Essendon will be looking for its first win against Hawthorn since round six 2010 when the sides meet on Sunday at the MCG.

The Hawks have won the last five clashes by an average of 47 points.

“I’ve never beaten Hawthorn since I’ve been at the Club.  It’s been a while and I think most times we’ve played them they’ve beaten us pretty easily,” Essendon midfielder Jake Melksham said.

The Bombers matched it with Sydney for three quarters last week and will be looking to go the full 120 minutes against the Hawks.

“I think we’re ready now.  We were really fresh last week leading into the game and I think now that we’ve had that hit-out we’ll be ready for the Hawks.

“We took it up to Sydney last week and they played Hawthorn in the Grand Final so there’s no reason why we can’t do that this week,” Melksham said.

Essendon has upgraded rookie Shaun McKernan to its senior list as Jason Winderlich recovers from a back injury.

Melksham said the former Crow could fill a number of roles. 

“He provides a lot of versatility for us.  He can play in the ruck, he can play at either end of the ground so he’ll certainly add something to the group if he does play.”