Why has Jason Johnson spent so much time out of the centre square in the opening two rounds of the season? Why did Joe Misiti start on the bench last week and why has he been named there again? These are the two questions that have been most commonly asked by Essendon fans in the lead up to tonight’s clash with Carlton. We spoke to Essendon assistant coach Mark Harvey and he assured us it had nothing to do with injury or form.

Johnson and Misiti have been the mainstays of the Essendon midfield in the past three years. Johnson’s crash and bang style has been complimented by Misiti’s ability to just keep winning possession and use the ball effectively. While season 2003 is just two Rounds old, the Bombers’ midfield has been very different this season. Both Misiti and Johnson have spent time up forward or on the bench.

“With Jason, we find his impact in the midfield is far more significant when he is kept fresh. So we have changed our planning with him a little bit to ensure that is the case. He can spend more time up forward because we think he has really developed as a crumbing forward. So if he is doing a job for us down there we can swing him into the middle in bursts and hopefully that will maximise his effectiveness,” Harvey said.

“Our thinking with him was changed a little bit when we looked at season 2002 and the fact that we weren’t finishing games off as well as we would have liked. There were a number of reasons for this but we felt one was because we were getting a bit tired in the midfield. Players like Jason Johnson and Joe Misiti were being asked to do so much that they naturally tired. We just want to manage that a bit better.”

Of course, there is a danger in leaving your two most experienced midfielders out of the thick of the action – they need to be replaced. In the first two rounds Essendon has found two players who are covering very well and indeed making a name for themselves – Adam Ramanauskas and Dean Rioli.

“We would have used Dean more in the past but we haven’t had him consistently enough. But he now has his body right and if he can have some luck with injury he will be very important in there for us. And Ramanauskas really adds another dimension for us in the midfield with his leg speed and ability to jump. The two of them really change the fabric of the midfield, make us far less predictable and difficult to match up on,” Harvey said.

“And if they can do the job for us in the midfield for a chunk of the game then we can swing Misiti and Johnson back in – two fresh and high quality midfielders. We hope that this, combined with a couple of other things we are doing, will help us finish game off better.”