When the AFL fixture came out late last year, one of the first details most people looked at was who was the unlucky club to score the round 24 bye.
Watch James Hird's post-match press conference now on BomberTV ?
Known in its previous incarnation in the early 90s for unsettling momentum, the bye was seen as a disruption and to have the last week off before a potential finals campaign would be far from ideal.
But Essendon, who was given the final week of the home and away season off, will see the coming break as a welcome relief, according to coach James Hird.
""I think it's absolutely perfect. I think our boys are tired. I think they've had a massive year and I think that a week off will do them a lot of good. It would give us a chance to rest some guys who need some rest and have some niggling injuries,"" Hird said.
And that was not improvised either, as Hird said he had identified the bye as an advantage from early on in the campaign.
""We thought at the start of the year it was going to be a real positive for us if we could make the finals and have that week off,"" he said.
""At the moment I still think that. In two weeks time I might not but at the moment I think it's a really good thing for our players that they get a bit of pressure taken off them for a week where they can really recover well.""
The Bombers' final game of the home and away season was probably the least convincing of their 11 wins in 2011 as they came from behind to defeat bottom of the ladder Port Adelaide by just seven points.
It was very much a game of momentum, with the pendulum swinging drastically on several occasions.
""A whole game like that would be fatal (in finals). We didn't adapt to the way they played against us well enough and we weren't able to dictate on our own terms,"" he said.
""All credit should go to Matty Primus and Port Adelaide, they copped a lot and they should get a bit of respect for that game.""
Since he was appointed Essendon coach almost 12 months ago, Hird has made a conscious effort to hose down the hype generated by the Bomber faithful. But with September action finally locked in for certain, he admitted to a sense of joy and achievement.
""We're excited about being there. But I don't think we're there as outsiders or to make up the numbers I think the way our season has gone the sides we've played, we've beaten two of the top four, we've drawn with Carlton,"" he said.
""I think you've got to look at our season in its entirety rather than the last two and a half hours. There's been some really good football played and the side we played against played better than us for the majority of the game tonight.""
