Twelve of Essendon's non-selected players featured in a scratch match consisting of three 20-minute thirds against Greater Western Sydney's reserves on Friday.

The hitout marked the long-awaited return of first-year forward Harrison Jones, who got through unscathed after playing a third.

Andrew Phillips, Dylan Clarke and Martin Gleeson also had limited game-time given the Bombers' busy schedule next week, while Brayden Ham didn't play given he was held over as an emergency in the seniors.

The Bombers had five players from Richmond and one from Gold Coast on their side to ensure there would be enough numbers for a valuable contest.

Development coach Leigh Tudor has reviewed all 12 Bombers who featured below. 

Harrison Jones

"It was just so exciting to see him back. He got 20 minutes in. He's had a tough run over the last couple of months and he's worked really hard to get back to playing. I loved his chasing pressure and tackling, and you could see the enthusiasm in him. He had a fantastic return."

Mitch Hibberd

"Hibberd played as an on-baller. He had a good thing going with Phillips, winning a lot of clearances. It rained for two-thirds of the game and Mitch won a lot of hard balls in a strong in-and-under game."

Andrew Phillips

"Phillips played two-thirds of the game predominantly as a ruckman, but also had stints up forward. He gave us plenty of hitouts to advantage and his follow-up work was very good. It was another good game from him."

Dylan Clarke

"'Clarkey' played two-thirds of the game, so he had 40 minutes. He played as a midfielder and like the other guys on managed time, he just did what he needed to do, winning a lot of his own ball and continuing his consistency."

Henry Crauford

"He was a strong focal point up forward again. He ended up with three goals and took several contested marks inside 50. He got a little bit of time in the ruck in the second third and got his hands on the ball a fair bit. That's a couple of good games in a row for Henry."

Nick Bryan

"Nick played two-thirds of the game as a full-back. He's learning all the little things about being a defender, but he was strong in the high-ball contests and had lots of spoils. He's got a nice reach and used his pace to close down the forwards. It was good to see him play a little of ruck, as he hasn't had a lot of opportunities there given how many rucks we've had available. It was another step forward for Nick." 

Irving Mosquito

"He pretty much played the whole game on the half-back flank. He's learning to attack and get back to find his man as quick as he can, because he's such an attacking and aggressive half-back. He wins his own ball and gets in great positions to be used. It was another good learning game for him."

Ross McQuillan

"Very similar to 'Moz' (Mosquito), Ross loves to win his own ball and be aggressive. Given the sport he's come from, he's still learning the little things like one-on-one contests. The best thing about that is that he's putting himself in the best positions to practise that and improve. It was another step forward for Ross."

Kobe Mutch

"'Mutchy' was the other one who played across half-back. He got lots of the ball and he's been pretty consistent for us over the last month. He used the ball well again."

Josh Begley

"He spent more time up forward this week, with a little bit of time in midfield. He kicked a goal and set up a couple, and was pleasingly involved in a lot of our scoring chains. He had a good game as a forward."

Noah Gown

"Gown played mainly as a forward, but also as a key defender in the last third as we were short on talls at that stage. He's working hard on some little things to get better and is putting himself in the positions to do that."

Martin Gleeson

"Gleeson played just 20 minutes - a third of the game. He did exactly what he had to, defending well and joining in attack. He got what he needed to out of his short game-time."