ESSENDON coach James Hird says players didn't execute the roles they were asked to in Sunday's 87-point loss to the Western Bulldogs, and will pay at the selection table next week.
However, the coach has dismissed body language as an issue for his team with the Bombers dropping into the bottom four for the first time since round one.
Sunday's loss was Essendon's eighth defeat in nine games, but unlike recent losses to Port Adelaide and North Melbourne, Hird said there were no positives to cling to.
Crameri more than 'lucky'
"When you go out with a structure and roles to play and you don't complete those roles, I think the whole football club should be disappointed in that result," Hird said.
"Some players from today won't play next week … they didn't perform well enough.
"You can miss kicks, you can miss marks, handballs can be off, but you have to be competitive and you have to want to be up for the contest. If you're not up for the contest then you won't play.
"There will be guys from [the VFL] that will come in and whether they're 200-game players or they're five-game players, we'll wait and see."
Courtenay Dempsey (three goals), Paul Chapman (21 possessions) and Shaun Edwards (23) were among the Bombers' best players in the VFL loss to Footscray on Sunday.
Hird will be looking for players who will win the contested ball and tackle after bemoaning his players "didn't stand up in the contest when we needed to" against the Bulldogs.
Click here to watch James Hird's full media conference
His message to the players post-match was: "If we don't turn up to compete consistently, then you won't play. You can't play".
"We played like that against St Kilda four weeks ago," he said, referring to the Bombers' record 110-point loss to the Saints in round 14.
"If you have two or three good weeks and then you go back to have a performance like that, then there's a few guys who won't be able to play because they're not turning up."
The Bombers' body-language, both on-field and on the bench, grew worse as Sunday’s match wore on, but Hird said he was not concerned by what looked like a lack of enthusiasm or encouragement.
"Not really. I'm worried about the way they play," he said.
"When you get beaten by 87 points, guys are going to drop their heads and they're not going to be happy.
"It's more about performing when you're out there. Body language - I think a lot can be read into it."
Five talking points: Essendon v Western Bulldogs
Defender Michael Hibberd, who was one of the Bombers' better performers with 29 possessions, said effort was not an issue for the team.
"Every week you try to give effort, everyone's the same. You try play your best and you want to try and win," he told AFL.com.au.
"It's just structurally things didn't work out and we get punished on the scoreboard by a good team … we were off today and the Bulldogs made us pay."
