FIRST-time Essendon coach Matthew Knights said seeing his inexperienced midfielders lead the way in Saturday night’s 27-point NAB Cup win over the Brisbane Lions was the most pleasing aspect of his debut victory.
Knights admitted to being nervous “for the players” before the match, but said seeing the majority of his young guns star in the 2.11.16 (100) to 2.8.7 (73) win warmed his heart.
He made special mention of Angus Monfries, Heath Hocking, Sam Lonergan, Bachar Houli and Ricky Dyson, who were all shining lights at the Gold Coast Stadium.
“I feel good because we had a good win,” Knights said.
“I said to the players after the game that it was a great result to come up here and travel and win. No matter what team you bring, whether it’s an experienced team or a young team, you play to win and you play hard.
“They came out with plenty of enthusiasm and there was plenty of recognition with what was going on so it’s a pleasing start, but it’s just a start.
“It’s a foundation and we have a long way to go.”
Knights said his major aim of the season opener was to give himself another six or eight options to choose from when it came to selecting the round one team against the Kangaroos.
With Houli (25 touches), Courtenay Dempsey (19), Hocking (19) and Lonergan (15) all successfully rotating through the midfield at various stages, it appears that goal has been met.
“There was certainly some young players that played well, but now they’ve got to do it consistently for the next month to prove their worth before round one,” Knights said.
“(They) really showed bits and pieces of good play. I wouldn’t say all of them had the full package tonight, but they showed bits and pieces
“Courtenay Dempsey, it’s been well publicised that he had horrific injuries last year with his hamstring, we couldn’t get any training volume into him at all, but thankfully this year he has had a full pre-season and he is showing some good dash at times.”
Knights was pleased with the team’s disposal, an area he said he had specifically targetted in the off-season.
“One of my philosophies when I was appointed, one of our pillars that had to be improved, was our skill level, hitting our targets, and i thought it was better tonight than last week in our practise match,” he said.
“We turned the ball over at times too often last year which hurt us, and it hurt Mal Michael and Dustin Fletcher.
“As key backs when you turn it over it makes it very difficult for those blokes.”
On a sour note for the Bombers, young Scott Gumbleton was struck down with a hamstring injury, and Knights said he was “really disappointed” for a player he rated highly.
Johns had a hip problem, while captain Adam McPhee was suffering tightness, but both were expected to be fit for next week.
Other than injured Jason Winderlich and regular skipper Matthew Lloyd, all absent first-team players on Saturday night are expected to play next week.
