Ten senior-listed players featured in Essendon's 51-point VFL loss to Box Hill at Windy Hill on Sunday.

VFL assistant and development coach Cam Roberts, who took over the coaching duties from Leigh Tudor for the game, has assessed each player below.

Essendon will take on Casey from 12pm at Casey Fields on Sunday, with the round 11 match to be shown live on Channel Seven and 7plus. 

Martin Gleeson

Stats: 32 disposals, one goal, eight marks, three tackles

“Marty played particularly well I thought. He was across half-back all day and I think the most pleasing aspect was a lot of his intercepts and spoils were a real highlight. Just his ability to set up our attacking ball movement was really pleasing, so he just showed good composure all day and his experience sort of shined through.” 

Sam Durham

Stats: 21 disposals, six marks, three tackles

“Sam played his first game for us after being picked up in the mid-season draft. He just slotted in really nicely. He played alongside Zach Reid and Marty Gleeson across the half-back line. It took him a quarter to sort of get into the groove of how we play and then he just adapted really well. He just joined in our attack really well, rebounded from half-back nicely and just showed how courageous he is in the contest, which was great to see.” 

Andrew Phillips

Stats: 20 disposals, 11 marks, 19 hitouts, two tackles

“'Flip' was arguably our best player. He took 11 marks for the day, playing in the ruck and forward. He took a lot of contested marks and just competed really strongly in the ruck for us, so he played a great game.”

Zach Reid

Stats: 20 disposals, 11 marks, two tackles

“It was his first real game back after some time away with illness. It was pleasing to see him back playing, but he played really well. A little bit of a shaky start with his kicking in the first quarter, but he took 11 marks for the day across half-back. After quarter-time he set us up really well in our back half, and along with Marty Gleeson was a real catalyst for setting up our ball movement. He was great.”

Cody Brand

Stats: 17 disposals, five marks

“Cody played in our back line and showed some really promising growth in his one-on-ones. Box Hill are renowned for their contested marks in their forward 50, and I just thought he competed super well and showed a bit of grit to play out the game with an injured hand, so that was a real positive.” 

Tom Hird

Stats: 16 disposals, five marks, three tackles 

“'Hirdy' played in a new role this week and slotted in really nicely. He played as a high forward, got involved in play up the ground and then his between contest running was really impressive. He looked a real natural playing up forward, so that was a nice progression in his game.”

Nick Bryan

Stats: 11 disposals, four marks, two tackles, nine hitouts

“Nick shared the ruck duties with Andrew Phillips. It was probably a quieter game for Nick, but he still contributed with the aerial contests which has been a real point of focus for him. It was great to see him be able to influence some of those contested marking situations.” 

Cian McBride 

Stats: Nine disposals, three goals, four marks, one tackle

“Cian, like Hirdy, played a new role. We moved him up forward this week as one of our key forwards. He kicked his three goals and took four contested marks - four really good contested marks. It was great to see him feel a bit more comfortable. He looked really good up forward and competed super well for us in the air. If he wasn't marking it, he was providing a contest for us. It was probably Cian’s best game for the club which was a great result."

Lachlan Johnson

Stats: Six disposals, three marks, two tackles

“Lachie played as a high forward along with Hirdy. Lachy’s greatest strength at the moment is his defensive pressure around the footy. His ability to tackle and put the opposition under pressure - it was good to see him do that. Some of his forward ball craft was really good. He was unlucky not to hit the scoreboard on a couple of occasions.”

Josh Eyre

Stats: five disposals, one mark, one tackle 

“Josh played alongside Cian as one of our key forwards. He had a bit of a quiet day, but what he did do well was compete in the contest for us. If he didn't mark, he sort of halved those aerial contests and sometimes he was up against two tall opposition players, so for him to be able to do that was a real growth in his game."