In this Game Plan, Swans midfield coach Leigh Tudor talks about how last weekend's bye has helped going into tomorrow night's game against Essendon...

Judging by our week on the training track, it is clear the bye week came at a good time for us.  Tuesday and Thursday’s training sessions were as good as we have trained all year. The guys were out early and doing plenty of extras, so they’re feeling good and are putting in the work. There is no doubt the great Sydney weather this week has really helped as well. Out on the track, the team has used the ball really well and the voice has been good. All week the boys have just seemed eager to get into this Saturday night’s game against Essendon.

The bye has helped us get over any niggles or injuries, so the 22 players that run out to face the Bombers are fit and ready to go. Adding to that, there is going to be a bit of pressure coming up from the Reserves as players return from injury. Gary Rohan was outstanding on the track this week and we expect to see him and Spangher resume this week and Pykey the next. The guys in the seniors know that pressure is really building so they have to play well to keep their spots. You need 30 or more players pushing for spots to keep the pressure on everyone and we are starting to reach that number now.

In the last two weeks, Essendon have faced top teams Carlton and Collingwood and their first halves have been outstanding. They are winning the contested ball, they are getting plenty of uncontested ball, they have been running really hard, playing on and really attacking the game. They have looked really good and we need to make sure they don’t get the jump on us early.

Essendon were a bit stiff with their injuries last week, so in the end it was an impressive effort to fight the game out like they did.

Over the last two weeks, against strong opponents they have been leading the way with converting their entries into forward 50 into goals, so we need to be at the top of our game defensively.

They have a very good kicking efficiency and really like to play on and move the ball quickly. We need to be mindful of that. The Bombers are ranked fourth overall for contested possession percentage, while we are number one, so there is no doubt it will be a hard fought contest.

Every game is crucial at this time of year but we can’t afford to look too far ahead. For the whole two weeks we have been building for this match against the Bombers. With two weeks to prepare, there are no excuses.