Following two excellent NAB Cup victories on the back of strong performances by Essendon's young players, coach Matthew Knights is hoping the team's momentum carries them into the NAB Cup Grand Final.

 

While the coach has avoided the temptation of rushing senior players back into the side, Knights believes winning Friday night's semi-final is important.

 

""Yes it's a semi final and it's an important game and we will play hard and play to win and we will see what comes out of it,"" Knights said. 

 

""I think it would be fantastic for our club if we made the Grand Final, I really do. It would be a great experience for our young players and fantastic for our supporters and our membership to see us play in an NAB Cup Grand Final.

 

""We might be taking in another young team but we are definitely playing to win and we have built up some momentum, so if we pull off a victory on Friday and make the Grand Final, it would be fantastic.""

 
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Seven of the Bombers' younger players will be rested for the clash and replaced by seven other players who are also light on experience to make sure the whole team is ready for Round one of the season.

 

""One player potentially right to play this week is Jay Neagle. We just have to get him through a training session tomorrow but he looks right to go,"" Knights said.

 

""We will have a solid hit-out tomorrow to keep developing our game - we won't be tapering off for Friday evening. We will still be going about our business to get players right for Round 1. It's the same philosophy we have had for the past eight weeks.

 

""We will have a solid session and we expect players to go at top speed because we have had a light week leading up to Friday's game.""

 

Barring any mishaps, Knights said Matthew Lloyd and Dustin Fletcher should definitely play next week, while Adam McPhee is also a chance to make the side.

 
""Regardless of what happens this week, we will play our strongest possible line up next week. It has always been our plan to have our best team play in the last practice match of the year. In a perfect world, I would have liked to have done that this week but a few players weren't available,"" he said.
 

""We wouldn't have played them this week even if it was the season proper.

 

""Dustin missed last week with knee soreness and he is a lot better now but we won’t risk him this week. He will play next week before we have a short break and the season proper begins.

 

""We also want to get some games into Dustin and Lloydy. They have hardly missed a pre-season training session but haven't been able to play the games. We think they will be fine but it would be nice to get a few games under their belt soon.

 

""Jason Winderlich has had a good week with his back problem but he is still probably a few weeks off playing still.""

 

Knights believes a real positive to come out of training over the past few weeks is that by Round one he should have almost a fill compliment of players to choose from.

 

""I have a clean slate as far as selection goes for the start of the season so yes, there may be some young players picked in Round one that might not be as well credentialed as some other guys. The young players believe they are right in the mix and they are,"" he said.

 

""Some of our young blokes are match hardened now; they have two or three games under their belt which is an advantage. It's all about output though so it doesn't mean the older guys will be overlooked it's about who will be best for the team.

 

""Yes, the young guys have shown good signs but they are far from being the full package and we still have a lot of work to do with them.

 

""What has been shown though is that maybe there has been a school of thought in the football public that our list is ordinary, some people think there isn't a lot of good young talent at the club and, hopefully, the last few weeks has shown that there is a hope and future there for some young players and there is more there than some people might have first thought.""

 
To watch the full Matthew Knights interview on Bomber.tv click here
 

Knights has also been impressed by the new-look Essendon midfield - which has been labelled as slow for the past few years - and feels that they have speed up the use of the ball throughout the corridor. 

 

""Our recruitment staff have done a good job bringing speed into the club and we are aiming to share the work load more so players aren't fatigued and slowing down at the end of a game,"" he said.

 

""That can make you appear slow and we are working to get more players ready to do their share.""