FIRST-year Demon Jay Kennedy-Harris simply needed a breather, which is why he was left out for Sunday’s clash against Essendon at the MCG, according to Paul Roos.

Speaking on Dee TV’s Roos’ Views, the coach said the small forward had had a big year so far and needed to freshen up via Casey in the VFL.

“We just felt Jay was getting a little bit tired, which is to be expected. He’s probably played a full season by now [when comparing it to] TAC Cup last season. He’s been terrific and he’s a really good young kid, but he’s probably just looking a little bit tired,” Roos said.

“With the four boys we’ve named, they’ve all been in really good form in the seconds. Jordie has been terrific, so he’ll probably come in. Then we’ll have a discussion on the rest of the balance of the list.

“Dean Kent, we like his speed, so he’s a chance. When Aidan played, he was really good and he was probably a bit stiff to miss out in Alice Springs. Dan has been really good for a while, so they’ll be some changes.”

Reflecting on last Monday’s 33-point loss to Collingwood at the MCG, Roos said his team looked flat and didn’t play with enough zip.  

“We were disappointed as a group. We played some really good football up until that point. It wasn’t so much [a lack of] effort, it was the lack of run we’d had previously,” he said.

“Whether that was from Alice Springs and coming back from the heat – but we had a nine-day break and we just didn’t seem to have the same running as we’d had the previous three or four weeks, which meant we were able to stop them from scoring, but we just couldn’t score ourselves.

“We turned the ball over far too often and they’re the things we talked about this week.”

Roos said the fact the Demons booted 3.10 to 8.13 was a result of what happened in general play.

“We certainly had enough of the ball and enough opportunities to score. Every time we seemed to get 80 metres out [from goal] our decision-making was really poor on the weekend,” he said.

“The week before it was really good against Port [Adelaide] and when we had opportunities to kick goals, we kicked points early in the last quarter and they snuck ahead.

“At the end of the day, it was their (Collingwood) class and their ability to take their chances that won the game.”

Given Essendon has had two extra days leading into the match, Roos said it was “not ideal”, but could’ve been worse.

“It’s not ideal, but we adjust training. It’s those back to back six day [breaks] that takes effect on teams. One is not too bad,” he said.

“We didn’t train earlier in the week – we’re having a 40-minute session later in the week – so for us, it’s not a bad thing. We’d like to get back and play anyway.

“We felt it was a poor performance on Monday and we’ll try and play a lot better than we did last week.”

Roos said the 4.40pm twilight fixture was not a great concern for the players or coaches, but he empathised for the football public.

“It seems to be a big point of contention now, with crowds down. It’s certainly a difficult time with young families and kids going to school the next day,” he said.

“Professional footballers and coaches probably don’t tend to worry too much about it, when they play, because that’s their job and we’ve got to do it.

“I must admit, the old Saturday at 2.10pm was not a bad model, but that’s well in the past now, and I think every team has the motto ‘we play anywhere, anytime’ and that’s just the way it is.”

Meanwhile, Roos said he would take a passing interest in the World Cup.  

“I’ve never followed soccer, so it’s one thing you’ll probably sneak a look of, but I’m not one to stay up [and watch it],” he said.

“I think I got put off by the [World Cup] in South Africa, when I started watching and they had those vuvuzelas and it was like watching soccer with blow flies in the telly. I tried to sit up and watch it, but in all seriousness, I could not watch it, because of the noise coming out of the television.

“I think I got put off [by that]. I don’t know whether Brazil has any of those bizarre instruments that they do in South Africa.

“It’s a great world event – there’s no question about that and I’ll sneak a peak at the highlights and see who’s winning, but I won’t be losing sleep.”