There were many highlights last Friday. Danny Jacobs was superb at full back, Scott Lucas showed just why he is among the 60 greatest players to ever pull on an Essendon guernsey and the Johnsons showed just how hard and important they are to the team. But there was one performance that warmed the hearts of all Essendon supporters and probably some impartial football fans as well and it came from Mark Mercuri. The smile on the faces of Essendon fans were matched only by the beaming grin of the man himself as he wandered off the MCG after a best-on-ground performance.
And it was a smile that said a lot. Yes, it was only one game of football, but you couldn’t help but feel Mercuri had not only proven a point to his growing band of critics but also to himself. It was the smile of a man who has had the weight of the world lifted from his shoulders. He could still play very good football when his side needed him most.
Mercuri also took a step towards vindicating the faith Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy has shown in him. He has had a tough couple of years – both on and off the field - since Essendon’s glorious season 2000. Last Friday night was both a blast from the past and a promise of what might lay ahead for the remainder of 2003. And it came following a heart-to-heart discussion with Sheedy on the eve of the match.
“We didn’t even really talk specifically about football. I think he just wanted to know where I was at and how I was thinking about football, and even life to an extent. We just chatted for an hour or so and it was really good,” Mercuri said. “As a player you just need to know the coach has got confidence in you. At times, given my form, I didn’t even deserve a game but he has stood by me.”
“The mind hasn’t been great over the last couple of years. But this year I really feel like I have cleared the head and I don’t have anything weighing me down and that really helps.”
Mercuri has been as frustrated as anyone with his form of the past two seasons and he says while there have been some mitigating circumstances, the criticism levelled at him has been largely understandable.
“I think I deserved some the criticism I got and you just cop it on the chin. That is the sort of industry we are in and you are a public figure and with that comes the scrutiny. I’ve accepted that criticism and some of it was well deserved,” Mercuri said.
“The injuries haven’t made it any easier but people can only judge you on what they see. Once you are out on the ground you are fit as far as they are concerned. Players understand that you need to string games together and how that helps your fitness, confidence and hardness. It can be tough when you are down on confidence.”
Despite the tough times, Mercuri said he has simply tried to concentrate on doing the right things.
“Even when my form wasn’t so good I have still wanted to be around the football club. I suppose the last couple of years the enjoyment hasn’t been there as much. I just thought to myself that if I keep doing the right things, hopefully things would turn around. Now I just want to keep improving,” Mercuri said.
Tomorrow, Mark Mercuri talks about the injuries that have plagued him for the past two seasons and the current Essendon team that he thinks is capable of emulating what the Bombers of 1993 achieved.
