Patrick Ambrose made a promising return to the field in Essendon VFL’s game against Casey on Saturday night.
It was the first time Ambrose has played since suffering a quad injury at training in April.
The defender was strong in the Dons backline, collecting 16 disposals, laying five tackles and taking four marks.
Ambrose played the entire game and got through unscathed.
“He got through fine,” Performance Coach Dan Jordan said.
“He competed pretty hard and ran out the game. He was playing on a couple of the Demons key forwards – he contested hard and always prides himself on his one-on-one game.
“He felt pretty good after the game so that’s a positive for sure.”
Craig Bird was another inclusion in the Bombers round 14 game. The midfielder spent last week in the AFL where he finished with 18 disposals, four tackles and two marks.
The premiership player showed his class for the VFL Dons as he collected 28 disposals, laid nine tackles and took two marks.
“He was good around the contest. It was tough around the contest and I thought 'Birdy' certainly gave us a bigger body in there,” Jordan said.
“He stood up well and showed that he can bring some form back from AFL level and continue playing at a high level.
“Bird was really good with his tackling and his inside game, as were a few of the other senior guys such as Hocking and Howlett.”
Essendon was held goalless in both the second and fourth quarter of the game, allowing Casey to run away with the win.
“It was pretty disappointing to go through a couple of quarters where we couldn’t get on the scoreboard,” Jordan said.
“In the second quarter we were kicking against a pretty stiff breeze so the game was mainly played in Casey’s half.
“In the third quarter we had a few opportunities that we didn’t take in front of goal, which often can be the difference in games where there is some high wind.”
The Dons went down by 16 points but Jordan was pleased with the efforts of the team on the night.
“We didn’t quite get the result we were after but our contest game was really good,” Jordan said.
“It was pretty trying conditions down there on a Saturday night.
“We just have to keep plugging away, moving onwards and upwards, and onto Collingwood next week.
“Every game is pretty crucial with how tight the ladder is.
“I thought the guys attitude and mindset was terrific.”
Essendon: 7.14.56
Casey: 10.12.72
Goals: Merrett, Francis, Stanton, McKernan, Begley, Hocking, Hind
Disposals: Bird 28, Hocking 25, Mutch 22, Redman 21
