Essendon forward Will Snelling says the playing group is “feeding off” the energy of its talented young brigade.

The Bombers fielded 12 players with less than 50 games of experience in their season-opening loss to Hawthorn, including AFL debutants Harrison Jones and Nik Cox.

They'll head to the fortress of Adelaide Oval for their round two clash with Port Adelaide, and Snelling said youngsters getting exposure to games would set up the group for years to come.

“We take a lot of energy out of these younger guys. Harrison Jones (is an example), he came in and made his debut on the weekend, took four or five marks inside 50. While it’s not going to be a quick thing, getting games into these younger guys early and giving them that experience and confidence is only going to pay us back in spades (as a club) over the next few years,” Snelling said.

“I didn’t give him (Jones) too much advice before his debut, but he came up to me during the game all excited. I was trying to focus down and get my role right but I just love that energy, we’re all feeding off that and that’s what we need.

“We’re also loving the way 'Drapes' (Sam Draper) is going about it. He’s only 22 so to take on the bigger guys every week already makes the guys on the ground level walk a bit taller so if he’s taking bodies out, we don’t mind that at all.

“They’re really talented young guys and we’ve brought them in and already seeing it pay dividends. 'Coxy' (Nik Cox) making his debut on the weekend, a 200cm guy playing on the wing in his first game, he’s doing some incredible things already.

“With the youth of the group now, if we can all bring that energy and freedom we’ll play better as a team and better for longer.”

Despite growing up as a Bombers supporter, Snelling returns to his home state of South Australia for the round two clash having spent three years on Port Adelaide’s list before being picked up by Essendon as a mature-age recruit via the inaugural mid-season rookie draft in 2019.

But the native South Australian was coy on the extent of his ticket requests for friends and family ahead of Saturday’s battle.

“The ticket request is in the double-digit figures, but that’s all I’ll say,” Snelling joked.

Having his own unique insights into Port Adelaide’s list, Snelling said the Bombers would preview their opposition on Thursday morning in preparation for Saturday’s match.

“We’ll look at that before training today. We’ll look at how they play and what we’ll look to implement. They’re clearly a very quality side and it’s exciting for us as a younger team and we need to challenge them,” he said. 

“On the weekend our defence fell down, so every week we just need to strive to continue playing our way and improving that. It was a tale of two halves (against Hawthorn) where our best footy is really good and can challenge teams. Even against Geelong in the AAMI Community Series we showed that, but off the back of that, needing to do it for four quarters is something we need to focus on.”

The 23-year-old praised Ben Rutten for his clear communication to players on a match day, with the new senior coach leading from the bench in his first official game as senior coach.

“Having 'Truck' (Rutten) on the bench is great, especially for us as a younger team. You come off the field, have a bit of a chat with him to settle the nerves so it was good for him and us as players,” Snelling said.

“For the younger guys it’s great. He’s in regular contact with the guys in the box, but he's always getting a players’ feel for what’s happening to then help inform their decisions as a coaching group.”

Having relocated to Melbourne for his second stint in the AFL with the Bombers, Snelling talked about the dynamics of his new household with a couple of teammates.

“I’m living with Kyle Langford and Harrison Jones at the moment which has been really good,” he said.

“I’m more of the fun dad, Kyle is more about the housework and chores, and we make sure Jonesy keeps his skinfolds in check."