Essendon Coach James Hird says the loss of Jobe Watson will open the door for other players to step up.
Watson sustained the orginal injury to his shoulder in the early stages of the round 13 game against Hawthorn and further aggravated the injury in Sunday’s loss to the Saints.
“Jobe is our captain and one of the best players in the competition,” Hird said.
“To lose him for the rest of the year is very disappointing for the team, but more so for Jobe.”
Acknowledging that the team will miss the captain’s presence on and off the field, Hird says his absence provides a great opportunity for other players to step-up and demonstrate their leadership qualities.
“Heppell and Stanton and Goddard have all been very good leaders for us this year,” Hird said.
“But obviously we’ll now need more from them this year.”
Dyson Heppell is no stranger to standing up in the captain’s absence. The star midfielder enjoyed a great patch of form last year while Watson spent a large period of time on the sideline with a hip injury.
The captain’s absence will also provide younger players such as Zach Merrett, Nick O’Brien and Elliott Kavanagh the opportunity to spend some time in the midfield, building valuable experience around the contest.
There are several Essendon VFL players who will be enthusiastically raising their hand for selection in the captain’s absence and fans may expect to see some other familiar faces return to the side.
“Someone like Alex Browne will get an opportunity hopefully this weekend to come into the team,” Hird said.
“The young players around the fringe should get some more time to spend in the middle.”
Despite the magnitude of the loss to St Kilda and Watson’s injury, Hird is confident the team can lift their performance.
“It’s our desire to turn it around,” Hird said.
“The weekend’s performance was very disappointing, but there’s always next week in football and that’s what we’re looking forward to.”
Essendon face Melbourne this Saturday in the 10th Annual ‘Clash for Cancer’ match at the MCG.
