Essendon coach Ben Rutten says Dylan Shiel has the full support of the club and has backed the high-priced recruit to come good for the Bombers.
The Bombers have had a tough start to the season and are priced at 8/1 to make the top eight after winning just two of the opening nine games to leave them in 16th spot on the ladder.
Shiel criticism
Shiel has also had a tough time after copping some criticism for his recent performances. He even copped it from Sydney Swans star Luke Parker last weekend.
The television cameras caught Parker mocking Shiel’s contest work, although Rutten believes that was aimed at the whole team not just one player.
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Either way Rutten says Shiel has their full support and believes he will come good again. Rutten has confirmed that Shiel will play when Essendon face Richmond in the Dreamtime clash at the MCG on Saturday night.
Bombers are hurting
"Dylan's hurting like a lot of our players are at the moment about the way we're playing. That's the bottom line. We're supporting Dylan where we can, making sure he's really clear on the expectations just like we are with all of our players,"
Rutten told reporters.
"Dylan's a great person, he adds a lot to our footy club and he adds a lot to us out on the field. We haven't played with the hard edge that we need to consistently enough throughout the season and Sydney was a game where we were way off the level.
“It's not about Dylan Shiel, it's about all of us as a football club.”
