Essendon midfielder Jobe Watson doesn’t believe the bye has come at a bad time for the Bombers and he's confident they'll not miss a beat when they resume against the Brisbane Lions at Telstra Dome on Saturday week.
Coming off successive wins over West Coast, Carlton and Fremantle which ended a run of eight-straight defeats, the Bombers certainly earned their few extra days of R-and-R, but Watson downplayed the prospect that the team's momentum had been interrupted.
"There's no bad time to have a break," Watson said at Windy Hill on Friday.
"The body was in need of one and hopefully we can now regroup and with the season now cut into thirds it means that the focus can now go onto the final third of the year."
Watson credited some subtle tweaking of the game plan for the team's winning form.
"The coaching staff have put a big emphasis on just getting back to the basics of playing," he said.
"We're starting to realise that we need everyone to contribute in a game and if you have all 22 doing a little bit, it's easier to win games than three or four guys trying to carry the whole load."
"Defensively we haven’t been as strong and I think that we've put a lot of emphasis one one-on-one pressure … and from there trying to attack the footy."
"It's a much happier place to be around when you're winning and the guys are starting to play better as a side and that's all 'Knighter' and the coaching staff want - for everyone to contribute together and we've been able to do that."
It’s almost impossible to imagine the son of Essendon great Tim Watson playing anywhere else, but the 23-year-old said he regards it as an honour to have recently re-signed with the club to the end of 2010.
"It's great to be given the opportunity to stay for another two years and I think the club is heading in an upward direction and I'm thrilled to be part of it," he said.