The Bombers, who last played finals in 2004, must beat the Hawks at the MCG to secure eighth position on the ladder.
McVeigh says a finals berth will help to continue the football education for Essendon's young list while meeting the expectations coach Matthew Knights has for the side.
“It’s a big game for our club, because I think when ‘Knighta’ came to the club, he had a three-year plan,” McVeigh said from Windy Hill on Monday.
“Obviously the first year was to develop young players … the second year was hopefully knocking on the door of finals, and that’s what we’re doing.
“I think in terms of all our goals, we’re starting to achieve them. They’re not quite to where we want them to be, but to be knocking on the door of a finals series in the second year of his coaching (career), I think everyone’s pretty pleased. We need to improve a fair bit to obviously get there (and) then make an impact.”
The Bombers were thrashed by Fremantle by 54 points on Sunday, but McVeigh insisted morale was still strong among the players.
While the Essendon side didn’t arrive back in Melbourne until 2am on Monday morning, Knights’ team is intent on putting its Perth experience behind it as quickly as possible.
“It was a very long and disappointing and quiet flight,” McVeigh said.
“It’s one of those things [where] you know a chance has gone begging.
“[But] Saturday comes around pretty quickly … we’ll certainly sit down and assess where certain players went wrong in the game and where we broke down, but then we’ll also move onto Hawthorn, probably tomorrow morning, straight away.
“Hawthorn’s a huge challenge, [but if] we win the game, we play finals and you forget about losing to Fremantle.”
Beating the Hawks won’t be easy, and with the last finals berth on offer, both teams are likely to throw everything at one another – which could write another chapter in the famous rivalry between the two clubs.
On top of their grand final clashes in the mid-1980s, Essendon and Hawthorn were also involved in the famous “line-in-the-sand” game in 2004.
The Bombers, to the angst of some at Waverley Park, have also recently poached former Hawks boss Ian Robson to be the club’s new CEO.
All those factors might mean some extra spice on Saturday.
“You’re playing for a spot in the final eight, so why wouldn’t there be [fireworks]?” McVeigh said.
“Hawthorn and Essendon have got a great rivalry. Over the years, we’ve had some great battles against them.
“But I think it’s all about the football. You don’t want to go out there and do anything too stupid, because you may be in a finals series the week after.
“But I think in terms of hardness at the football and a contest, yeah, it’ll be very tough and rugged - and that’s the way it should be. That’s finals footy and that’s what our team needs.”
