""Andrew Lovett and Jason Laycock have got the challenge of backing up what they did last weekend against a side that is physically much stronger than any other side in the AFL,"" Hird said.
""But these are the test you want as a young footballer against a side that has thrown its weight around fantastically well. You have got to throw kids in and give them a chance. We have got no other option. We haven’t got six 200-game players waiting in the wings to come into the side. We have got what we have got and last weekend a couple of our youngsters were very good.""
""You know Brisbane are going to give you a good game. This game last year it was a good game in the first half and they just blew us away in the second half. We will have to look at a different way of approaching it.
""They have lost some very good players and they have go to find some players to replace them – they are a good side and will do a pretty good job of covering. Our team has changed dramatically in recent times as well so you can’t really look to far back into history and saying it one side has it over the other.""
Hird said the return of Dean Rioli had been a bonus for the Bombers but added that Brisbane’s Jonathon Brown would also make his mark on Saturday night – he will just need to be careful not to attract the attention of the umpires.
""Dean was great, he has terrific skills and he can hit bodies hard. He only played for 60 minutes last weekend and that is all he might give us this weekend but he is the sort of player we need to keep out on the park. He was great when he was on the ground,"" he said.
""He (Brown) is still going to play aggressively. He is an aggressive player – if he tones it down a couple of per cent and doesn’t get reported, that is probably what Brisbane are looking for. But they will still want him to be aggressive and powerful and dominate games like he can.""
Brisbane captain Michael Voss expects the match to draw a big crowd.
""In recent times we have had some good games and some tough games and we really enjoy playing them. We have played in a Grand Final and I think that is why people love to get to these games and talk about them and it is why we as players love being a part of them,"" Voss said.
In other news, Hird said he was concerned about his ineligibility to win the Brownlow Medal, said Kevin Sheedy’s criticism of Damian Cupido had put every player on notice and defended his coach in the wake of Joe Misiti’s suggestion his message might now be stale.
""If you commit the crime it is probably fair enough. The review panel thought I had done the wrong thing and I was lucky enough to get a reprimand – it was probably a fair result,"" Hird said.
""What Sheeds is doing is saying that he isn’t going to put up with players who aren’t giving him 100%. Damian by his own admission probably hasn’t given his all and Sheeds has said to him that if he wants to stay at Essendon Football Club he has to do that. It was pretty harsh on Damian but it has got everyone on their toes – and it is also up to the rest of the players to get Damian up again.""
""Joe is entitled to his opinion and probably for Joe, Sheeds’ message had gone a bit stale. When you have been at a club for long time – 14 years in my case – you do also need to listen to other people and that is why he gets great assistants around him.
""For the guys who have been there one or two years he is on the money. He doesn’t direct a lot of what he says at team meetings to the guys that have been there as long time. He finds new ways to motivate players and he will keep doing that for a long time to come yet.""
