"Today was a long day, waiting," Smith told ABC Radio.

"There's mixed emotions.

"It was my birthday this week (last Sunday) and I got a few messages with boys saying 'happy birthday, I hope you're sore'. There was a bit of banter.

"Hopefully I'll bump into a few boys tonight and maybe have a quiet beer.

"It was strange, but I really enjoyed it."

Essendon coach John Worsfold for full of praise for how Smith handled an occasion that can sometimes unsettle players.

"Dev doesn't lack in confidence, so I think he was on one hand really excited about coming up here and playing," Worsfold said.

"But he played the way he has been playing for us. He's brought a lot of intensity, pressure, hard run and speed.

"He did that again tonight. He wasn't overawed by playing against his mates or anything like that. He was very focused.

"He was very controlled tonight. He loves a contest but that's just a natural part of his game."

The expansion club, who next face Adelaide away, haven't endured such a bad losing streak since 2014 and they risk missing the finals unless Cameron stops the rot soon.

Meanwhile GWS coach Leon Cameron cut a disapoinnted figure after the match, with his highly touted side in danger of missing the finals.

Such a scenario would be an incredible fall from grace for GWS, who were touted as premiership favourites earlier this year after reaching the preliminary finals in 2016 and 2017.

"The scrutiny has been on us for the last two or three weeks. Will there be more? Probably," Cameron said.

"We're in the business of playing four quarters. Clearly we're not doing that.

"So whether they come at myself or our coaching staff or players, it's probably right. You can't argue.

"We'll look at all aspects of our footy club to make sure we're reviewing in the right way. That's what you must do when you have a form slump, you can't run away from it, you have to hit it head on.

"We've got to be mentally a little bit tougher on each other."

Cameron highlighted a lopsided tackle count (85-57) and clearance count (55-42) as among the most concerning elements of the loss to the Bombers.

"We've got to play and fight for four quarters," he said.

"If there's structural issue our coaches have to deal with it. If there's effort issues then we've got to deal with it.

"We're not going to shy away from hitting it head on ... you can't wish your way to a win."

Tim Taranto will be monitored closely this week, having failed to finish Saturday night's game because of a tight quad.

Phil Davis could return from concussion against the Crows, but Cameron noted the co-captain wouldn't be a saviour.

"You can't just pinpoint one person and say Phil Davis is going to come in and fix our issues," he said.