Essendon’s midfield group will be looking to continue working hard on improving its work around the stoppages following a poor first half against Hawthorn on Friday night.

Assistant coach Simon Goodwin said the midfield improved in the second half but the focus was now becoming more consistent throughout the game.

“They were clearly beaten in the first half but they worked their way back into it in the second half.”

“I thought it was a really good effort by them in the end, I think they are slowly maturing as a group and understanding what it takes to be successful.”

One of the key players in the second half resurgence was David Myers who finished the game with 26 disposals.

“We were a bit sloppy around the contested ball and outnumbering at the stoppages,” Myers said.

“They were getting in first, getting it out to their runners and they are pretty dangerous those sort of guys.”

“We got a bit of a rocket (at half time) and had to tidy ourselves up in around the contests and when we did that the game shifted so that is probably what we will focus on moving forward.”

Myers said it was important the focus remained on the positives to come out of the game ahead of Sunday night’s clash against Carlton.

“In patches we did (play well, we were still a little bit inconsistent but it is disappointing to lose a game like that.”

“We battled really well to get back into the game and so it is a shame to finish the way we did but we can take a bit out of that game I think.”

“There is definitely a lot we can take out of that, and it is not often you are happy after a loss but there is plenty we can take out of that.”