Essendon coach James Hird was close, but he stopped just short of declaring Saturday night’s match with Geelong a “must-win” AFL clash.
The Bombers, without captain Jobe Watson and Dustin Fletcher for the match, share a 4-5 win-loss record with the Cats.
Hird said the time to improve that was now.
“The next two or three weeks are really important for our club and this season,” Hird said.
“If you’ve got aspirations of making the finals and being successful in those finals, this is a game we need to play well at and hopefully win.”