Coach Matthew Knights says his team is still capable of playing finals even though the Bombers were last weekend belted by 14 goals by the Adelaide Crows, which at that point had won just four matches for the season.
Knights knows his team must turn things around quickly but says his men have the ability to do so.
“The reality is we’re two games out [of the eight],” Knights said on Tuesday morning.
“We are a long way back in the ruck, that’s a fact and we’re way back with a lot of other teams that would probably still think that the door is slightly ajar.
“But we let one of those teams jump us last week ... now every win you give to an opposition or every time you get beaten, you have someone pushing up a little bit harder.
“It’s still very realistic, but we’re going to have to improve our footy dramatically if we’re going to do that.”
Knights said the Bombers’ woeful start against Adelaide was the most disappointing aspect of the loss.
And he promised changes ahead of Sunday’s clash with Melbourne. Henry Slattery is almost certain to miss with a rib injury, while others are likely to pay the price for substandard performances.
“We’ll be certainly making some changes again this week,” he said.
“Jay [Neagle] will come into the team this week. He’s going to come in and play in our forward line.
“He’s gone back and worked on his game. He’ll come in and get an opportunity this week, so preferably that’s for a good deal of time now.
“It’d be great for him and [Scott] Gumbleton to now play together for the rest of the season preferably, and it’s up to them now to make sure that they play well and play hard together and build up some chemistry.”
One man Knights doesn’t have a problem with is captain Jobe Watson. The skipper’s actions have been questioned after he pushed teammate Slattery for giving away a 50m penalty during Saturday night’s loss to the Crows.
While some have seen the Bomber leader’s action as indicative of a lack of unity during the match, Knights defended the move and said there may be more of it.
“We’ve probably got to get a touch more aggressive with each other both during the week and on game day,” he said.
“You don’t get anywhere being nice. We’ve got to play harder and stronger.
“I’ve got no issue with Jobe ... he’s a marvellous young captain and growing in the job amazingly well, so I’ve got no issue with what he did with young Henry and Henry’s got no issue with what he did.”
