Jobe Watson was best on ground for Bendigo again on the weekend and Kevin Sheedy has put the youngster in the selection mix for this week. ""Jobe has been in pretty good form all the time. He hasn’t played a poor game and he is a player that will add to the side – he has a good smart footy brain,"" Sheedy said. ""He just needs to get as fit as he can and get as much experience as he can, and hopefully he should be in our best side.""

Regular senior players Mark McVeigh and Damian Cupido also played for Bendigo yesterday. ""It is good for Mark to get a game under his belt down in Tassie. Cupido played another match in the VFL and these games are important for these players to get back to peak match fitness,"" Sheedy said.

Sheedy was pleased to regain hard-nut duo Mark and Jason Johnson last week and said they will only get better. Jason finished with 23 disposals and kicked one goal. He added some extra grunt in the midfield and his ability to win the ball proved valuable. Mark was also good in patches. He was particularly strong in the third quarter and got things moving for Essendon when the game was in the balance.

""Mark and Jason came back last week and got through the game, which was pleasing. They put a lot of experience back in the team and they should only get better from now on,"" Sheedy said.

Essendon had a light night on the training track tonight. Instead of a pure skill session, the coaching panel decided to mix up training. The players were split into three groups and they participated in a three-way circuit involving spinning, swimming and running. The players also had a short skills session out on the newly renovated Windy Hill oval.