Essendon legend Matthew Lloyd has put the warmth on the membership’s present crop of gamers to take possession and “stop blaming others” as they give the impression of being to show their fortunes round.
The Bombers had a torrid 2022 season, which resulted in senior coach Ben Rutten being sacked and a widespread exterior assessment revealing a number of issues each on and off the sphere which had plagued the membership.
There’s a sense round Essendon {that a} new leaf has been turned in 2023 underneath new coach Brad Scott and nearly a wholly new administrative crew in cost off the sphere, however some followers have felt barely disillusioned on the pre-season marketing campaign which ended with a loss to St Kilda on the weekend.
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Lloyd, who performed within the membership’s final victorious ultimate in 2004, has been vocal about his membership’s struggles in previous seasons, and questioned the psychological toughness of the present crop of stars.
“It’s time to stop blaming others. It’s time for the players to take control of their club and go: ‘You know what, we haven’t been tough enough, we haven’t been mentally tough enough, strong enough, on field’,” he instructed 3AW’s Vast World of Sports activities Radio.
“I remember how strong I was on the Dylan Shiel moment last year because they got walked all over. You can’t do that. Your pride should say: ‘We just can’t accept being walked all over’.
“A harder, nastier model I’m hoping we see from the Bombers this yr.”
Essendon has the third-youngest list in the AFL and while Lloyd understands that it will be a process to see his side be a consistent premiership threat, he said the effort level should be a non-negotiable.
“It is a new season … it should take a while,” he said.
“What I’ve misplaced with Essendon is, you simply do not know what you will get if you flip up. You wish to flip up and go: ‘We all know that 90 per cent they are going to put in an effort that you just stroll away going, they could not have tried any tougher’.
“They are a bit young, but that (effort) hasn’t been there for a long, long time.”
Essendon will start its dwelling and away marketing campaign when it faces arch-rivals Hawthorn on the MCG on Sunday, March 19.
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