Round one's result will mean little when Essendon and North Melbourne face off on Saturday night, according to Bombers’ coach Mark Thompson.
“It’s a long way away. We won’t play like that, they won’t play that,” Thompson said in his post-match media conference.
“The same players aren’t playing. They’ve (the Kangaroos) got a good balance between attack and defence now. They’ve finally sorted it all out.”
Essendon was dominant in its 39-point victory in the season opener, an effort Brad Scott described as ‘one of the most disappointing’ he could recall.
But North has come a long way since.
“Their younger players they’ve had for a few years are becoming more consistent, they are looking the same more often than they used to the way they play,” Thompson added.
One of the Bombers’ best when the teams last met, Michael Hibberd agrees with his coach’s thoughts.
"You definitely look at their recent form. Round one's a long time ago and they play differently now and so do we," he said.
"We'll watch the edits (of their game against Melbourne) during the week and see what we can get out of that, but we're looking forward to the challenge and it's going to be a good game."
Essendon could be without Jake Carlisle for the MCG blockbuster, with no certainty he’ll recover from a hamstring injury in time.
"I'm no clearer than I was the other day. I don't know what's going on," Thompson said.
"I've never seen a one-week hamstring. But they say it could be possible. I don’t know.”
