Essendon Coach John Worsfold expects number six draft pick Aaron Francis to spend another week in the VFL.

The South Australian - who was one of the most sought after players in last November’s National Draft - is edging closer to a senior debut after some strong performances in the VFL.

But after an injury interrupted pre-season Worsfold wants Francis to continue to build his fitness.

“We still believe he’s not quite at the fitness level that he requires,” he said. 

“We’ve got no doubt he can perform well but he’d be a high risk of injury and also struggling through a full game of AFL.

“For his absolute benefit we think he’s probably another week away.”

Francis has played five games in the VFL this year after a calf injury delayed his start to the season.

The 18 year old was taken from the field early in the match against Sandringham last month but has played the majority of the last two games.

Francis took 13 marks for the VFL Bombers in their narrow loss to Port Melbourne on the weekend.

He spent the match playing in defence, but was swung forward after half time in his previous match and booted three goals.

“As he’s been building his fitness he’s having a bigger impact on games,” Worsfold said.

“In his early games he showed glimpses of what he could do, but he was struggling to play at the level required for a full game so he’s getting close to that.

“AFL is a massive step up.

“We expect that he’s going to be a solid player at VFL level and as he builds his fitness he’ll be ready to contribute at the senior level.” 

Conor McKenna (23 possessions, one goal), Kyle Langford (24 possessions), James Polkinghorne (24 possessions, one goal) and Jayden Laverde (18 possessions) were among the Bombers leading ball winners in the VFL on the weekend.