Essendon coach James Hird saw enough positives to keep him happy despite watching his side slump to losses against West Coast and Fremantle in the AFL's pre-season cup yesterday.
The successful return of defender Courtenay Dempsey from a serious knee injury, plus the energetic debut of rookie forward Cory Dell'Olio, were rare bright spots for Essendon, who lost to West Coast by 21 points before copping a 36-point hiding at the hands of Fremantle at Patersons Stadium.
The Eagles, still dealing with the loss of star forward Mark LeCras for the season, were the big winners of the night, following up their victory over Essendon with a 20-point triumph over Fremantle, 0.4.6 (30) to 0.1.4 (10) in front of 27,581 fans.
Dempsey, making his first appearance since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament in round four last year, only played the first match against the Eagles, but looked sound in tallying seven possessions.
''We need to get four or five games into him just to get that confidence back, but I thought he was pretty good,'' Hird said.
Dell'Olio, a 22-year-old snared through last year's rookie draft, was a constant menace in both games, booting a goal in each to enhance his chances of promotion to Essendon's senior list.
''He looked really good. His ability to kick goals is fantastic,'' Hird said.
''Obviously it wasn't a great result in terms of wins and losses, but it gave our kids a chance to have a go on the big stage and see how far they have to come.''
Hird said big guns Jobe Watson, Brent Prismall, Dyson Heppell, Heath Hocking and Jason Winderlich were all in line to return against St Kilda in a fortnight.
It was West Coast's small forwards who did the damage against Essendon in game one, with mid-sized forward Gerrick Weedon and 174cm speedster Ashton Hams combining for four goals to help lift the Eagles to the 0.9.3 (57) to 0.5.6 (36) victory. Former Bulldogs forward Josh Hill, playing through the midfield and up forward, was serviceable and kicked a late goal to push his case for a permanent spot in the Eagles' 22. AAP
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