Three new Bombers will don the sash for the first time for premiership points on Friday night.
Exciting trio Devon Smith, Jake Stringer and Adam Saad have been named to take on Adelaide, while a number of changes have been confirmed since the Bombers’ latest JLT hit-out against Geelong.
Essendon coach John Worsfold said he was looking forward to unleashing the recruits against the Crows.
“We obviously got them to the club for a reason and they’ve all had really good pre-seasons,” Worsfold said.
“They understand where they fit into what we’re looking for.
“It’s exciting for them to be wearing the sash for the first time, but we’re rapt to have them out there.”
Martin Gleeson injured his ankle against the Cats and three more Bombers from the match have since fallen to their own injury troubles, with Patrick Ambrose (wrist), David Myers (calf) and Ben McNiece (hamstring) all ruled out for Friday night’s match.
Key defender Mitch Brown is set to play his first senior game since round six last year, while fellow backman Matt Dea has also been called into the line-up.
Tall defender Michael Hartley completes a trio of defensive inclusions and young midfielder Kyle Langford will also take his place in the team.
“Obviously it’s not ideal to lose some of those guys, but we’ve had really good depth throughout the whole summer,” he said.
“Guys like Matty Dea have had a great pre-season (and) Michael Hartley and Mitch Brown have both had really good pre-seasons as well, so they’re ready to go.
“And Kyle Langford, he’s been working on his midfield game for a number of years through the VFL now, so it’s a great opportunity for him.”
Worsfold said Myers, McNiece and injured forward Orazio Fantasia are the closest to returning to the selection mix, and said Fantasia will be a big inclusion for the side when he is ready to fire.
“Probably Myers, McNiece and Fantasia are the more immediate ones that will be back and pushing for selection pretty quickly.
“He (Fantasia) has been an exciting player for us, he’s really developing well.
“He’s in our leadership group now, he’s a player that we believe is in our best team and the sooner he’s up and going and ready to contribute, the better for us.”
Worsfold encouraged fans to get to the game early and provide as much support as possible for the Bombers on Friday.
“There’s a bit of a new format tomorrow night – the players aren’t out warming up as a team way earlier as they have done in the past.
“The club has got some pretty good stuff happening in the last 20 minutes or so before the game starts, so hopefully the crowd is there early and they enjoy that, and that will get them buzzing for the start of the game.”
While last year’s Grand Finalists are set to provide a strong challenge for Essendon, Worsfold said he was confident the side he selected can take it up to the Crows.
“This year we’ve got a new squad again, but the players played a lot of footy last year (so) we’re starting to build some really good understanding of each other,” he said.
“We’ve got full respect for Adelaide, they’re one of the favourites going into this season again, they’ve been building for a number of years so they’re a very good team.
“But we’re well prepared and we’re really pleased with the way we’ve added to our squad this year, so it’s just a great opportunity to show where we sit and match up against a really good team.”
FINAL TEAM:
FB - Dea, Hurley, Hartley
HB - Saad, Brown, Goddard
C - Zaharakis, Z. Merrett, Parish
HF - Stringer, Hooker, McDonald-Tipungwuti
F - Begley, Daniher, Stewart
Foll - Bellchambers, Heppell, Smith
I/C - McGrath, Langford, Green, McKenna
Emerg - J. Merrett, Redman, Baguley, McKernan
Limited tickets are still available, so CLICK HERE to purchase tickets to watch the Bombers take on the Crows in their Friday-night blockbuster.
