Interim coach Dean Solomon is adamant Nate Caddy can achieve his goal of greatness at Essendon, but concedes the Bombers need to fix up their wonky ball movement to help the star forward.
Caddy cut a frustrated figure during their five-point loss to Carlton on Sunday, with the wayward delivery into attack not helping the 20-year-old.
Essendon sit on bottom of the ladder with a 1-12 record and sacked coach Brad Scott last month.
Caddy is contracted to the Bombers until the end of 2028, but whether they can keep a hold of him until then remains to be seen.
Solomon concedes his team need to give Caddy better quality supply, starting with Saturday's match against Melbourne at the MCG.
"Nate's an amazing person, got a massive heart. He loves this football club," Solomon said on Thursday.
"We'll keep putting our arms around him, but it's not about him in isolation, it's about all of us, of course.
"But we can definitely help Nate with the way we move the ball."
Caddy was restricted to just 1.1 from six disposals against the Blues - his lowest possession count of the season.
Essendon's rebuild looks set to be a painful one, but Solomon is adamant Caddy can achieve greatness at the Bombers.
"He's got high standards, like he wants to be great," Solomon said.
"That's what we love about him. He invests himself in the club, into the group, so he puts the team first.
"But individually he wants to be great, and we can help him in that space. There's no doubt about that."
Never let 'em know your next move, Nate Caddy 😮💨#AFLDonsPies pic.twitter.com/lYNs0su86s
— AFL (@AFL) April 25, 2026
Solomon is keen to continue with Ben McKay as a key forward following his return of 2.2 last week and Zach Merrett looks set to continue across half-back.
"(McKay) is still learning the caper, leading patterns, where to position, but he's got a good presence, he's got good hands, he's a nice set shot at goal," Solomon said.
"So it makes a bit of sense to us. We felt like it's been a positive move the last two weeks, and we'll continue to push forward with that.
"And we want to generate a bit more forward movement with the ball (by using Merrett at half-back)."
