The Bombers final JLT Community Series match against Geelong shapes as a full dress rehearsal for the round one blockbuster against Hawthorn.
The quarters will be the normal home and away length, teams sizes will be reduced and John Worsfold said it’s the perfect platform to launch into the 2017 season.
“This is a great progression for them – they’ve had sessions this big in training,” he said.
“They’re ready to step that up now, so it’s perfect timing for us.
“The other games have been shorter quarters, this is normal timing – these quarters will go for anything from 28-35 minutes.
“So the players will be heading towards 80, 90, 100 minutes of football this week whereas [previously] they’ve been sitting on about 70.”
The Bombers will field their strongest line-up of the pre-season with Dyson Heppell, Zach Merrett and David Zaharakis among eight inclusions to the squad.
The trio will join the likes of Darcy Parish, Jobe Watson and Brendon Goddard in the Dons engine room.
“We’re bringing our midfield back together – [Dyson] Heppell, [David] Zaharakis and [Zach] Merrett didn’t play last week so they’re back in together and starting to really build that chemistry with a lot of time playing together,” Worsfold said.
Mark Baguley, Orazio Fantasia, Patrick Ambrose, James Kelly and Matt Dea are the other inclusions into the squad of 27 that will be reduced to 24 on match day.
“We always said we needed these games to get plenty of practice in, but also preparing the guys in terms of their conditioning for round one and chemistry has been a big thing for us,” Worsfold said.
“We want to get through playing some good footy and understanding more about each other.”
Geelong v Essendon, Queen Elizabeth Oval (Bendigo), 4.10pm AEDT
GEELONG
1. Rhys Stanley, 2. Zach Tuohy, 3. Brandan Parfitt, 4. Andrew Mackie, 5. Nakia Cockatoo, 6. Lincoln McCarthy, 7. Harry Taylor, 9. Zac Smith, 10. Daniel Menzel, 11. Darcy Lang, 13. Tom Lonergan, 14. Joel Selwood, 18. Josh Cowan, 21. Jordan Murdoch, 22. Mitch Duncan, 23. Aaron Black, 25. Lachie Henderson, 26. Tom Hawkins, 27. Sam Menegola, 29. Cameron Guthrie, 32, Steven Motlop, 33. George Horlin-Smith, 35. Patrick Dangerfield, 36. Tom Ruggles, 40. Jackson Thurlow, 44. Tom Stewart, 46. Mark Blicavs
ESSENDON
1. Andrew McGrath, 3. Darcy Parish, 4. Jobe Watson, 5. Brent Stanton, 6. Joe Daniher, 7. Zach Merrett, 8. Martin Gleeson, 9. Brendon Goddard, 11. David Zaharakis, 12. Mark Baguley, 13. Orazio Fantasia, 16. Joshua Begley, 17. James Stewart, 18. Michael Hurley, 21. Dyson Heppell, 22. Matthew Leuenberger, 28. Mitch Brown, 29. Patrick Ambrose, 30. Kyle Langford, 32. Travis Colyer, 33. Jayden Laverde, 36. Michael Hartley, 40. Ben Howlett, 43. Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, 44. Shaun McKernan, 47. James Kelly, 49. Matt Dea
