Essendon great Tim Watson is hoping to see a more consistent brand of football from his former side during the upcoming Marsh Community Series.
The Bombers will take on West Coast on February 27 before facing Geelong on March 8 in their two pre-season matches, with Watson hoping adjustments have been made to Essendon’s game plan during the off-season.
He said he’d like to see a more defensively minded team as well as a more structured forward line.
“As an Essendon watcher, I want to see Tipungwuti, Fantasia, Smith and Mosquito all in the forward alongside Jake Stringer and one other mobile type player,” he said on SEN Breakfast.
“I want to see a more consistent ball movement between the players as well. They’ve been that rebounding, hard running off half back scoring side but they need to temper that.
“I want to see a more methodical build up behind the ball when they are attacking so they have that defensive mechanism to defend if there’s a quick turnover.
“Those sorts of things are what I’ll be looking at as an Essendon fan.”
The upcoming pre-season matches are the side’s first chance to impress after an injury-interrupted season for the Bombers.
The likes of Dyson Heppell, Joe Daniher, Orazio Fantasia and Michael Hurley all spent significant time away from the main training group due to a range of lingering injuries.
You can listen to the best of SEN Breakfast in the player below.