Essendon coach Brad Scott says the Bombers will cross their fingers for vital defender Jordan Ridley after an obvious quad pressure within the loss to the Bulldogs.
Ridley, who had been the Bombers’ finest with 29 disposals and 14 marks earlier than he suffered the damage whereas kicking within the closing quarter, shall be despatched for scans on Monday.
His setback comes forward of a must-win conflict with Sydney at Marvel Stadium subsequent week, with Essendon now left with no room for error within the race for a finals spot following a efficiency towards the Bulldogs which Scott labelled “flat”.
He stated he was extra disenchanted by the hassle from his aspect than he was after the 77-point thrashing towards Geelong the week earlier than.
“I think it’s the first time I thought we just looked flat … which probably is a strange thing to say given last week, but last week I thought we were just comprehensively outplayed in every facet of the game by a better team,” Scott stated.
“Geelong are where we want to be, and we’re striving to close that gap, and we also need to close the gap to the Bulldogs.”
Scott stated he was thrilled with Ridley’s efficiency towards Bulldogs spearhead Aaron Naughton earlier than the damage, which he confirmed was a mushy tissue damage relatively than a corky.
“It looks like a quad strain, but we’ll do the usual, get it scanned and get back to you with the detail of it … he did it kicking, so it wasn’t a cork,” he stated.
“We’ll just get it scanned and hope he’s OK. I’ve been watching as a footy fan Naughton vs. Ridley over the last few years, and (Ridley) was great tonight.
“Naughton had his moments too, Ugle-Hagan … they’ve got some real capability forward of the ball, so I didn’t think it was our defenders that were the issue tonight.”
Scott stated he would make no excuses for Jake Stringer’s lacklustre efficiency, after the dynamic Bomber managed solely eight disposals at 38 per cent effectivity.
Stringer began the sport strongly and performed via the center however didn’t attend one other centre bounce after his first three, with Scott conceding he might have been affected by accidents.
“He’s playing, so anyone who plays is fit. Every player at this stage of the season is carrying something, and Jake’s no different to that, but it’s the old adage – we make a decision to play him, and that’s a joint decision,” Scott stated.
“Jake would say himself, when you declare yourself fit to play … Jake will never make excuses, and he wouldn’t want me to make excuses for him either.
“We’ll have to think through that, as to whether the niggles that players carry at different stages impact their performance to the point that maybe you have to think about having a week to get it right.
“I didn’t think our forward line looked dangerous enough tonight, and that wasn’t just Jake.”
Source: www.news.com.au
