Essendon Coach John Worsfold says the decision to leave Heath Hocking out of Saturday’s match against Adelaide, was simply a case of the preferred player for that role becoming available again.

Hocking spent time across half forward and in the midfield against Carlton, but lost his spot for the trip to Adelaide with Josh Green now recovered from a hamstring injury.

“It was a tough one for Buddha, he didn’t have a lot of chances to really get up and going,” Worsfold said.

“But he came in to replace Benny Howlett, who had come in to replace Josh Green and Green is now available.

“It was pretty much Green is our first choice in that role and he was available so he comes back into it.

“Buddha goes out of the team really for that reason and we think that balance is more about what we need.”

Conor McKenna is the other inclusion for the Bombers, with Martin Gleeson also missing out.

Adelaide is undefeated after three games and are ranked third in the competition for goals kicked.

“We’re going over to have a red hot go at it,” Worsfold said.

“Whenever the non-Victorian teams are in good form they always seem a bit more formidable.

“They are a good team, but we think we’ve got a pretty good team in ready to go.”

Rory Sloane, who is averaging 27 possessions per game this season, has been the key driver of the Crows midfield, but Worsfold is unlikely to use a run-with player.

“We’re keen to see how our midfield operate as a total unit and take them on in that regard,” he said.

The Bombers enter the match sitting in seventh position on the ladder, but Worsfold said it’d take at least another month before solid form lines are established.

“I always believed it was going to be the first six or eight weeks of the year that we learned the most in,” he said.

“If you wanted to get carried away thinking you knew the answers after one or two [weeks], that’s always risky.

“Three weeks in we’ve learnt a lot but we’ve got some big games coming up against some good opposition that will show us a lot more about where we sit.

“Obviously the results will tell us that and we’re ready to step up.”