Dean Rioli (hamstring) and Jason Johnson (virus) are both certain starters while Matthew Allan (knee) will also be considered. Adam McPhee (hamstring) is less likely to play but he has made good progress in the past week. The wildcard could be Damian Cupido who has completed a one-match suspension.
Should Essendon get over the top of Melbourne, it will take on the loser of the Port Adelaide v Geelong Qualifying Final at AAMI Stadium. Should Geelong and Essendon win, the Bombers will face exactly the same scenario as it has in week two of the finals for the past two years.
But tonight the club can savour being a part of the finals' for the seventh successive season - a club record. It will also be greatly satisfying for Bomber coach Kevin Sheedy who has now steered the Bombers into a finals series in 19 of his 24 years as senior coach.
The first half of today's game was anything but vintage football from both sides. In form Essendon defender Mark McVeigh said it was a combination of the conditions and the pressure that affected the standard of the game.
""The roof was open and it was a bit swirly in the middle of the ground. There was also a fair bit of pressure and the Bulldogs flooded back which made it hard to play with any real flow,"" McVeigh said.
""But it was a credit to us that we kept working and got the result we needed. I think our form is okay going into the finals and anyone can win those games. Our hardness and attack on the football was good today, if we can fix our skills up I think we can play well next week""
McVeigh played in the backline in the first half but as the team gathered before leaving the ground at the main break, Sheedy said he was putting him into the midfield in an effort to provide some more drive. McVeigh didn't let his coach down finishing the match with 22 possessions.
""He asked me to go in there to break things up a bit. I did my best and hopefully it contributed to the final result,"" McVeigh said.
