is Paul Salmon a chance to play full-forward?
A. I would not have thought so. I have only thought of him as a ruckman.

Q. Do you want to ease him back into AFL footy at full-forward?
A. We don't want to ease him back into footy. He won two Hawthorn best and fairest awards in the ruck. I think he will play in the VFL first.

Q. Will Mercuri and Lucas be right to play?
A. I would hope so.

Q. What about the form of Steve Alessio and Dean Rioli?
A. In fairness to Rioli we put him in - he probably attested he shouldn't play. We just felt with so many other players out we could use him off the bench. Maybe Subiaco isn't the ground for him to do that.