Essendon will enter Friday night’s crucial clash with St Kilda with an unchanged line-up from the side that suffered a narrow loss to Hawthorn last week.
Travis Colyer and Ben McNiece were late inclusions against the Hawks, replacing Matt Guelfi and Matt Dea, and both grasped their opportunities well.
Colyer gathered 23 disposals and a goal as he returned to his line-breaking best, while McNiece was strong in defence with 13 disposals, seven one-percenters and several repeat efforts.
“Trav was back to showing that real speed and ball-carrying that we know he can bring to the team, so that was great to see,” coach John Worsfold said.
“And Ben McNiece was really solid for us, defended well. He was in form even before he went out of the side, so when he came back in we were confident he would perform well.”
Dea withdrew himself from last week’s contest to take a safe approach in his recovery from concussion, but is set to line up in the VFL on Saturday.
“Obviously we’ve had a fair look at Matty Dea being available this week and weighing up the balance of the line-up,” Worsfold said.
“But we feel like it was pretty well settled from last week, so we haven’t made that change.”
Guelfi is still recovering from a nasty bout of gastro, but Worsfold said he remains a chance to play this weekend and appears certain to put his hand up for selection next week.
“He’s still a chance to be available to play in the VFL on Saturday, but it looks like it’s going to be unlikely.
“We fully expect that he’ll be right in the next day or so and definitely available next week.”
There were some doubts during the week about experienced pair Dyson Heppell and Jake Stringer after both suffered soreness against the Hawks, but the important Bombers have been declared fit to take on the Saints.
Worsfold said he has been impressed by the response of his squad since last week’s disappointing loss and is confident the Bombers can bounce back to the form that saw them win eight of their previous 10 games.
“We were disappointed with some aspects of the way we played against the Hawks. There was still a lot of really good stuff that we did, but we got beaten in the contest and contested possession both around stoppages (and) around general play as well,” he said.
“That’s an area we’ve been pretty good at and we weren’t quite at the same level on the weekend, so we need to get back to the good level we know we can play at.
“We haven’t had a massive amount (of time) on the track, but it’s just been a bit of a focus and the players were well and truly aware of it so they get the opportunity to put it into action on Friday night.”
The first bounce is set for 7.50pm at Etihad Stadium on Friday, with fans encouraged to arrive early for an exciting Legends Game from 5.15pm.
FINAL TEAM
B – McNiece, Hurley, Zaharakis
HB – Saad, Goddard, McKenna
C – Fantasia, Z. Merrett, Parish
HF – McGrath, Brown, Baguley
F – McDonald-Tipungwuti, Hooker, Colyer
R – Bellchambers, Heppell, Myers
I/C – Langford, Francis, Smith, Stringer
Emergencies – Clarke, Leuenberger, Laverde, Dea
