Assistant coach Dean Wallis answers some hard-hitting questions this week in ‘Ask the Coach’ starting with a query about James Hird’s performance in recent weeks. ""James (Hird) is so passionate about the club and passionate about his football, that like all human beings he goes through ups and downs. So I think the break will do him an enormous amount of good. I know it will. You will see a different James Hird run out tonight for the Essendon Football Club than probably what you saw the last couple of weeks prior to the break,"" Wallis said.

1. I have been interested by James Hird over the last 2-3 weeks. While he was in our best against Melbourne, and far from disgraced previous to that, he just seems a little off. Maybe we all expect too much from the champ but in the pre-game to the Brisbane match I actually noticed him looking lethargic, and dare I say it, a little disinterested. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge Hird fan. I was just wondering if something hasn’t been quite right with him. He seems to have lost a little run. (Ty Hoggins)
A. James is 30 plus. He is a leader and captain of our football club. He has had a huge campaign, probably one of his best pre-seasons in a number of years. He hasn’t missed a beat on the training track and game day. If he was a racehorse you’d put him in a paddock for a week or two to freshen him up. Fortunately we were able to do that with the break. He is a human being who has emotions and energy levels like every other person on this planet, but he also carries the weight on his shoulders of an AFL football club.

He is so passionate about the club and passionate about his football, that like all human beings he goes through ups and downs. So I think the break will do him an enormous amount of good. I know it will. You will see a different James Hird run out tonight for the Essendon Football Club than probably what you saw the last couple of weeks prior to the break.

2. Why is Matthew Allan taken off the ground so much? We were coming hard at Melbourne in the third quarter but the run stopped as soon as Allan went off the ball. Is Allan not fit enough? (Rob Monk)
A. Matthew has missed a lot of football over his football career. He was coming off an injured phase during pre-season where he had a hamstring injury which was a setback. He is obviously at his full fitness now, but the reality is that with the position he plays, you have to be a very hard and conditioned player. Matthew is obviously one of those footballers who is not unfit but it is just the particular position that he plays in. You have to monitor and nurture those particular players through the game. You will find that we are not the only football club that does it.

3. What’s going on with Ricky Dyson and McPhee? They are both a couple of the fastest blokes in the team and neither of them go in the middle in the seniors. (Joel Gibbons)
A. I think that you will find in the last game Adam McPhee played on ball. He has been sensational at half back flank. We have tried him across half forward. So far this year he has been ""Mr Fix it"". Everywhere he goes he does the job. Against Melbourne we played him on ball and he did a fantastic job, considering it was the first time he has probably played there in a number of years.

With Ricky he has been in the reserves playing some great football. He is playing tonight and you will probably find that he might have an opportunity to play onball as does Stanton and Ben Haynes, two other younger players in our side.

4. Is the onfield leadership an issue at the club? The last two weeks has seen the Bombers physically wilt when the pressure was on. I didn’t see Hird encouraging teammates in the Lions game in the second half, nor did I see much when we were under the pump against the Demons. What were Mark and Jason Johnson doing to help out? (Colin Nugent)
A. If you are going to be a successful football side, you need leadership from your captain all the way down to your number 22 picked to represent your club on the day. Not just purely from the captain and vice-captains. You need leadership from every single player. 

Mark and Jason obviously pull their weight and James and Lloydy pull their weight. But if you are going to be a successful side you need leadership from blokes like Stanton in his first year, Dyson in his first year. It's a thing that is being addressed with the Essendon Football Club at the moment. Every one has got it, but it is just using it at the appropriate time. So we are addressing that as we speak and we expect leadership from everyone.

5. Is it time for Andrew Welsh to be pushed into the midfield? We know he is hard in and under and gets a lot of the ball. His last month has been terrific. It might be what is in order for the second half of the year. (Josh Lowe)
A. You can restructure your side to fill holes and to play players into form, or play a team into form but I think stability is a great thing too. Andrew has played some fantastic footy across halfback. You will find that the great teams in successful eras have had stability, ie. the Brisbane Lions side at the moment. You will find that their positions don't change too much.

I know it is a developing thing for Andrew, but I think that potentially going forward could be in a little as a week, or a month, or a year that you will find he will be a great onballer. But as we speak, the back line needs him. He is a great asset to the back line. He is a levelheaded kid. No doubt that if he had the opportunity to play on ball he would do the footy club proud.