Essendon captain Jobe Watson identified Saturday night's meeting with the Sydney Swans at Etihad Stadium as a chance for the Bombers to redeem themselves after the loss to the Demons.
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Watson admitted that the club's improvement in the first half of the year might be negated if it were to fall to two consecutive defeats before the bye.
But he said the Demons' defeat hadn't shaken his confidence the club could be a top four team at season's end, saying it would be well placed if it could repeat its efforts in the second half of the season.
""What we've shown in the first half of the year is that we're capable of playing really good football for extended periods of time.
""The challenge for us is being able to do that for the second half of the year. And if we are, by the position we're at on the ladder, we're going to be around that top-four mark. That's going to be the challenge for the group.""
Defenders Dyson Heppell (knee) and Michael Hibberd (hamstring) are expected to return this weekend after training on Wednesday morning.
Watson said Hibberd, who has been out since round five, was more likely to come back through the VFL.
But he said the Demons' defeat hadn't shaken his confidence the club could be a top four team at season's end, saying it would be well placed if it could repeat its efforts in the second half of the season.
""What we've shown in the first half of the year is that we're capable of playing really good football for extended periods of time.
""The challenge for us is being able to do that for the second half of the year. And if we are, by the position we're at on the ladder, we're going to be around that top-four mark. That's going to be the challenge for the group.""
Defenders Dyson Heppell (knee) and Michael Hibberd (hamstring) are expected to return this weekend after training on Wednesday morning.
Watson said Hibberd, who has been out since round five, was more likely to come back through the VFL.
Angus Monfries, who last year admitted he took a ""dive"" to win a free kick, has spoken to teammate Leroy Jetta after the Essendon forward was cited for staging two weeks ago in the Bombers win against Richmond.
In Essendon's surprise defeat to the Demons last week, Jetta again exaggerated contact but was cleared by the AFL of ""feigning illegal contact"".
Watson said Monfries had spoken to Jetta and encouraged the small forward to change his attitude.
""Angus Monfries went through something similar last year, and in a sign of Angus' maturity, he took it upon himself to have a chat with Leroy and just give him some advice,"" Watson said on Wednesday.
""Leroy's a ball player and he plays to the whistle, but sometimes habits creep into your game and I think Angus is the right person to address that and he's done so.""
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Watson said Monfries had spoken to Jetta and encouraged the small forward to change his attitude.
""Angus Monfries went through something similar last year, and in a sign of Angus' maturity, he took it upon himself to have a chat with Leroy and just give him some advice,"" Watson said on Wednesday.
""Leroy's a ball player and he plays to the whistle, but sometimes habits creep into your game and I think Angus is the right person to address that and he's done so.""
Support the club's move to the new high performance centre by donating to the Flight Plan today.
