Essendon coach Brad Scott has warned Zach Reid he’ll “drive him insane” along with his cautious long-term planning for the 202cm key defender.
Scott says Reid has been declared match to play by the membership’s medical workers however the Bombers will make him get via one other week of coaching earlier than he can return through the VFL subsequent weekend.
The 21-year-old, who has performed eight video games together with seven final 12 months, is a major supply of pleasure however must be fastidiously managed to make sure sustained success, Scott mentioned.
“I’ve said to (Reid) repeatedly that I’m going to drive him insane over the short-term because we’re just really focused on the medium to long-term with him,” he mentioned.
“He’s medically clear to play but we think another solid week of training, and then he’ll play the following week.
“Hopefully not too long a block (in the reserves), but certainly some VFL footy before he’s considered for AFL selection.”
While Scott is happy by Reid’s potential, he mentioned there was no strain on him to have an instantaneous affect when he returns to the senior stage.
“We’re not pushing him to come on really quickly … you look at a lot of the talls across the competition … Reidy is a very capable player and one that you very quickly as a coach get excited about, but talls can take a bit longer,” he mentioned.
“We’re really keen to just get that block of work into him so when he does come in, he stays in.
“Patrick Voss is another one in the VFL who has been playing really well, but we just want to set them up to succeed when they come in.”
Scott mentioned Alwyn Davey Jr can be match to play in opposition to Melbourne on Saturday afternoon after he damage his shoulder within the win over GWS final weekend, whereas he mentioned gun midfielder Ben Hobbs was firmly within the choice body after he had 27 disposals, 9 clearances, seven tackles and a purpose within the VFL on Sunday.
“The guys, other than Weideman who won’t play in the concussion protocols, everyone has pulled up really well from the game, so we’ll just manage their training load today, only because of the short break rather than how they’ve pulled up,” Scott mentioned.
“Our message to our players is to control what they can control and to be ready when their opportunity comes up.
“Hobbsy had a really untimely rolled ankle at training, and he missed a week when he was playing really well, but he’s come back into the VFL and hasn’t missed a beat, so he’s firmly in our selection calculations.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
