Essendon senior coach Ben Rutten spoke to the media at the NEC Hangar on Wednesday as the Bombers prepare to face reigning premier Melbourne at the MCG on Friday night.

Here are the five key takeaways from his media conference.

1) Merrett's misfortune an opportunity 

It’s an eerie situation the Dons find themselves in after star midfielder Zach Merrett succumbed to a syndesmosis injury against the Lions.

In the corresponding round last season, one of the Dons’ prime midfielders Dylan Shiel sustained a knee injury which left many wondering how, like Zach Merrett, the Bombers would cover such a loss.

Last year, it was Darcy Parish who produced an astonishing All-Australian season and became a vital piece in Essendon’s midfield puzzle.

Rutten said there’s always a silver lining amongst misfortune, and now another player may make the most out of Merrett’s unfortunate injury.

“We always have a growth mindset whether we have Zach or not,” Rutten said.

“It does provide an opportunity for someone else (to step up), and with Coxy (out) as well.

2) Martin’s back, Shiel a test

Round one’s NAB AFL Rising Star nominee Nic Martin will be a handy inclusion for the Dons after seeing out his health and safety protocol stint.

While Martin’s return is a lock, midfielder Dylan Shiel’s comeback is not so certain as he battles his way through a side strain.

“Nic Martin will come back into the team after his first game,” Rutten said.

“We’ll see how ‘Shiely’ gets through training today.”

3) Baldwin impresses after omission

After a courageous path from two ACL injuries in earning his AFL debut, Kaine Baldwin had to endure another bump on his playing journey after being one of two omissions from the Dons’ side to face the Lions.

But rather than drop his bundle and be down about being left out of round two, Baldwin put in a best-on-ground performance for the VFL Bombers in their season opener against Geelong.

Rutten said Baldwin’s VFL showing was a strong testament to the resilience the young key forward has, which has put him right in this week’s selection mix.

“Absolutely he’s a chance (to play),” Rutten said.

“He’s been working really hard on his game and he put in another strong (VFL) performance on the weekend so he’s certainly in the mix.

“I think what we saw in the three lead-up games, we’re really pleased with what he’s been doing.

“We can’t forget that he’s four games back from a knee reconstruction and it does take some time to get into a real rhythm and confidence.

“We see him as a long-term player for us and the fact that he went into the VFL and kicked three goals is a good sign of the character of the guy.”

4) How to stop Petracca

Friday night doesn’t get any easier for Essendon when they face reigning Premiers Melbourne.

The Dees will be led by the white-hot Norm Smith medallist Christian Petracca who has accumulated 38 and 40 disposals in his first two games of the season.

Essendon are weary of a powerful Melbourne midfield and Rutten knows it’ll be a key battle ground on Friday night.

“Not sure yet (if Essendon plays a run-with player on Petracca),” Rutten said.

“We’ve got to work on and continue to evolve our game and the capacity of our guys to have stages where we might look at something like that on Friday night.

“We know he’s a quality player, (Clayton) Oliver’s a quality player. They’ve got a really strong midfield. We’ll be looking at that (limiting them) closely as we do every week.

5) Reid’s return

As announced in yesterday’s Liberty Financial Performance Update, key defender Zach Reid will make his long-awaited return to playing when he dons the VFL sash.

Reid has endured battles with glandular fever, stress fracturs in his back and foot troubles since his AFL debut in round five last season.

Rutten said it’s great to have Essendon’s pick No.10 from the 2021 draft back in the playing fold.

“It’s going to be great to get Zach Reid back,” Rutten said.

“He’ll play about a half even though he wants to play the whole game. We’ll try and peg him back a little bit, but he’s been training now for four to five weeks fairly well with the whole group.

“Really exciting, good for the footy club to get him back and to be able to get back doing what he loves.”