THE demise of Essendon and the pounding the proud club is receiving
in Melbourne should be sounding warning bells within the Devils players,
Devils coach Mathew Armstrong said yesterday.
The Bombers, traditionally one of the most powerful clubs in the
AFL, sit in last place with just one win -- one more than its aligned VFL
club, Bendigo, which the Devils play at Windy Hill on Saturday.
``They [the Bombers] are under the pump,'' Armstrong said.
``They are a very proud club. They have a great tradition and to be
where they are is not great for that club, and that will filter down to
their VFL team. I have no doubt about that.
``Even though [Bendigo Bombers'] form is not great at present, if we
do not give them the respect they deserve, they have enough talent to
embarrass us.
``I believe on Saturday it is going to be windy and wet and that
will mean any advantage we had in maybe talent comes down to who wants to
win -- and we want to win.''
The Devils have a 3-2 win-loss record, having lost their last game
before the bye to Sandringham, but Armstrong said the loss could work to his
side's benefit against the last-placed Bendigo outfit.
``It is how you go about your mental preparation when playing the
bottom team,'' he said.
``I would be more worried if we had won against Sandringham and had
to play them [the Bombers] the week after.
``But now we have had that loss and had a week off to think about
what we are doing, I am not as concerned.
``If we play anywhere near the way we have trained the last couple
of weeks, it puts us within a chance of winning the game.''
The Devils will make at least two changes to the side that lost to
Sandringham, with key forward Trent Bartlett sidelined with a fractured
ankle and key defender Nathan Grima serving the first of his four-week
suspension.
By: BRETT STUBBS
Last Modified on 18/05/2006 14:48