Key midfielder Jobe Watson and rising stars Jay Neagle and Scott Gumbleton have been withdrawn from the Essendon squad for tomorrow's NAB Cup Semi-Final against Collingwood.
Football operations manager, Paul Hamilton, said the three were feeling some tightness and the club didn't want to take any risks.
""It is disappointing these three players won't be lining up but we are being very cautious with them ahead of the season,"" he said.
They have been replaced by Rhys Magin, John Williams and Michael Quinn.
Meanwhile, on the eve of tomorrow's big rivalry clash with the Magpies, 21-year-old Sam Lonergan is looking forward to seeing two new youngsters join him on the field for the first time.
Former Northern Knights teammates Michael Hurley and David Zaharakis will debut in the red and black tomorrow.
“It’s good to have some more guys around my own age (out there) and it is fun, it’s exciting and we love getting out there,"" Lonergan said.
""Michael Hurley is a very talented young player, and a very switched on guy. I imagine he will step into our senior side very quickly. I’m hoping for big things and I’m sure he will be too.”
Lonergan says he is feeling confident ahead of the 2009 season after having a break-through year in 2008 when he played 19 games.
“I am starting to feel more relaxed with my game, although Robert Harvey once said that during his career he never felt at ease and never felt that he made it,"" he said.
""If as a team we can go through thinking that we haven’t made it, then we’re always going to perform better footy and improve on what we’ve got.""
