Soaring temperatures and a very close to full strength Geelong side is one of the more daunting prospects young players can face at this stage of the pre-season.

That was the task that confronted Alex Morgan on Saturday in Shepparton.

The 20 year old picked up six possessions in his first appearance in the red and black.

The Bombers selected Morgan with the 29^th overall pick in last November’s National Draft.

A hamstring injury interrupted his progress with the Oakleigh Chargers in 2015.

Since arriving at the Bombers, Morgan’s slowly built up his workload and Line Coach Guy McKenna is excited by what he’s seen.

“He’s had an injury interrupted pre-season so we sort of threw him out in the deep end against a match hardened Cats squad,” McKenna said. 

“The good thing is he doesn’t look physically out of place. 

“He’s spent a lot of time in the midfield group.

“We know he’s a very hard defender and a very hard running defender as well.

“He just needs to get a bit of confidence in his body – that’s going to happen in three of four weeks time.

“I would think on the bits and pieces we have seen of him in the pre-season, he should be playing some senior footy for us this year.” 

A number of Essendon’s recent draftees have earned an opportunity in the side’s NAB Challenge campaign so far.

Top pick Darcy Parish picked up 18 possessions in his only outing against Carlton.

Michael Hartley and Mitch Brown have formed the two key defensive posts in the first two games, while Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti was one of the Dons best against the Cats.

Essendon will play its final NAB Challenge match this Sunday against West Coast.