ESSENDON coach Brad Scott has praised his team's growing professionalism after a 50-point win against West Coast but conceded his team was far from perfect as it returned to the top eight.
The Bombers were forced to grind out an important win at Optus Stadium, soaking up the improved Eagles' pressure before kicking away late to seal their sixth win of the season.
Scott said it was a step forward for his team, which was guilty of under-estimating the Eagles last year, but the scrappy match was not one he'd be watching again for kicks.
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"I thought it was professional and we were fully understanding of what we were walking into on this trip," Scott said.
"I would have been more concerned today if we came out thinking that we're going to try and kick 150 points and just walk over a side that's struggling mainly due to injury.
"They are still a good side on their home ground, so I thought it was a professional performance. But certainly not one that I will be watching the replay for fun."
The Bombers addressed last year's 10-point loss to West Coast during the build-up this week and were focused on avoiding a similarly complacent performance.
"By the players own admission, they thought it was going to happen [last year] … and there was a message today that we'll get what we deserve and if we think it's going to happen, we'll get embarrassed," Scott said.
"So for that part of it, I was really pleased and we had a tangible example of what happened here last year under similar circumstances.
"Zach (Merrett) has talked to the players a lot about how that's been a weakness for us in the past, and let's be honest, we haven’t been the best team in the comp over the last 10 years.
"So I don't think anyone has the right to think they can just turn up and get the result. But certainly not us. Every game is a hard game for us."
Scott also defended West Coast coach Adam Simpson after a fierce week of scrutiny, declaring some of the greatest coaches in VFL/AFL history would not have fared any better than the 2018 premiership coach has this season.
"I get the pressure they're under, but last week … Norm Smith, Kevin Sheedy, Mick Malthouse, Leigh Matthews couldn't have coached those injuries," Scott said.
"I shouldn't be surprised, because I've been around long enough to know. But everyone accepts the injuries but then they won't say it's fair enough. The scrutiny has been over the top, in my view.
"My job is to be ruthless and do my job for Essendon, but now that the game's over, you’re talking about a premiership coach and a guy who has taken the team to a Grand Final previously (2015). I just find it a bit unsavoury."
Simpson described his team's response to last week's loss as "probably the minimum we wanted", seeing more of the way the Eagles aspire to play without being "anywhere near satisfied" with the result.
"Our senior players stood up and played as well as they could. It's been a heavy week for the club, so I thought the intent was there, but we weren't good enough," the coach said.
"They're really keen to play at their best, so they understand it was unacceptable last week. But we're all in it together.
"We spoke pre-game about the belonging piece and how we're all connected and we all need to get through this together. So, you know, as much as there's people trying to separate us, we're pretty tight as a club."
