Australian snowboarding supremo Scotty James urged Essendon players to laugh in the face of fear when he presented to them on Tuesday.

The Age can reveal that James – a passionate Essendon supporter and close friend of emerging Bombers star Kyle Langford – was asked to come out to Tullamarine and speak to the entire playing group on Tuesday, ahead of their do-or-die clash with Fremantle.

He spoke for over an hour, mainly addressing how he deals with fear and expectation, something Essendon players have been struggling with as they approach the final hurdles before September.

James won bronze in the men’s halfpipe competition in the 2018 Olympics and followed it up with gold in the Winter X Games earlier this year in Aspen.