Essendon has made three changes for its Tackling Childhood Cancer game against Melbourne at Metricon Stadium on Saturday.

Michael Hurley headlines the inclusions, with Mason Redman and a fit-again Jayden Laverde also coming into the side.

Andrew Phillips, Mitch Hibberd and Jacob Townsend have been omitted.

04:32

Rd 18 | Team selection

Senior Coach John Worsfold takes us through the team to face the Demons at Metricon Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Hurley sat out last week's loss to Port Adelaide with an ankle complaint, while Laverde will play his first senior game since suffering a syndesmosis injury in the round eight win over Adelaide.

The Bombers will be striving to snap a three-game losing streak in what will mark senior coach John Worsfold's 107th and final game at the helm.

10:04

Honouring Woosha | The man behind the scenes

In the second of a two-part feature honouring outgoing senior coach John Worsfold, captain Dyson Heppell shares insights on what drives Worsfold, and how he's impacted the playing group.

They'll also proudly wear the Challenge logo on the front of their guernsey which also features the yellow armband, inspired by former premiership player and cancer survivor Adam Ramanauskas.

Challenge has been Essendon’s charity partner for over 20 years, providing daily support for children and families living with cancer or a life-threatening blood disorder from the time of diagnosis, through treatment and beyond.

02:53

Challenge game | Nate's message to Hurley

Nate, whose brother River was part of Challenge and met Michael Hurley before sadly passing away, sends a video message to Hurley ahead of this week's Tackling Childhood Cancer game. To find out more about our charity partner Challenge and to do...

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The Tackling Childhood Cancer game will begin at 2:10pm AEST, shown live on Fox Footy.

ESSENDON'S ROUND 18 LINE-UP:

Backs: Jordan Ridley, Brandon Zerk-Thatcher, Martin Gleeson
Half-backs: Devon Smith, Michael Hurley, Adam Saad
Centreline: Tom Cutler, Zach Merrett, Brayden Ham
Half-forwards: Will Snelling, James Stewart, Matt Guelfi
Forwards: Jake Stringer, Joe Daniher, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti
Followers: Sam Draper, Dylan Shiel, Darcy Parish
Interchange: Jayden Laverde, Mason Redman, Dylan Clarke, Kyle Langford
Emergencies: Josh Begley, Andrew Phillips, Harrison Jones, Kobe Mutch

In: Hurley, Laverde, Redman

Out: Phillips, Townsend, Hibberd (all omitted)