James Hird says Essendon will bounce back after big loss to Collingwood James Hird runs for cover as rain hits the MCG. JAMES Hird insists the Bombers haven't hit the wall. Despite Essendon's second consecutive drubbing at the hands of a fellow flag aspirant, the coach maintains his Bombers will not fold as they have late in recent seasons. "Obviously, there'll be suggestions of that, but we are very confident our boys are in a pretty good head space and they'll keep playing good football," Hird said after Collingwood smashed the Dons by 79 points -- their biggest loss of the season -- and relegated them to fifth just one game clear of the resurgent Magpies. Our last two weeks haven't been great (but) we'll back up next week and we'll play the West Coast Eagles and we'll play well. It's the basics of football that need to come back into our game. We didn't control any part of the game with the ball in our hand and we certainly didn't control any part of it when they had the ball -- (that Collingwood had) 30 tackles more speaks a lot. Lethal Magpies bury Bombers We just didn't compete enough around the contest and get dirty enough. It wasn't our best game for the year. But you don't throw everything out after one or two games. Midfielder Heath Hocking, who led the Bombers with eight tackles, said his team had been "chasing a--e" the past two weeks after six consecutive wins previously. But he was confident the team's mojo could return just as quickly. "We can put a quarter together, come out firing and that can get us rolling," Hocking said. Essendon coach, James Hird, says the Bombers 'haven't played as well as we would have liked over the last 4 or 5 weeks'. We know it takes hard work, but you have lows and ups in a season ... we've got to get back to how we want to play, train it and come out and do it. It's just a matter of having the ball in our possession longer than the other team because you wear yourself down chasing. When you've got the ball and don't have to work as hard, that's when you know you're in control and that's what we need to get back to. Jobe Watson handballs clear as Dayne Beams tackles. Hocking said the team had maintained its belief and spirit, despite the off-field saga unfolding at Windy Hill. "Obviously, the season takes its toll, but we're working hard at putting stuff aside and just getting back to football," he said. What happens outside our walls is irrelevant. We focus on what we can control and that's been our motto from day one. We're the only people who know what we're going through and we've got each other and football is our job and we've just got to get back to playing it the way we can. Pies' best, now for a real test Our last month just hasn't been up to standard (and) you might get away with it against some of the lower teams, but when you play good sides, you can't. There are times you have bad games and unfortunately we've strung two together ... but we definitely haven't hit the wall. Hird said Collingwood's pressure around the midfield had created "high-pressure" attacks and limited his forwards' impact. Courtenay Dempsey grabs his hamstring after trying to pick up a low ball during the first quarter. But he praised captain Jobe Watson's return after breaking his collarbone in Round 15. I thought his performance was terrific. It's pretty remarkable that he's able to get back within 3-4 weeks from that sort of injury," Hird said. He showed tonight what a good player he is to to come back and have the touch he had and to lead his team; unfortunately we didn't have enough around him. Hird said Jason Winderlich, Stewart Crameri, Alwyn Davey, and Nathan Lovett-Murray would all be in consideration for selection to face the Eagles, while Michael Hurley would miss again. He said Courtenay Dempsey's hamstring wasn't as serious as it first appeared, but would be assessed during the week.