“Apparently we have an ordinary mid-field - slow, not very good, no rucks and always second to the ball - so it is a bit of a worry! But we reckon we are alright in there - but don't tell anyone. Don't let it get out but we think we are a little bit better in there than we are given credit for. We think that with the likes of Mark Johnson, Jason Johnson, Misiti, Peverill, Mercuri, Solomon, Rioli, Hird and Ramanauskas all fit and available, we will be alright,"" Shaw said.
""We are making sure that when we get to the finals at the end of the year - we don't have three mid-fielders. And we have given young people opportunities in there like Jason Winderlich, Jordan Bannister, James Davies and Shane Harvey and we have let our old campaigners like Joey (Misiti) and Mark Mercuri keep going,"" said the former Essendon player. ""One of the reasons we lost against Fremantle was I personally thought we had too many young players in. We were trying to win the game and we had young Walsh and Bannister on the wings. Well maybe one on one wing but you need to balance it with some experienced players. Because of the injuries we had in that game and the players unavailable Joey and Jason (Johnson) had to go all day. They can't do that up against anyone.""
Essendon faces the challenge of playing fourth placed Port Adelaide tonight at the Dome. Port Adelaide are renowned for their work at ground level and pace through the mid-field. Led by the likes of Nick Stevens, Roger James, Josh Carr and Jarod Schofield whatever Essendon players line-up in the centre tonight - one thing for sure is they will have their work cut out for them. Shaw is confident that Mark Johnson will be one of those players. ""We will be moving heaven and earth this week and next week against two very strong mid-fields to keep Mark Johnson in the mid-field.""
The Bomber mid-field is strengthened with the likes of Mark Johnson, however Essendon supporters might question if the 25-year-old is of better use in the back pocket - especially playing Port Adelaide who have a number of small forwards who are dangerous at ground level. Is it better for the team balance for Mark Johnson to take one of the Burgoyne brothers or Che Cockatoo-Collins? It is the $64 question at the moment - but with Andrew Welsh, Mark McVeigh and Danny Jacobs in solid form in defence it does free Johnson up to move into the mid-field.
The question of Mark Johnson starting in the engine room will be answered tonight at 7.40pm when the ball is bounced at The Dome. But Shaw is certain that come September Essendon’s stocks in the mid-field will be able to match it with the best in the competition. ""Eventually - whether it is short term or a little bit longer down the track, Essendon will have a potent mid-field because that is what we are working towards. It would be nice to have all players on deck in big games to be able to test what we have developed.""
