Essendon coach James Hird hopes his much-improved midfield start getting the plaudits they deserve after Saturday night’s AFL belting of West Coast.
Star midfield trio Jobe Watson, David Zaharakis and Brent Stanton had 104 disposals between them as the Bombers blitzed the previously unbeaten Eagles 16.17 (113) to 7.10 (52) at Etihad Stadium.
But Hird said Essendon’s midfield now stretched well beyond those three in-form players, listing Sam Lonergan, Ben Howlett, Angus Monfries and Jake Melksham as other valuable contributors.
While the Bombers entered the season with questions over how their midfield compared to the competition’s elite, Hird said they had been strong all season.
“There’s no doubt our midfield this year have won most of the games they’ve played in,” Hird told reporters.
“They’re a very good midfield group, they don’t get the credit they deserve.
“But the way they play and the way they control the contested football the way they did (against West Coast) and the clearances was very pleasing.”
Hird said his team still needed more midfielders to reach “real A-grade” standard to match the likes of Carlton and Collingwood in that area.
Zaharakis, the club’s reigning best and fairest, appears to be one stepping up to that level.
Having had just one 30-plus possession game before this season, the 22-year-old has now achieved that feat in consecutive games, against Brisbane and the Eagles.
“His performances over the past two weeks have been outstanding,” Hird said.
“He was one of the main reasons we were able to break West Coast down in that second quarter and then really start to get on top in the third quarter.”
But Hird warned that his midfield would face a tough battle against improving Richmond on Saturday night.
The Bombers will be close to full strength, with Hird saying key forward Michael Hurley and backman Tayte Pears were ready to return from injury.