Young gun Zach Merrett says the club’s focus has quickly shifted to the challenge of taking on arch rival Carlton on Saturday afternoon.
Off the back of a two-point win against reigning premiers Hawthorn, Merrett said his teammates would now move their attention to the blockbuster match against the Blues at the MCG.
“We have a tough game this week against Carlton and they’ll obviously be out there with a point to prove but we’re really looking forward to the challenge,” Merrett said.
“The win on the weekend (against Hawthorn) was a great feeling for all Bombers supporters.
“And obviously we’re thrilled that we got such a good win... but we also know it’s only Round 2 and we can’t get too carried away.
Speaking with Sportsday radio on Tuesday evening, Merrett revealed that the club’s senior players had developed a strong ‘culture’ of developing the younger players on the list.
Merrett, who racked up 26 disposals including five marks and an important goal over Hawthorn, said the experience of Jobe Watson, Dyson Heppell and Brendon Goddard was invaluable for the club’s younger brigade.
“I think the senior guys have really started to develop a fantastic culture of helping the younger boys at the club – they’re giving off all their knowledge to us and we’re very fortunate and we’re obviously blessed to have guys like Cooney, Goddard and Chapman who have all come in to the club,” Merrett said.
“I’ve been trying to learn as much as I can from the likes of Jobe Watson while he’s still around and the likes of Dyson Heppell and David Myers.
“At the moment I’m still trying to learn my craft and get as much as I can out of my football and learning off coaches such as James Hird, Mark Harvey etc too.
“But they’ve all been fantastic with their experience and especially for us younger, first to third year players; they’ve all really helped us a lot."