And it was the performance of the Bombers’ youngsters that has given Essendon fans plenty to look forward to in 2007. Leroy Jetta and Alwyn Davey showed genuine speed and ensured there was nothing predictable about the Bombers when they went forward.
Tom Hislop and Bachar Houli also played their part in a match that was full of positives for Essendon. James Hird got through in second gear and kicked two goals, Scott Lucas and Courtney Johns looked dangerous up forward and kicked seven goals between them and Mal Michael was excellent early.
""I thought our young players showed some pleasing signs. Bachar (Houli) ran very well and Leroy Jetta gave us a taste of what we hope he can produce for us,"" Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy said. ""We wanted to win tonight because we need to start winning again and i was really pleased from that point of view.""
""I hope Essendon fans got a little bit excited by tonight. We need to excite them because the past couple of seasons have not seen us win enough game. We have been patient, made some changes to our list and hopefully we are getting back to the sort of team that can be very competitive.""
Mark McVeigh, Henry Slattery and Jason Winderlich also played some very good football. It was a great return for Winderlich, particularly given he missed so much of last season with a broken leg. He spent most of the night running off half-back and that may be where he spends much of this season.
The sight of Adam McPhee steaming off half-back would also have heartened Essendon supporters. Back to full fitness, McPhee was outstanding providing terrific rebound all night and was probably Essendon’s best player. He might just be on the verge of returning to the sort of form that won him a Crichton Medal.
Rookie Heath Hocking and another youngster Sam Lonergan also showed some good signs. Hocking was poised in heavy traffic while Lonergan won some important hard balls early which set the tone for the rest of the night.
Importantly Essendon got through the night injury free.
