Assistant coach Mark Harvey said that Lloyd was one of the major reasons that Essendon was still in the match at half-time after kicking five goals in the first half.
""He basically took over as captain after Hird got injured and we had a tape before the game and Matthew featured in that. Whatever he said in that tape, he fulfilled. It was a great sign of character that he produced that type of performance for Hird,"" Harvey said.
Lloyd said that the team was desperate to win for Hird’s 200 game milestone and even more so once he left the field with injury. ""It was fantastic to win for James even though he wasn’t there, but it was disappointing that it was my man that crashed into him, so it was something I couldn’t forget and really wanted to win for him,"" Lloyd said.
""It was fantastic considering we had lost three in a row and we were under pressure. They kicked the first three goals and to lose players of the quality that we did with a few missing already meant that today was a really good win for the club.""
Essendon’s focus is now on this week’s game against West Coast. The Bombers will travel to Perth on Wednesday evening in preparation for the Round 16 match. Friday night’s game will be the first game in what is shaping up to be a tough month for Essendon. After West Coast, they face St Kilda and then Port Adelaide. ""They are three tough sides and it is really going to test us,"" Lloyd said.
