The experience Brent Stanton, Heath Hocking and Ben Howlett bring to the Essendon VFL side each week will be a key element in the run home for the Dons, according to Coach Paul Corrigan.

Stanton (255 AFL games), Hocking (125) and Howlett (122) have a combined 502 AFL games under their belt, bringing a wealth of knowledge to the younger team members.

“The senior players are hugely important to our side, especially at this stage of the season,” Corrigan said.

“They are obviously trying to play some consistent footy to get back into the seniors but while they are playing in the VFL I’m using them, as much as I can, as a coach on the field and leaders.

“We do have a lot of younger guys in the group so the amount of expertise that they can provide on the ground is huge - whether that is setting players up or their communication when games get tight.

“When certain things happen on the ground, I can lean on those guys a little bit more which has been great.”

The Bombers are sixth on the ladder with eight wins and seven losses.

With only three games remaining, the Dons remain in the race for finals.

“I think we’re positioned pretty well,” Corrigan said.

“When you look at the competition it’s pretty tight.”

Essendon is one win out of the top four, but only one win separates the Dons from ninth place.

The Bombers have a bye this weekend, which will allow some clubs to make up ground on the Bombers.

“There are a couple of clubs that are playing that are around the same mark as we are,” Corrigan said.

“I don’t think our ladder position should change too much.”

The bye round will allow some more senior players to rest and recover, while the younger players will play with their local club.

“We will keep a lot of the guys playing local (football) this week. They’ll go back and train with their local clubs on Tuesday and Thursday,” Corrigan said.

“It’s good timing for us.

“We will hold a contingent of guys who have played a fair bit of footy, who have been coming back off injuries that they’ve had at the start of the year.

“It’s a good opportunity to de-load a few of the players.

“The team will step back into regular training next week.”

The week after the bye, the Dons will face Box Hill, followed by Footscray.

The Hawks currently sit at the top of the ladder, while the Dogs are fourth.

Essendon’s final game of the home and away season will be against Geelong at their home ground.

“We play two sides that are above us, and then Geelong at Simonds Stadium, so they are tough games to end on,” Corrigan said.

“If we are going to make finals, it’s important that we have strong performances against those three teams.

“Hopefully that puts us in a good spot come September.”

With a healthy AFL list, positions for VFL listed players to play each week have been scarce.

Players that have not been selected, have been playing for their local clubs each the weekend.

Corrigan said the attitude of the VFL listed players has been impressive and they are ‘ready for a call-up’ when the time comes.

“When you look back through previous years, when you get to this back end of the season, you might have up to 11 or 12 VFL listed players playing,” he said.

“Obviously, we are in a great position, from an AFL perspective, that we don’t have a lot of injuries at the moment.

“When they first sign up, they know that it may the case throughout the year.

“We have said to the boys – be ready. Local form is as good as anything.

“We have tried to utilise the Wednesday training as their ‘game’ – to show their ability and form.

“Whether it’s in a week’s time, two weeks or the first final, when we call them up to play, we have to make sure they can play that role to the best of their ability.

“They have been tremendous about it, their last two months of training on a Wednesday night has been outstanding.

“We are encouraging those guys to keep it going for the back end of the year.”