Essendon skipper Jobe Watson isn’t concerned with the reception his AFL team gets from Adelaide players and fans on Friday night – he’s just happy to finally be playing.
After the Bombers’ pre-season spent front and centre in the Australian sport drugs scandal, Watson and his team take on Adelaide at AAMI Stadium on Friday night to open the season.
Just how hot the reception becomes in Adelaide, few will know until the Bombers run out on Friday night.
But Watson says he doesn’t care personally whether there is sledging or not – he’s relieved to have an opportunity to simply play and put aside at least temporarily their off-field dramas.
“Obviously there were stressful times throughout the pre-season and specifically the last six weeks. But what we do have is an opportunity to do what we are paid to do,” Watson said on Tuesday.
“At the moment the player group is feeling really upbeat and very excited.”
Watson is confident forward David Zaharakis has overcome his latest quadriceps setback.
Zaharakis has played little during the pre-season, but Watson expects his teammate to be alongside him on Friday night.
“He played his first game last weekend in the VFL, but he’s been able to do a lot of the training (in recent weeks),” Watson said.
“They’ve held him back to get extra work into him. I’d be very surprised if he wasn’t there on Friday night.”