Coaching staff and senior players from the Victorian cricket team have spent the past week with the Essendon Football Club looking at the day-to-day operations of the football department. Victorian assistant coach Brian McFayden, one-day captain Matthew Elliott and Pura Cup captain Paul Reiffel have all spent time at the club this week watching training sessions and speaking with coaching staff. ""They approached us about spending a week at the club and we were more than happy to help them out,"" Essendon football manager Matthew Drain said.

""It is something we have done quite a bit of as a football club. In the past two years we have had the chance to look at some other organisations and how they go about things and it has been pretty useful. Even if you pick up just one thing it might be something that makes the difference,"" Drain said.

The Victorians will wind up their week at the club tomorrow when they sit in on the final team meeting of the week and then observe training.