Assistant coach Hayden Skipworth says Essendon is placing a high importance on the JLT Community Series.

The Bombers will open their JLT campaign against Carlton at Ikon Park on Thursday night, before facing Geelong at GMHBA Stadium a week later.

Skipworth, who’s in charge of Essendon’s midfield, said the current pre-season competition format meant teams had to hit the ground running.

“We take every game seriously,” Skipworth told RSN 927. 

“We want to get our game plan rolling and our guys in form early … We know we don’t have that third game (of pre-season anymore).”

The Bombers are expected to name a near full-strength line-up for Thursday, with stars Joe Daniher, Dyson Heppell and Zach Merrett available. 

Despite the trio being on modified programs at different stages throughout pre-season, Skipworth said they were ready to tackle the Blues. 

“We’ve been able to get a lot of work into them, whether that’s in the rehab group or cross-training,” he said.

“With the measurements these days, the (injured) boys don’t seem to miss much at all and they seamlessly slip back into (main) training.

“We’re not concerned. They’ve (Daniher, Heppell and Merrett) also had many pre-seasons under their belts.”

Thursday could mark boom recruit Dylan Shiel’s first outing in the red and black, while fellow newcomer Zac Clarke is also in the selection mix after an impressive pre-season.

Skipworth said Shiel had settled in seamlessly since crossing over from GWS.

“He’s the ultimate professional. He’s added to our culture from day one, just with his preparation - we’ve got a lot of guys in that category,” he said.

“I think one of our strengths is our speed on the outside with Fantasia, McDonald-Tipungwuti, Conor (McKenna) and Saad from the back and McGrath through the midfield. 

“Shiel’s dynamic, he’s a good runner and he’s got that speed, which ties into our strengths.” 

The Bombers will announce their squad to face Carlton at 6:20pm AEDT on Wednesday.

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