Essendon coach John Worsfold says the inclusion of some of the club’s most experienced heads will help sure up his side in the Bombers’ massive elimination final against West Coast on Thursday.
Worsfold has made five changes to the team ahead of the do-or-die blockbuster, with inspirational skipper Dyson Heppell leading an exciting returning brigade.
Heppell continues to manage an ongoing foot injury, but Worsfold said the star midfielder has prepared meticulously to lead the Dons out at Optus Stadium.
“We’re obviously rapt to have him back out there,” Worsfold said.
“He’s been so diligent with his program and it’s all been around having him as fresh and fit as possible coming into finals. That’s worked out really well for us and he’s really excited.”
Meanwhile, key defender Michael Hurley has proven his fitness to stay in the line-up, emerging from beneath an injury cloud after overcoming a dislocated shoulder suffered against Collingwood in round 23.
Worsfold said Hurley’s ability to declare himself fit both this week and following his prior AC joint injury is a credit to his work ethic.
“Coming back from both injuries, his AC injury that he had earlier (in round 17) – he just worked so hard to get back into the side – and it’s the same with this injury.
“He’s put a mountain of work in and it’s a credit to him to be back in the side.”
Fellow key defender Cale Hooker will be back by Hurley’s side this week after recovering from illness and Worsfold said his return allows more flexibility on the field, particularly with versatile Bomber Patrick Ambrose who has played a variety of roles in recent weeks.
“Yeah it does (free up Ambrose), and also with ‘Hooksy’, because we know he can go forward and really threaten teams as well.
“Having those really experienced players back into the line-up is going to sure us up well.”
Former Bulldog Jake Stringer – the club’s only listed player with an AFL premiership medallion to his name – will also return after missing the clash with the Magpies due to soreness.
The powerful forward has been outstanding throughout the year, booting 33 goals from 18 outings, and Worsfold is excited to have him back at his disposal in the forward line alongside fellow inclusion Orazio Fantasia.
“They’ve been very good players for us for a fair while now and, again, they both show great leadership on the field for us, so they’re key inclusions for us.
“Orazio is feeling a lot better and he’s excited about finals footy again. And Jake, he’s obviously the most experienced finals player we have on our list, so he knows what it’s all about and he’s really excited for what we can bring.”
Mid-season recruit Will Snelling’s whirlwind year will continue when he returns to the senior side for the final at Optus Stadium and Worsfold said he had been “really impressed” by the tough onballer’s return from injury in the VFL on Saturday.
Snelling racked up 13 disposals and five tackles in restricted game time in the VFL Bombers’ narrow loss to Richmond, showing he has put his minor foot concern behind him.
“The way he picked up the speed of the game straight away – it was a hot game, it was a good finals game of footy – and he moved across the ground really well.
“It’s a credit to him to have done that work and his form picked up straight away, so we’re rapt to have him back.”
The Eagles were too strong for the Bombers in round 14 in the only clash between the sides this season, with West Coast’s second-quarter domination around the ground (scoring 4.10 to Essendon’s 2.1) proving particularly damaging.
The Dons were unable to break the shackles on that occasion as the Eagles ran away with the convincing 35-point victory, leading scoring shots 36 to 16 and inside 50s 64 to 40, but Worsfold said the club took plenty of lessons out of the game.
“We were obviously disappointed, especially with our second quarter; they really dominated that game,” he said.
“The lessons out of that were that we got a little bit stagnant and conceded that they’d pinned us in their front half for too long.
“We’re confident we took a lot of learnings out of that at the time and put them into play throughout the remainder of the year, and we get to test it out again this week.”
The huge clash to keep the season alive is set to begin at 8:10pm (AEST).
Click here for all of the information you need regarding the elimination final.
