Jayden Laverde will make his first AFL appearance of the season when Essendon takes on North Melbourne on Saturday.

The 21 year old underwent surgery after he injured his ankle in the JLT Community Series match against Geelong in March.

He’s played the last three games in the VFL and has kicked 9.5 (including six goals last week) in the last fortnight.

“From the very start when Jayden got injured he didn’t feel sorry for himself,” Essendon Coach John Worsfold said.

“He had a strong focus on coming back in the best possible shape.

“His work ethic throughout that period was outstanding and he’s getting the rewards from that.

“We’re excited to see what he adds to the forward line.”

Laverde replaces the injured Josh Green (hamstring), while Craig Bird makes way for Jobe Watson who was rested last week.

“He (Watson) was unsure whether he really needed the week off, but has definitely felt the benefits of the week off,” Worsfold said.

“We’re rapt we went down that pathway – it wasn’t a light decision.

“Jobe’s season so far has been very solid for us. He’s had a couple of games where he’s struggled a bit but in the main he’s played his role well.”

The return of Laverde and the inclusion of Patrick Ambrose in the VFL side sees the Bombers with almost a full list to choose from, making competition for spots tight heading into the final rounds of the home and away season.

“We’ve got the bulk of the squad fit and in good form,” Worsfold said.

“The AFL guys obviously performed really well on Friday night and the following day the VFL boys backed up.

“There were some outstanding performances individually and as a team, so that’s where we need the Club to be at.

“That’s going to give us our best chances of success throughout the season.”

North Melbourne has lost its last six games heading into Saturday’s clash against the Bombers at Etihad Stadium.

But four of those losses have been by 19 points or less, with two games being decided by less than a kick.

“They haven’t got the wins on the board, but they’ve been very close and pushed a lot of teams,” Worsfold said. 

“Our focus is that we go out and play with the intensity that we expect from ourselves.

“We know that we’re going to get a great contest, but our focus is on how hard we want to work and how strongly we want to play our game.”