Q: What did you talk to Joe Misiti about this afternoon?
""We would like him to play better than he did last week. In all honesty he had a virus last week and missed a couple of training sessions. If I had known it was that seious I probably wouldn't have played him. He probably should have said to the selectors that he wasn't right - I think that would have been better. It is difficult to tell how well a person is sometimes if they aren't walking around with a broken arm or are on crutches. We will get a better performance out of Joe Misiti tonight,"" Sheedy said.
""Not many players have last more than 10 years but Joe is only 28. He would want to play for another three years but if you want to do that you really have to play well every week. Look, he is a really good player and a terrific person and I popped around to his place today and also spoke with Mark Mercuri and Paul Barnard - they all want to play well tonight.
""Joe very rarely struggles to get a kick - he is one of those players that finds the football fairly regularly. I wouldn't be surprised if Barnard, Mercuri and Misiti all play well tonight. They know the pressure is on Essendon and that we have a number of players out of the side. We need every player to stand up for this club tonight.""
Q: It is an enormous game for both sides?
""Whoever loses tonight is really going to have to fight very hard for the remainder of the year to play in the finals. One club is going to have to string some wins together during the middle part of the season and with the competition the way it is, that is very difficult to do. It puts a lot of pressure on the loser of tonight's game. Then again, 11 wins might be enough to make the eight,"" Sheedy said.
Q: Do you have any concerns with players milking free kicks?
""It is only my opinion, but after watching a lot of videos of the first seven rounds, I really think a lot of players are starting to put their heads down and not necessarily getting free kicks. I am just worried about us (a player) having a bad accident like we have in the past. I would hate to see someone badly injured and finish up in a wheelchair. All the coaches in the AFL need to make sure they are coaching that in the right way. Players should keep their heads up and hit players fair and square.""
Q: Will Hird and Lloyd miss tonight?
""I think there is a good chance that one of them will play and that one will probably be Matthew Lloyd. James Hird definitely won't play. We have so many important games coming up we can't afford to play blokes who are even 90% fit. Hawthorn have picked a running side and we can't handle that with players that aren't right. Hird was very close - he will play next week for sure.""
