Joe’s not far off, says Woosha

ESSENDON coach John Worsfold has defended the influence of key forward Joe Daniher and said cohesion will be key to reigniting the 24-year-old and the team’s season.

Daniher plays his 100th game today against Hawthorn and has booted seven goals in six games so far this season, copping criticism for his workrate and kicking. But Worsfold is adamant that the young gun is “not far off” his best football.

“I don’t know if it’s a confidence thing. Joe’s pretty confident in his ability,” the coach said. “He hasn’t played his best footy, and that’s [with] getting used to a couple of new players up there.

“For me, Joe’s not far off. He’s winning as much of the footy, but he hasn’t set himself up or been in as many contests close to goal. There’s a couple of reasons for that and we’re certainly well aware of that.

“But Joe’s decision-making, his ball use, has been just off so we haven’t had quite the value out of the possessions that he’s getting, and his goalkicking hasn’t been like it was in the second half of last year and he’s working on that as well.”

Essendon has dropped four of its past five games to sit 14th on the ladder, having lost its past two games by more than six goals. Worsfold admitted there have been examples where players clearly do not understand one another and that time will allow them to jell consistently.

“[It’s about] building that understanding of each other,” Worsfold said.