Essendon coach John Worsfold is focused more on the benefits of mid-season breaks than match-day momentum as he works to maintain his team’s revival.
Worsfold says the Bombers are fresh and ready after an AFL fixture anomaly that provided them with extended rests either side of the win against West Coast in Perth last Thursday night.
The Bombers had 11 days to prepare for the daunting assignment to play the then ladder leaders in Perth after a successful trip to Brisbane.
Now they will have enjoyed 10 days off before facing North Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.
“That’s a good thing. With a 14-day break, you can really freshen up and the two longer breaks for us has worked really well for us,” Worsfold told reporters on Thursday.
“… we’re building confidence in each other and the way we want to play.’
Worsfold was non-commital on whether Kangaroos’ gun forward Ben Brown, the AFL leading goalkicker, was the first priority in pre-game planning for this round.
“As senior coach, I’m looking across the board and each of the other coaches would be looking in their specific areas,” he said.
“Mark Harvey (backline coach) would be having a good look at Ben Brown’s form and how he has been playing and how they set up around such a form target for them.
“But (Shaun) Higgins and (Ben) Cunnington (are dangerous), their backline has been really solid, they are playing really good footy and are well structured across the field.”
The Bombers coach did acknowledge that defender Cale Hooker was an option to try to curb the powerful-marking Brown.
Ruckman Tom Bellchambers, who won the battle against West Coast ace Nic Naitanui, has extended his contract for another two years on the eve of his critical duel with big Roo Todd Goldstein.
Bellchambers, 28, has missed only one game this season and he averages 32 hitouts and 11 disposals in the absence of injury-prone ruck partner Matthew Leuenberger.
“Your ruckman is a really important part of your gameplan and helps your midfields in their roles,” said Worsfold.
“His ruck work has been the best it has been and his form around the ground has been outstanding as well.”