Essendon Coach James Hird has dismissed concerns Jake Carlisle is not enjoying his time at the club.
After a wayward night in front of goal against Richmond and then failing to kick a major against Geelong, one news organisation alleged Carlisle is unhappy at the Bombers but Hird said that’s not the case.
“He seems in a very good headspace,” Hird said.
“I’m not sure who made those comments about him being not happy playing forward but they’re bordering on ridiculous.”
Carlisle is continuing to lead the Bomber forward line after he was shifted from defence last season.
“As early as Tuesday night, Jake was committed to being a star forward in the AFL and that’s what he wants to do,” Hird said.
“Out of his mouth was ‘I want to be the best forward in the competition and I want to do it at Essendon’.
“It’s not necessarily truth that hits the headlines and sells papers.”
Essendon has lost four of its past five matches and will be looking to win its first interstate match of the season when it takes on West Coast on Saturday.
Jobe Watson returns after missing last week through injury and Shaun Edwards has been selected for his first match with the club.
“We’ve trained hard. When you’re in a bit of a form slump the only way out is to train hard and that’s what our players have done,” Hird said.
“The form on the track has been excellent. The enthusiasm around the place has been great, so all indications from training and the way guys are going about things is excellent.
Hird has spent time out of the coaches’ box and led the side from the interchange bench over the last month.
The Essendon Coach said there are benefits to both methods and he may continue to do try both locations when the side plays at Domain Stadium on Saturday.
“You sit up in the box you see the whole game, you understand what’s going on in the game. You can from a strategic point of view create things or make things happen,” he said.
“The other thing with players is they’re people.
“At certain times it helps to communicate with them directly and look them in the eye and talk to them about things and also ask them what’s happening.
“I think the majority of the time most people would say that coaching from the box is better but there are occasions, different times in a season, different times in a year where you want to be down on the boundary line when you talk to your players.”
The Bombers are continuing to play and train as WADA’s appeal against the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal’s verdict that cleared the playing group plays out in the background.
He said one of the best ways to get through the situation was to play well on the field.
“You don’t shy away from the fact this thing is still going on,” Hird said.
“The players are understanding that they need to perform.
“Our football club needs it, our supporters need it and they need it.
“The performance out on the field actually helps a lot and the performance on the training track helps a lot with dealing with the issue that is not going to go away for a long time.”
