Essendon has finalised its team to take on Hawthorn for Sunday's round one fixture.
The Bombers were forced to make one on-field change to last night's selected squad after key forward Peter Wright dislocated his shoulder at main training on Friday after landing awkwardly in a marking contest.
Wright's unfortunate news opens the door for young forward Harrison Jones to step in and own full forward in his first round one game since 2021.
Essendon will have two genuine ruck options with Andrew Phillips named to partner with Sam Draper, while new recruit Sam Weideman is set for a major key forward role in Wright's absence.
Fans may still see the return of Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti if the small forward is named as the medical substitute after being included in the emergencies list.
Essendon round one team
| B | 27. Redman | 14. Ridley | 30. Zerk-Thatcher |
| HB | 29. Kelly | 15. Laverde | 1. McGrath |
| C | 21. Heppell | 7. Merrett | 9. Shiel |
| HF | 22. Durham | 10. Weideman | 4. Langford |
| F | 33. Davey | 23. Jones | 16. Perkins |
| FOLL | 2. Draper | 12. Setterfield | 3. Parish |
| BENCH | 6. Caldwell | 34. Phillips | 37. Martin |
| 47. Menzie | |||
| EMERG | 11. Snelling | 26. Baldwin | 42. D'Ambrosio |
| 43. McDonald-Tipungwuti |
