Essendon Coach John Worsfold will be aiming to improve the team’s scoring ability when players return for pre-season next month.

The Bombers averaged ten goals a game in 2015 and Worsfold said it would take improvement across the field to lift the scoring rate.

“There is no doubt we need to be able to kick bigger scores so that will be a focus,” he told FIVEaa radio in Adelaide.

“There is no doubt scoring is strongly related to the number of times the ball gets inside 50 and generally those inside 50’s are coming from the midfield work.”

Cale Hooker and Courtenay Dempsey were two defenders who were sent forward last season.

Hooker ended the year with 21 goals while Dempsey showed promise in a couple of games late in the year.

While Worsfold expects Hooker to return to defence, he’s open to the prospect of Dempsey playing a role in attack.

“I don’t think Cale Hooker was going to be a key to us scoring a lot more, there will be other ways we will manufacture that,” he said.

“One will be performing better in the midfield to give the forwards more opportunity.

“I think Courtenay Dempsey could add some real scoring power up forward – he’s got the talent to do that.

“We’re in negotiations with him continuing on at Essendon.”

Last year’s top draft picks Kyle Langford and Jayden Laverde played 17 games between them in 2015, while 21 year old Joe Daniher registered his most prolific season in front of goals with 34 majors.

“We’ve got some good young talent coming through with Laverde and Langford,” Worsfold said.

“They’ll take a few years before they really start dominating in the forward half but we’ll see some good stuff coming out of those guys.

“With Joe Daniher – to build a forward line around his talent is pretty exciting.”