MATTHEW Knights’ ascension to the top job at Essendon has ushered in a new era of brutal honesty at Windy Hill which Matthew Lloyd says can only help the club as it looks to climb up the ladder next season.
The Essendon skipper is participating in his first pre-season not overseen by former mentor Kevin Sheedy and says the differences in their respective approaches have been striking.
“We probably haven’t been honest enough with each other over the years because we were a bit worried about hurting players’ feelings,” Lloyd said from Windy Hill on Tuesday.
“We do probably meet a lot more often [now], we watch a lot more training, we go through things that players won’t be doing. It think everyone’s taken on board that we just need to get better, so [I’m] just happy to keep pushing the messages he’s looking for.
“It’s been fantastic, I think, for all the guys. Whether you’re in your first year or your 10th or 11th, you’ve got to prove yourself all over again, everyone’s not sure whether they’ll be there come round one and we’ve all got different roles that different players will be playing, so there’s a great vibe.
“I think everyone just saw with losing a player of Mark Johnson’s quality and Kepler Bradley who [is just] a 21-year-old that he’s not going to tolerate anything from players.
Everyone is fortunate to still be on the list and you’ve got to do the things he wants from you.
“We realise we’ve been bottom four for three years [which is] pretty average and there’s a few of us – myself, Dustin Fletcher, Mal Michael and Scotty Lucas – we haven’t got that long left so we want to not just make this a development year, but actually play finals footy.”
Lloyd, 29, expects to play about ‘80 per cent’ of his game time close to goal next season, but said Knights, who has turned up the intensity of training sessions, was working hard on fixing a few issues at the opposite end of the ground.
“I think we had too many goals kicked against us [last season] so there’s a massive emphasis on the defensive part of our game,” he said.
“We’ll keep the attack that we’ve got, but the defensive area and stopping the goals is a major part of everyone’s defensive actions which they have to do to get a game next year.”
Having just finished a light skills session on the oval, the playing group moved into the cricket nets to help launch a six-a-side cricket match between an Essendon team and a Brett Lee-led Australian side on Friday, December 21.
Lloyd is the chairman of selectors for the annual charity event and immediately declared Brent Stanton out of the running after the young midfielder took his skipper’s cap off with a wicked square cut as he spoke to the media.
It’s been a big week for the 21-year-old who was handed retired legend James Hird’s No.5 guernsey, and Lloyd backed him to do the number justice as the Bombers embark on a new era.
“We just feel Stants is a real gun of the midfield in the whole competition and I reckon he’ll be one of our key leaders over the coming years,” he said.
“He’s the one who Hirdy wanted to wear his jumper and Hirdy’s not the type to put away numbers either so it’s great for him.”
http://www.afl.com.au/Default.aspx?tabid=208&newsId=54005
The Essendon skipper is participating in his first pre-season not overseen by former mentor Kevin Sheedy and says the differences in their respective approaches have been striking.
“We probably haven’t been honest enough with each other over the years because we were a bit worried about hurting players’ feelings,” Lloyd said from Windy Hill on Tuesday.
“We do probably meet a lot more often [now], we watch a lot more training, we go through things that players won’t be doing. It think everyone’s taken on board that we just need to get better, so [I’m] just happy to keep pushing the messages he’s looking for.
“It’s been fantastic, I think, for all the guys. Whether you’re in your first year or your 10th or 11th, you’ve got to prove yourself all over again, everyone’s not sure whether they’ll be there come round one and we’ve all got different roles that different players will be playing, so there’s a great vibe.
“I think everyone just saw with losing a player of Mark Johnson’s quality and Kepler Bradley who [is just] a 21-year-old that he’s not going to tolerate anything from players.
Everyone is fortunate to still be on the list and you’ve got to do the things he wants from you.
“We realise we’ve been bottom four for three years [which is] pretty average and there’s a few of us – myself, Dustin Fletcher, Mal Michael and Scotty Lucas – we haven’t got that long left so we want to not just make this a development year, but actually play finals footy.”
Lloyd, 29, expects to play about ‘80 per cent’ of his game time close to goal next season, but said Knights, who has turned up the intensity of training sessions, was working hard on fixing a few issues at the opposite end of the ground.
“I think we had too many goals kicked against us [last season] so there’s a massive emphasis on the defensive part of our game,” he said.
“We’ll keep the attack that we’ve got, but the defensive area and stopping the goals is a major part of everyone’s defensive actions which they have to do to get a game next year.”
Having just finished a light skills session on the oval, the playing group moved into the cricket nets to help launch a six-a-side cricket match between an Essendon team and a Brett Lee-led Australian side on Friday, December 21.
Lloyd is the chairman of selectors for the annual charity event and immediately declared Brent Stanton out of the running after the young midfielder took his skipper’s cap off with a wicked square cut as he spoke to the media.
It’s been a big week for the 21-year-old who was handed retired legend James Hird’s No.5 guernsey, and Lloyd backed him to do the number justice as the Bombers embark on a new era.
“We just feel Stants is a real gun of the midfield in the whole competition and I reckon he’ll be one of our key leaders over the coming years,” he said.
“He’s the one who Hirdy wanted to wear his jumper and Hirdy’s not the type to put away numbers either so it’s great for him.”
http://www.afl.com.au/Default.aspx?tabid=208&newsId=54005
