The Essendon players and coaching staff today had an all-day training session at Windy Hill today to appraise where the club is at after seven rounds of the 2001 season. The day of team meetings and training sessions was designed to keep the players focussed on the job at hand. ""We hold these days a few time during each season just so we can take a step back and have a look at where we are,"" Essendon football manager Matthew Drain said. ""We look at all aspects of football including an appraisal of our team goals and what we want to achieve for the remainder of the season.""

Drain said that sometimes in the daily grind of football you can lose focus and forget what has led to the team success of the past. ""We just sit down and look at the team rules and our key performance inidicators - have a look at what we are doing well and what we can do better. It's nothing earth-shattering but something we think is well worth doing,"" Drain said.

""We also have a look at how football is developing tactically during the season. It is important the players are aware of that and as a group we can ensure that we adapt to the changing style of football,"" Drain said.

Essendon will have its final hit-out prior to Sunday's Grand Final replay at Windy Hill this Friday afternoon at 3.00pm.