""We are good friends and I would think we will spend most of the night at opposite ends of the ground, so we might not cross paths, but if we do we will both want to win the football and do the right thing by our respective teams,"" Fletcher said.
Essendon arrived in Darwin today to begin its three-day community camp in the lead up to Friday night’s match. The players did a recovery session in the pool following the flight before Matthew Lloyd took Mal Michael and the club’s six draftees to the local naval base for a tour of the HMAS Coonawarra.
Tomorrow night will be Essendon’s major training session before Friday night’s match – a game that Matthew Lloyd and James Hird could both make an appearance in according to Fletcher.
""He (Lloyd) got a bit of a knock but I spoke to him before and he is pretty keen to get a hit-out under his belt because he hasn’t played for a while and we have the NAB Cup game against Carlton coming up. Hirdy might make an appearance but I don't think a decision has been made,"" he said.
Fletcher told local media that NT boys Alwyn Davey and Richard Cole have both had excellent pre-seasons and are pushing for senior selection come round one.
""Alwyn Davey is a good young kid and he has given us a bit of spark in the couple of intra-club games we have played. He has kicked a couple of goals and I really like his speed – he could be very useful for us this year,"" he said.
""Richard Cole has come back in good shape and I know he is really keen to get his career back on track. He played really well last week and we know what a good player is when he is fit and at his best. He will want to build on what he has done so far.
Lovett-Murray said all the players were looking forward to the game but were also looking forward to spending the week in Darwin. He said the player’s visits to the remote communities would be a real eye opener for a number of his teammates.
""I played in the All Stars game a couple of years ago and I rated it on a par with playing my first AFL game – it was a great experience. I know we (the Bombers) want to start the season well so I expect this will be a pretty good game,"" he said.
""It will be competitive – a few of the boys have been getting into myself and Andrew (Lovett) on the training track so it should be good fun. Once we cross that line you go out to play footy to win and the All Stars will play with a lot of pride.
""The team is really pleased to be in Darwin. This club has great links into this region through the likes Dean Rioli and Michael Long. This club takes a lot of pride in what it does for the community and this week is another part of that program.""
