ESSENDON broke its NAB Cup duck with a win against the Sydney Swans on Friday night, but it was the efforts of Courtenay Dempsey and Jason Winderlich that really brought a smile to James Hird's face.
The pair played in the same team for the first time since round four of last season, when they both ruptured their left anterior cruciate ligaments, and Hird was effusive in his praise of the duo whose absence was felt deeply last year.
"Jase played a half tonight and did some really nice things defensively with his pressure, but Jason is a really good leader for us out on the ground and we missed his leadership when he got injured last year," Hird said after the two-point win.
"We missed his play and his brilliance and his speed, but probably the biggest thing we missed was his leadership out on the ground, so it's good to have him back.
"Courtenay has got exceptional talent and I think the knee [injury] has taught him a lot about the game and life too. Courtenay is a vastly more mature man right now than when I came into the club 18 months ago.
"To Courtenay's credit he's worked very hard on his life, not only his knee, and I think that we're seeing a guy coming into some good football and I hope he stays injury free, because he'll get that if he does."
Hird was pleased with several aspects of the Dons' evening, punctuated by star performances from Jobe Watson and Paddy Ryder, but admitted his side still "leaked a few goals" at times.
Despite missing out on the NAB Cup match against St Kilda last weekend, Hird remains confident his fitness staff has his players well-placed for the start of the premiership season.
"We think we'll be fine by round one ... that's what's important for us," he said.
"We think we'll time our run reasonably well but we won't know until we play North Melbourne on Saturday night in about three weeks."
The coach also made special mention of the efforts of Ryder, who booted four goals and was instrumental late in the win.
"The way he's embraced his pre-season he's decided 'this is my time and I'm going to take it on'," he said.
"He's another one who has matured greatly in the last 18 months. They were young kids when we got here and 18 months later I've been really happy with that maturity."
Meanwhile, Swans coach John Longmire was left to lament an "inconsistent" performance from his side.
"In general, we were up and down," he said. "We conceded 15 goals and we were beaten at contested possessions."
He praised the 23-possession effort of half-back Rhyce Shaw, who returned to the side after missing last week's hit-out against North Melbourne.
Longmire explained he was trying to manage the load of his defenders through the pre-season in the expectation that once the season starts, they will have lots of game time.
The Swans open their regular season in a fortnight in the Sydney derby against GWS, but are yet to learn who they will meet in their final NAB Cup clash next weekend. Longmire said he will treat next weekend as a full dress rehearsal.
He expects Ben McGlynn, Marty Mattner and Ted Richards to return to the side, while wingman Daniel Hannebery should play his first game of the pre-season.
Longmire rated Ryan O'Keefe a chance to play, after initially being ruled out for longer because of a bruised bone.
Kieren Jack was subbed out of the match against the Bombers because of a shin injury, but he is expected to recover in time to play next weekend.
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The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
