Essendon Coach Kevin Sheedy has extended an invitation to football fans to come and witness a real AFL match when Essendon take on Hawthorn this Saturday at the MCG. ""It’s probably a good advertisement for footy. Come and see a real game of footy on the weekend when Essendon take on Hawthorn,"" Sheedy said, taking a subtle swipe at the style of football being played by some teams at the moment.

""Some teams go out there to wrestle but these two teams go out to box and it is probably good to see the boxers every now and then especially considering both teams will be fighting this week to stay in the eight.

""They have won the most Premierships in my time of coaching so I think they have been the best footy club over that long period from 1980’s onwards and they still present themselves as a sensational club.

""They have gone through a tough time like all of us but I think that obviously the old rivalry will always be there between myself and the club and the players and Jeff Kennett and Alistair Clarkson and Ray Horsburgh and Peter Jackson.""

And Sheedy is building up the battle to be a thriller despite recent encounters with the Hawks finishing unfavourably for the Bombers.

""We didn’t start well last time we met but I think last year was one of those years that if you keep bringing it up then you put yourself back in the cemetery,"" he explained.

""I think that you can’t go back to it and you can’t keep on going back to every match last year. I think you have to move on.

""There are new players on the lists and obviously we have Matthew Lloyd, Patrick Ryder, Alwyn Davey and Leroy Jetta and these sorts of players and also Mal Michael so it just makes it a different year and a different sort of footy team.""

Sheedy revealed he is still unsure who will line up on Hawthorn spearhead Lance Franklin who has been dynamic in Hawk’s forward line in recent weeks and suggested they may even play two back in order to curb his influence.

""He is pretty potent in their forward line and it is very important that we shut him down.

""We don’t know their line-up yet so we have to be very careful about how we look at whatever we do.

""They actually do very good blocking in their forward line when they line up four guys inside 20. They really block the backline player out. They are a pretty smart team.

""I guess a lot depends on who comes into the team because they have had some players out like Croad so I’m not sure how they will balance that out yet.

""But we will just have to keep an eye on their training and talk to the spies at their game and find out whether they are going to wrestle or box and find out who is going to be there.""

Sheedy has ruled out David Hille and Jason Johnson for the match but suggested Jason Winderlich and Andrew Welsh will be likely starters for the Bombers.