Nine of Essendon's most senior players watched last week's clash with the Lions from the comfort of Andrew Welsh's lounge room in Melbourne. And they liked what they saw.
 
According to Welsh, senior players like captain Matthew Lloyd, Mark McVeigh and Scott Lucas were impressed by the way the young Bombers notched up a 27-point victory.

 

""The senior guys were very impressed by the young guys and excited about the new opportunities coming up for the team,"" Welsh said.

 

""It was great to see the boys carrying out the stuff we have been working on and seeing it being done so well was even better.

 

""I think the senior guys coming back to play tomorrow night will want to take the lead from the young guys last week who showed us how to do it.

 

""It was good to see them out there showing what they can do when there might have been a few question marks over some of those guys a few years ago. It gives us older guys confidence that Knighta (Matthew Knights) is pushing us in the right direction.

 

""Watching those senior guys that did play adapt and adjust so quickly to the new game plan and structure Knighta has put in place over the past 3-4 months - especially guys who have been there quite a while like David Hille, Damien Peverill and Jason Johnson - was also a real positive.""

 

Welsh said five senior players agreed with Knights it would be best for the team for them to miss the first NAB Cup game to give the young guys a run and see how they go.

 

""Some of the younger players will now be rested and older guys given a game to make sure we all get the run we need leading into Round 1 of the season,"" he said.

 

""We want to get three solid games into each player before the season starts. That would be a good base and we would have enough match preparation and knowledge of the game plan and our team-mates going into the season.""

 

Having recently turned 25 and after playing over 100 games for the Bombers, Welsh says that this year the focus has been on skills and taking on opposition players.

 

""Training has been as hard as it has been in other years but we have been really focusing on improving our skill execution. The squad is feeling fresh and there is a new approach around the club,"" he said.  

 

""Players like Jay Nash and Courtenay Dempsey have been encouraged to take people on and we have the players to do that. I think our forward structure is also looking good and gives us confidence to really want to take teams on.

 

""Sometimes we looked slow last year because our execution of kicks and handballs wasn't where it should have been and slowed us down. It's pretty much been back to basics in pre-season to pressure the other teams and build a basis for the season.

 

""You can see the foundation and the building blocks are starting to come through with the way the young blokes used the ball in Brisbane.

 

""It won't all come together straight away and you don’t want to play your best football in Round 1 of the NAB Cup but we are putting the foundation there.""

 

Welsh believes players who have been there a few years like himself, McVeigh, Lucas and Dustin Fletcher are ready to stand up and bring the young guys with them to fill that void following the retirement of James Hird.

 

""Sometimes we stood back and might have let him deal with the situation but now we need to step up and I think we are ready to do that,"" he said.

 

The full interview will be available soon on Bomber.tv