Essendon coach John Worsfold is confident that his makeshift side will be playing as a much more cohesive unit by the end of the season.
Worsfold thought basic errors cost his side when they had the momentum against Carlton on Sunday, leading to turnovers and a 15-point loss.
But he also thought the players suffered at times by not knowing enough about each other and the roles they had been asked to play at different times and in different situations.
He said the coaches were aiming for more cohesion and understanding this year, despite a number of the top-ups not expecting to be at the club beyond that.
"There was a bit of confusion with players coming on and off the bench not going and playing their exact role," Worsfold said after the match.
"That was probably more frustrating for me, we've got to make sure players take a lot more ownership when they go on the ground.
"At the moment they don't know each other well enough to be able to adjust out there and know what role certain players are playing.
"(James) Polkinghorne (comes) in, he's not sure what (Orazio) Fantasia's doing or what (Kyle) Langford's doing at a stoppage.
"When they've played a lot of footy together, they'll just know each other's role and therefore what their setup is.
"They've got to communicate with each other when they come off the ground.
"We're aiming to try and get it this year. Certainly some of the players — the younger players — they'll get to know each other really well.
"The hard part is that there's a lot of players who are out there who may not be with us post this season.
"But we can't focus on that. We'll get them to keep learning and understanding what we're asking of them."
The Bombers may have to replace Mathew Stokes for next week's game against Sydney at the SCG, after he played out the match with a sore hamstring.
Worsfold said managing his players physically — with the side featuring a number of very young players and some elderly recruits — had been a challenge in the first six rounds.
"That's another area that we have to work on — our conditioning guys as well as all the coaches — to monitor the player loads a lot," he said.
"That will mean there are some training sessions where we have players not training, just trying to freshen them up.
"That limits us – we want to train to get better but we need the players fresh to run out and play.
"That's a balancing act for us. It's pretty tough but the guys are working hard to manage it. That will be an ongoing challenge for us."
