ACTING Essendon captain Dyson Heppell says his leadership group will need to have some tough conversations this week following Sunday's 87-point loss to the Western Bulldogs.

Bombers players were tasked with doing their own individual recovery sessions on Monday morning and weren't required at the club.

Heppell insisted the players were still behind coach James Hird.

"Oh for sure, we love having Hirdy at the club, and he's got our full support," Heppell told AFL.com.au as he left Essendon's Tullamarine complex.

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Heppell, 23, who is standing in for injured skipper Jobe Watson, put the onus on himself and his fellow leaders to take responsibility.

"As a leadership group, I think we needed some conversations within us ourselves, trying to lead this group.

"A lot of the older guys in the group really need to help drive the young boys, it really stems from us."

Hird made it clear after the loss that changes to the side were likely, which Heppell endorsed.

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"Certainly not the result we would have liked. We've got a lot of young guys in the side, we certainly didn't play the way we would have liked to," he said. 

"If certain guys didn't stand up and play their role then there will be changes at some stage."

The Bombers are 15th on the ladder with just five wins for the season, a significant backwards step from last year's elimination final appearance under interim coach Mark Thompson.

Players have a seven-day break to prepare for next Sunday's journey to take on Greater Western Sydney.