Essendon coach John Worsfold says the returning Bombers have 'hit the wall', following last night's 65-point loss to Adelaide.
After winning the opening two games of the season, Essendon has lost its past two matches, first a shock-loss to Carlton, before a disastrous 11-goal loss this week.
Worsfold said the 10 players returning from their 12-month bans are struggling with the fitness required to play every week, with one-year out of the game taking its toll on the group.
“Some of those players have felt the pinch,” Worsfold said after the side's heavy defeat.
“It sort of hit us as a group ... we have hit the wall a little bit in the last couple of weeks, so it gives us an idea about how much work we have got to do."
Worsfold said it is unclear just how long it will take for the team to consistently gel together again.
“We had that many players that are just coming back together ... we have got to build that understanding of each other," he said.
“One, we have got to find out where our fitness levels are right now. And I think we are going to find out a bit about that over a number of weeks.
“But it’s just a really hard thing at the moment to say, ‘Where do we sit as a group?’.
“We know the talent we have got on our list, but they haven’t played footy together for a long time.
“I hear other coaches regularly saying we have got two or three new players in our group and it’s taking a while to gel. Well, we’re in a real big part of that.”
The Crows kicked 15.6 (96) to 7.2 (44) in the first half of the match to all but kill the contest.
Adelaide midfielders Rory Laird and Rory Sloane ran rampant in the win, collecting 36 and 34 disposals respectively, while captain Taylor Walker (five) and Eddie Betts (six) kicked 11 goals between them.
To make matters worse for the Bombers, they could be without Conor McKenna for their ANZAC Day clash, after he was reported for a high bump on Adelaide's Riley Knight.
