It illustrates the size of the task confronting Essendon fitness coach John Quinn. Can he get the Bombers up for this Saturday night’s quarter-final? Surprisingly Quinn was quite pleased with the post-match weigh in and says he is confident the Bombers will be fresh come this weekend.
""It is mainly fluids that the players lost. One litre of fluid equates to one kilogram. I really don’t think the results are anything to worry about. In fact I think in many ways it justifies playing games in that sort of heat, providing your players are properly hydrated beforehand and handled properly during and after the game,"" Quinn said.
""The results of Andrew Welsh (who dropped almost five kilograms) did raise a few eyebrows. But he was well hydrated during the game and we kept plenty of fluid up to him during the match, immediately after and during the next day. We weighed him earlier this week and he is about right again.
""I don’t think it is a major problem in terms of getting the team right for this weekend. We will have a number of fresh players come into the side and it will be a pretty light week on the track.""
A number of the Essendon players trialed revolutionary technology to check core body temperature during the course of the game. Six Essendon players – including James Hird, Mark Bolton and Jason Johnson – swallowed multi-vitamin sized capsules which contained a small transmitter inside them.
With the wave of an ""electronic wand"" across the abdomen, medical staff could get a reading on the core body temperature of the players. The transmitter then naturally passes through the system. The device was tested as part of a university study.
Essendon club doctor Bruce Reid said that while the body temperatures were naturally elevated in the conditions, there was nothing that he regarded as dangerously high.
