ESSENDON defender Andrew Welsh has praised the sportsmanship of Carlton forward Brendan Fevola, after the spearhead rang young Bomber Henry Slattery on Sunday night following a sickening collision between the two players during the round 13 match.

Welsh, who said "the incident set the standard" for the Bombers' tenacity on Sunday, said it was "great" to see Fevola reach out to his concussed teammate after the accidental bump.

"Slattery was up at the club last night, he had a bit of a knock on the eye, but he came up here to watch the footy on Foxtel," Welsh said.

"He's in good spirits. It was a courageous effort, and 'Fev' gave him a call last night, which is great sportsmanship."

Slattery suffered concussion and a cracked cheekbone in the accidental collision, and is expected to miss at least a week.

"He's in good spirits. It was a super courageous effort. Not many guys would go in the hole in front of 'Fev'.

"But for Henry to do that for the side so early in the game was fantastic, and something that really set up the day for us."

Meanwhile, Welsh is enjoying the new tagging role rookie coach Matthew Knights has handed him in the past three weeks, with the 25-year-old flourishing under the directive to be "able to adjust" to changing responsibilities.

"It's a bit of a different role. It's been enjoyable so far because we've been getting a few wins," he said.

"But at the start of the season, it was a bit interesting. I was lining up one week at centre half-forward and the next week at centre half-back, so to be settled in with a role and to get the player I'll be playing on at the start of the week and really focus has been enjoyable so far.

"This is something new and something I'm enjoying so far."

In the past three rounds, Welsh has faced off with Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell, West Coast's Matt Priddis and Carlton's Chris Judd, and has performed admirably against the triple-hit of talented ball-getters.

The former defender said the most difficult aspect of his new role is becoming accustomed to the amount of mental attention required across four quarters.

"You've got to be right on your game from the start to the end, and also the physical side, you cop a lot more knocks and you find their teammates really try to get you off them a bit," he said.

"That's something I've been dealing with, but it's always fun to get out there and ruffle up some feathers."

Welsh said he also enjoys the "homework" that comes before each new challenge, with Essendon development coach Ashley Prescott providing him with video tapes to help prepare him for respective opponents.

"It's good to go in with preparation and knowing your opponent that you're going at, but I try not to get too bogged down with it," he said.

"I'll have a bit of a look at the footage, and a bit of a look at the stats of how they get the ball, but I don't want to play the game through my mind too much before I get out there or you're probably already beaten before you run out on the field.

"I try not to get bogged down; I try to pick up a few points I remind myself with during the game, as other players do."