Essendon coach John Worsfold says he is thrilled to have speedsters Conor McKenna and Orazio Fantasia back in the senior side to take on Port Adelaide on Saturday.

McKenna had been in sensational form before missing last week’s 10-point victory over Gold Coast due to his brother’s wedding.

The exciting defender is having a breakout year so far in 2019 with career-high averages in several key stats including disposals (20), rebound 50s (five) and bounces (four).

In fact, he leads the league for running bounces by the length of the Flemington straight having taken 66 throughout the season, 31 clear of GWS defender Heath Shaw in second place.

Fantasia has again struggled for continuity in the side this year, but Worsfold is confident the athletic forward is ready to fire alongside his fellow inclusion.

“We do miss Conor, because he’s a bit of a character around the team and he has been in really good form,” Worsfold said on Thursday.

“(Fantasia) is ready to go. He had a light week the previous week and it was always the plan to freshen up and then build up to this game. He’s feeling good and we’re rapt to have him back out there.

“They’re both just very good players and part of what makes them good players is their speed, so definitely we will be using that.

“They’ve got a role to play, they’ll come in and support the team and hopefully give us a winning team.”

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Medium-sized defender Ben McNiece is the unfortunate one to make way for McKenna despite an impressive performance against the Suns keeping dangerous forward Alex Sexton to just nine disposals.

He is joined in the omissions by forward Jayden Laverde and Worsfold encouraged the pair to continue to knock on the selection door.

“Ben McNiece stepped up and was great for us, he had that tough job on (Gold Coast’s Alex) Sexton and we thought he did a really good job for us.

“But Conor is a key cog in that backline in the way we want to play, so he comes straight back into the line-up and unfortunately Ben misses out. We really appreciate the fact that Ben helped us get over the line and I’m sure Conor appreciated it.

“With Orazio coming back in, we had to look at which forward was going to miss out. Jayden’s been going well, but he just didn’t capitalise on a couple of opportunities he had on the weekend.

“He’s not far off really grabbing hold of a game, so we need him to bounce back strongly, just be ready to go for us and keep putting up his hand for selection.”

Jayden Laverde battled well against the Suns but will not take on Port Adelaide. (Image: AFL Photos)

Worsfold is expecting a tough contest against the Power as they strive to keep their season alive, but he said his side will make sure the visitors feel “welcome” as the Dons return to their home turf.

“We expect them to come out and play good footy, they’re a very good team,” he said.

“They are quite a mature team, as much as some of their young players are very exciting - some of their first-year players have outstanding this year.

“We expect a tough game and there’s not much between us in terms of wins and losses.

“We’re looking forward to getting back on Marvel Stadium, there’s no doubt about that. We’ve had two weeks on the road, so we’re going to welcome them to Marvel Stadium and take them on with the way we want to play.”

The game is due to begin at 1:45pm.