Here is a look at some of the better performers in the VFL on the weekend, who may come in to contention for a call-up to the senior line-up for the game against Geelong.
Jayden Laverde
The second year player got through the full game against Werribee and with three VFL games (two practice matches and the weekend’s game) now under his belt, Laverde appears ready go.
On the weekend he picked up 16 possessions and laid nine tackles.
What John Worsfold says…
"He ran the game out pretty well over the weekend, so again our challenge is we're pretty keen to give some of these guys an opportunity, but when they're really ready to go, not just when they've had one blowout and they're going to struggle.
“We think he's pretty much ready to go now.”
Nathan Grima
Grima played a key role for Essendon VFL against Werribee. He was stationed deep in defence and won some important one on one contests.
What John Worsfold says…
"Grimesy reckons he's ready, he's said that for a few weeks.
"We've been pretty happy with Michael Hartley, so we've got to weigh all that up, but Grima's available this week. We didn't really consider him for selection last week [as we] wanted to get him as fit as we possibly could first.
"It's obviously a brilliant story to see him feeling good physically, because his back injury was a pretty serious. The fact that he's back playing footy at all is great news."
Conor McKenna
McKenna provided a real spark for the VFL side on the weekend. He ended the day with three goals. McKenna played on the wing and across half forward. His disposal count (11 possessions) wasn’t high but he was damaging every time he got his hands on the ball.
Jake Long
Long continued his excellent run of form with another polished display in the VFL. On top of his 17 possessions, he laid six tackles, had two rebounds from the defensive 50 and drove the ball inside 50 four times.
What John Worsfold says…
"Jake's form has been really good, but so has Conor McKenna's, so those two guys are putting their name up really strongly for selection. They were definitely looked at last week and they both performed pretty well on the weekend.”
