Brent Prismall says it was the Bombers’ can-do attitude that allowed them to seal an upset win over St Kilda yesterday to end the Saints 19-game winning streak.
“It was fantastic to get the win,” Prismall said.
“It was obviously a big challenge going in but we were pretty confident that we could match it with them. We had a lot of doubters out there leading into the game and I guess we silenced the critics.
The Bombers have shown their ability to run with the top sides in the competition this season with solid showings over rivals Carlton, Collingwood and Hawthorn.
Prismall believes yesterday’s two-point victory over the benchmark of the competition further reiterated Essendon’s ability to challenge the league’s best teams but says the side needs to replicate that form against Fremantle this Sunday to strengthen their hopes of playing finals.
“We obviously beat St Kilda yesterday and we played pretty well against them earlier in the year,” Prismall said.
“When we are up and going we play well but it is just a consistency thing for us at the moment and hopefully we can break that against Fremantle this weekend because obviously it shapes as another really important game for us.
“Yesterday’s win was up there with the best games I have experienced - to beat an undefeated side and hopefully give ourselves an opportunity to play finals.”
Several injuries to key players slightly soured the Bombers’ win. Dustin Fletcher and Courtenay Dempsey both left the ground with hamstring injuries and Patrick Ryder was sidelined with a knee injury, however scans today revealed Fletcher had no muscle damage and will be clinically assessed this week. Dempsey and Patrick Ryder will undergo MRI scans later today.
“As a player you don’t really notice the injuries but for the coaches it throws out the whole rotations,” Prismall said.
