The players are well aware that they still have plenty to take out of the remainder of the season.

Despite Friday night’s big loss to the Hawks, young defender Marty Gleeson was adamant that the group would still continue to demand high standards from one another.

“It was obviously very disappointing to lose by that much in the end, but – I guess for us young guys – we’ve just got to try and keep playing every minute of every game,” said Gleeson

“There’s always opportunities to get better and improve . We’ve just got to try and keep doing that each week.

“We’ll get out there on the track and work hard. We’ve got to drive elite standards among each other, we’ve got to demand that from each other so we can go forward and improve.” 

Gleeson witnessed first hand the aggressive play that has seen Hawthorn become one of the elite teams in the competition.

The Hawks close to doubled Essendon’s inside 50s to generate 36 scoring opportunities in what was an extremely difficult night for the team's defenders. 

“It was pretty tough, they’re obviously a very good side,” said Gleeson

“Their ball movement has been the best in the competition for probably the last six years and we knew that going in. 

“It was just one of those games where a lot of things didn’t go our way. 

“It was very tough out there and we tried to battle it out until the end, but we’ve just got to get back and we’ve just got to work hard.” 

Coach John Worsfold also spoke of the expectations around attitude, preparation and effort that have been placed on the team. 

He believes that creating the correct attitude now will serve the players and the entire team well in the years to come. 

“We’re all in this together,” said Worsfold

“We’ve got senior players that we expect to play their role and we’ve got young developing players that we expect them to learn from this and still bring the right attitude. 

“It’s always challenging whenever you have big losses, but we’ve had a few of them this year. 

“That should not change our desire to improve and challenge each other in the way that we prepare, learn and train.

“It won’t get any easier on the players in terms of what we demand from them. 

“That’s the way that they’ve got to be whether they’re on the top of the ladder or whether they’re on the bottom of the ladder, there’s a certain mindset that you’ve got to have.” 

“That’s what we’re trying to build.”