Senior Essendon players ‘losing faith' with high-performance team amid injury crisis
The Bombers have been hit hard by injuries this year, which has prompted a probe into the alarming situation.
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Their already bulging injury list grew over the weekend with Jye Caldwell set to under surgery after suffering an ankle injury in the loss to Gold Coast.
The club also ruled out Zach Reid for the remainder of the season after opting to undergo surgery on his troublesome hamstring.
That was the latest in a long list of soft-tissue injuries this year that includes Kyle Langford, Darcy Parish, Mason Redman, Xavier Duursma, Matt Guelfi, Jordan Ridley and Archie Perkins.
Plus there is also the unfortunate season-ending injuries to Sam Draper, Nick Bryan, Lewis Hayes and Tom Edwards.
But it was a costly Saturday training session during their bye that has resulted in players 'losing faith in the high-performance department', according to Cleary.
'It's my belief that a number of players have led concerns off the back of this Saturday session two weeks ago where they picked up three fresh soft-tissue injuries,' Cleary said on The Agenda Setters.
'Three repeat soft tissue injuries. So Kyle Lankford, Darcy Parrish and Mason Redman off the back of that. And then just last week they picked up the Zach Reid injury.'
Langford has managed just six senior games this year and could potentially be lured away if an offer came.
'It's my understanding that if a club was to come for a player like Kyle Lankford, who has two years left on a lucrative contract at the age of 28, he would look twice at an offer from a rival club, given the frustration that has been stemming off the back of this and the repeat soft tissue injuries they've picked up,' Cleary continued.
'This is not a recent thing. This has been going for some time, but it really has ramped up since that Saturday session two weeks ago.'
Channel 7 commentator Nick Riewoldt said that training session 'raised eyebrows' at the time.
'You think about bye weeks, it's an opportunity to freshen the group up, get players right, get them through another week of the season,' he said.
'What was the nature of the session? Like, what did they actually do?'
Cleary said the session was always planned, according to the club.
'There's been conjecture on whether this session was planned or not. I've spoken to the club tonight and they're adamant that this was always in the diary for them to come back from the bye on Friday, have a light session, then train fully on Saturday,' he said.
'But the rehab guys have been at the club all week. They didn't have a bye week as such. So the club is standing by the fact this has been in the diary for some time. But there has been conjecture from some parts around how hard and how much of this was planned.'
Riewoldt worries about how the club can get the players back onside.
'When player unrest starts to fester around a department of the football club that you rely so heavily on as a player, I mean, you turn yourself over to the football club as a player, don't you?' he said.
'You say, turn me into a machine that can go out and deliver high-intensity football every week. And when it starts to go pear-shaped and the frustration starts to brew, it's very hard to get them back.'
The Agenda Setters host Craig Hutchison suggested the club are 'sitting ducks' for rivals to raid.
'It's an obvious pitch, a wildebeest theory. You're going to raid the weak. There's an obvious pitch here that we can get your body right,' he said.
'Sam Draper will be one that will be getting that pitch from Brisbane and others at the moment. The other thing is, how do you pitch a Harley Reid or someone in?
Panellist Kane Cornes said the Bombers are facing the 'biggest challenge of any club.'
'There is some serious problems going on at that footy club,' he said.
'If you're saying that a player (Langford) that kicked 51 goals in 2023 and looked like their most or was their most dangerous forward, he's in the prime of his career, cannot get on the park.
'I mean, Brisbane are saying, well, we've got Joe Danaher, right? Give us an opportunity to get you right, because we think you can be our best forward if they can sell it that way.'
Cleary also revealed the club will spend $1.2m on resurfacing both of their ovals.
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