Essendon rose to fifth, although Bombers Senior Coach Brad Scott still declined to feed into finals hype.

Sitting with a 9-7 record and heading into a crunch game against Geelong on Saturday, Scott said the aim of 2023 has always been about building a base for the future.

"I don't think I need to speak about it because it's pretty obvious for everyone, players included," Scott said about finals.

"When I talk about excitement into the future, I just think about our room for improvement. I think we're playing some pretty competitive footy but it's far from perfect. I get excited about putting the pieces together and getting better.

"We want our supporters to get excited but the players have just got to focus on the task at hand. The third quarter got away from us there, I think that's a good lesson, not to look too far into the future."

Scott said defender Jordan Ridley would undergo scans on the knee injury that forced him to be subbed out of the game in the third quarter despite trying to play on, while he revealed Mason Redman spent time off in the third quarter for assessment on a hamstring tendonitis issue but should be fine.

The Dons' Senior Coach said ruckman Sam Draper would need to return to full training after a hip injury this week to be available for next Saturday night's clash with eighth-placed Geelong which he felt was unlikely, which could be an issue if fellow tall Andrew Phillips is suspended for a late head-high bump on Reilly O'Brien.

Scott added that he was thrilled with the selection pressure within the squad, with the form of Ben Hobbs (20 disposals and a goal) and Jye Caldwell (20 disposals and eight tackles) keeping sub Dylan Shiel out of the 22.

Fellow midfielder Will Setterfield is closing in on a return from a foot injury, adding to those dilemmas, which had Scott referencing Australian all-rounder Mitch Marsh following his Ashes century.

"We want our boys to take some inspiration from Mitch Marsh," he said.

"It's a squad mentality. You don’t know when you're going to be needed.

"Mitch Marsh has been an understudy to Cameron Green for a long time. He gets his opportunity and that's taking your opportunity. Hobbsy did that, Jye Menzie has done that. We're going to have some good challenges. That's what good teams have."