After biding their time for AFL opportunities, Nate Caddy and Archie Roberts are certainly making them count.

In the case of Caddy, who’s now clocked up eight senior appearances in his first season, Saturday night’s defeat held shades of a breakout performance. The 19-year-old’s three-goal effort marked the third time he’s kicked multiple goals in a game this year and earned himself a Rising Star nod in the process.

Adding aerial flair and genuine competitiveness to Essendon’s forward mix, it’s difficult not to get excited about Caddy’s potential as a future spearhead for the side.

Competitiveness is also a fair word to attach to Roberts, who already looks at home in the AFL environment.

Last year’s pick No.54 had to wait until round 21 for a debut but has translated his elite VFL form into a couple of solid performances to open his career, accumulating 18 and 16 touches respectively against the Dockers and the Suns.

The winger also hinted at his big-game quality with a clutch late goal to open his account on Saturday, bringing the Bomber faithful to their feet at an integral stage of the game.

GM – AFL Daniel McPherson has been impressed by the duo’s early performances.

“It’s great for both of those young guys to get opportunities to show what they’ve got and they’ve both done that,” McPherson told essendonfc.com.au’s The Last Word.

“Particularly late in the season when they’ve been involved in high-pressure moments and games, Archie had a terrific debut last week and he followed it up with another strong game and Nate’s shown a fair bit of excitement every time he goes near the ball.

“They’re just a couple of the young guys that we’ve got but we’re really excited about what they can bring.”