“My form hasn’t been great but statistically I don’t think it was as poor as some people might have thought but there were expectations there and obviously I didn’t meet those. I don’t think I have been able to string games together in the past couple of seasons and that makes it hard – it gets very frustrating,” Mercuri said.
In 2001 Mercuri missed five games with a knee injury that required arthroscopic surgery. Last season he again required surgery on a troublesome groin – that cost him 12 weeks in total. But now the body feels good and Mercuri says that is the most important thing as he aims to find some consistent form.
“The main thing is my body. If that is feeling good then I have more confidence to go out and twist and turn and do all those things without feeling sore or being restricted in any way. As each week passes it feels better and better. I had an interrupted pre-season but I’m feeling good now,” he said.
And Essendon fans saw evidence of that twisting and turning last weekend against Hawthorn. Mercuri kicked a sensational goal in the third quarter – it was vintage Mercs. Seemingly trapped by opposition defenders, Mercuri danced his way around them before slotting a right-foot snap through the middle.
“I just want to get back to being consistent – it is as simple as that. All the good players are consistent – they are on the top six or even the top 10 every week and that is all I want. I don’t want to be up one week and down the next,” Mercuri said.
And when he has been down, Mercuri has found many allies among the Essendon playing group. He is greatly respected by those he runs out with each week and just as the coach never lost faith, neither have his teammates.
“We always discuss how things are going among the playing group. I suppose you tend to talk a little bit more to the blokes who are in the same boat and perhaps struggling a bit as well. It helps to talk about it but once again I don’t go out of my way. I tend to deal with these things internally,” he said. “Steve Alessio and Joey (Misiti) are light-hearted sort of guys – they don’t take life too seriously. They help put life into perspective.”
As has always been the case, Mercuri has been more concerned about the form of the team rather than himself in recent years. As a youngster, Mercuri was one of the Baby Bombers that helped deliver an unlikely Premiership to the club in 1993. He sees similarities in the current group.
“I can’t see why not, we have a similar sort of blend of youth and experience. And the way we have started as well is quite similar in that we haven’t set the world of fire and we are just going along steadily. We have had some bad losses but we have had some good wins as well. I think we just need to get everyone out there and fit – we need blokes to string together five, six and seven games in a row from both a fitness and confidence point of view. If we can do that I think we should be okay,” he said.
“We were ordinary at the start of 1993 – I think were had something like three wins and four losses after seven rounds. We just have to make sure we (the older players) are the constant in the side in terms of our form because you expect young players are going to be a little bit up and down with their form. But we need those younger blokes as well – we need them to create that enthusiasm and excitement around the place.”
Whether it was the euphoria of the 1993 Premiership or the frustration of injury, Mark Mercuri has never enjoyed the limelight. He has always let his actions do the talking. Essendon Football Club has received countless requests to speak to Mercuri but he prefers to simply go about his business.
“Whether I have been going well or not I just don’t enjoy being in the spotlight. I don’t have a grudge against the media and I just like to play football and keep to myself,” Mercuri said.
But Mercs was happy to talk to Essendon fans via the BomberLand website and I'm sure everyone hopes we see the best of Mercuri for the remainder of 2003 and beyond.
