Essendon’s match against Richmond takes on extra significance this weekend with important milestones for two players. 

Conor McKenna will play his first AFL game, while Paul Chapman will play his last. 

Interim Coach Matthew Egan has seen Chapman up close for the best part of a decade. 

The pair were teammates at Geelong and reunited when Chapman joined the Bombers ahead of the 2014 season. 

“Obviously he’s been a fantastic player and had a really good season last year and hopefully he finishes off strong for us this week,” Egan said. 

McKenna’s inclusion comes on the back of a strong season in the VFL. 

He’s played 15 games and last week he gathered 16 possessions and took four marks. 

“He’s had some super games in the VFL,” Egan said. 

“He’s been really consistent, we’ve tried to make sure he was really confident before he came in. 

“The club is really excited about him. 

“Obviously using the round ball his whole life he finds kicking around the corner really natural. 

“He’s had some really strong training performances where he’s just played on certain players and you’ve thought ‘he looks ready’.” 

McKenna has worked closely with Development Coaches Paul and Mark Corrigan. 

 “They just wanted to be patient with him, make sure he really understood the structures and what we needed from him before we gave him his opportunity,” Egan said. 

“Last week he played really well in an important win for the VFL, he went to the wing a little bit so it’s just all part of his development.”