Essendon has emerged unscathed from its round 16 loss to Geelong, with a clean bill of health for the second consecutive week.

In more positive news, head of high performance Sean Murphy said first-year defender Cody Brand was in a strong position to return for Essendon's VFL clash with Sandringham at Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Sunday.

The No.53 draft pick missed the Bombers' VFL loss to Geelong on Friday with a hand injury.

“Cody has that fractured hand and he missed (because of it) on the weekend,” Murphy told Dons Digital’s Liberty Financial Performance Update.

“He’ll train during the week and be a test for this weekend, but it’s all looking pretty positive at this point.”

Midfielder Dylan Clarke was a welcome sight at the VFL Bombers’ Friday night curtain-raiser against Geelong.

The young ball-winner made a successful return from an ankle injury sustained in January, getting through a strong amount of game-time.

“It was really pleasing to see him come back in and play his first game for the year,” Murphy said.

“I thought he was outstanding. He actually missed the first quarter under a bit of restriction, playing 75 minutes (for the game).

“But to then be able to come in and have 25 touches over three quarters, it was really impressive to see his output.”

From an AFL perspective, Murphy also touched on a stellar high-performance effort from small forward Will Snelling.

The 23-year-old shone in his first game back from a thumb injury, showcasing fitness levels which made it seem like Snelling hadn't come off a four-week layoff.

“It was really pleasing to see ‘Snell’ slot back into the team after missing a month of footy,” Murphy said.

“It’s a testament to how he’s prepared himself over that time, because he actually had his best running game for the year.

“(Snelling) went over 150 metres per minute in his run, he covered over 15 kilometres, and on the intensity side of it he had over 1000 metres of high intensity running, which is also his best for the year.”

ESSENDON'S ROUND 17 INJURY LIST