Essendon VFL Coach Matthew Egan has praised the work of Captain Daniel Coghlan and Tom Wallis in the absence of several key VFL players on the weekend.

The Bombers were missing the likes of Jonathon Simpkin, Ryan Crowley and James Polkinghorne with AFL duties, while Will Hams was out injured for the match against Casey.

The new-look midfield took on an opposition littered with Melbourne-listed midfielders including Jack Trengove, Clayton Oliver and Viv Michie.

“It’s a good opportunity for the next group to grab it and make the most of their opportunities,” Egan said.

“I thought Cogs (Daniel Coghlan) was outstanding, he really tried to drive us forward as best he could. Wal (Tom Wallis) showed some good signs around the contest, he’s a first year player and only his second game back from injury.”

The Bombers went down to the Scorpions by 17 points at Windy Hill, with the visitors now a game clear of the Dons on the ladder.  

“They are a good team Casey, they are really well drilled around the ball,” Egan said.

“They beat us in all areas to be honest, I know the score line didn’t look too bad but they were pretty dominant on the day. They had 28 more inside 50’s - 68 to 40 which is huge.

“Some positives were that we only lost by 17 points and we didn’t play that well."

Nathan Grima led a defence bombarded with inside 50’s taking eight intercept marks and 20 disposals.

“I thought Grima was outstanding, without him defending 68 entries was bloody tough,” Egan said.

“Most of the defenders battled really hard and won a lot of one on one’s.

“I thought Jamar probably played his best game for the club and is starting to build some momentum – he had 44 hitouts.”

Egan said the Bombers face another big test against Geelong - another finals aspirant - this weekend.

“Geelong are a good team, we played them in the pre-season. They have a lot of young guys that use the ball really well,” he said.

The Bombers will take on the Cats at Windy Hill from 12pm this Saturday.