Following an uninspiring performance against North Melbourne last week, Matthew Knights today revealed he will make multiple changes to the line-up set to take on an in-form Collingwood in the traditional ANZAC Day blockbuster on Saturday.

Essendon will be forced to make at least one change to their side following a hamstring injury to Hayden Skipworth and Knights said a number of players have thrown themselves into the selection mix following solid form at VFL level.

“We’ve got five or six players who could quite easily come into the line up and be up for selection,” Knights said.

“Thankfully Heath Hocking, who didn’t play last week, is potentially available, Lonergan and Jetta got some match fitness in the VFL as did as did Myers and Houli.

“I wouldn’t think we’d have a lot of changes. I guess what I’m saying is all those guys are in the mix, I think potentially we may have two or three changes depending on the availability of players. We’ve got our main session today so we will have to see who comes through that.""
Essendon veteran Scott Lucas is a likely starter on Saturday despite recent criticism of the superstar foward’s form and movement around the ground.

“Scott actually had 17 disposals last week,” Knights said.

“He’s come back from a very serious injury and I’ve found that over the past two weeks he’s moved a lot better and covered more ground. I think his movement patterns are on the up and it’s just a matter of time before he has a breakout game.

“Scott has just had a couple of weeks were he hasn’t taken his opportunities but I’m sure that will come because he is technically so sound.

“He had 17-disposals and plenty of opportunities last week so that’s the good part for me as potentially he’s on the up for getting the ball into his hands.  If he continues to get the ball in his hands, he will convert which is great for us.”
The head coach also dismissed suggestions Adam McPhee has lost confidence in his ability following recent performances which have been scattered with basic skill errors.

“Adam is a hugely intense player, who plays with a hunger that is really great for our team as he is one of our leaders,” Knights said.

“At times, Adam might make the odd error but he gets over it pretty quickly and he is not one to dwell on things.

“I’m sure he is discovering why these things are happening match day, whether he drops the occasional mark or makes an error, no different to a number of our players who made errors on the weekend.

“There were a number of players who didn’t get things right on the day, and we didn’t get things quite right as a team and as the coach I just need to support him and work through that on the track.

“We don’t have a lot of players between the ages of sort of that 23 to 28 age bracket, so it is vital for our young team that guys like Adam McPhee, Andrew Welsh and Mark McVeigh are in the side and playing at a good level.”