Essendon coach James Hird is hopeful young forward Joe Daniher will get the opportunity to play senior football this season but will not rush the debut of the exciting father/son recruit.

Daniher played his best game in red and black colours last Friday night taking 11 marks and booting 4 goals against Bendigo in Round 1 of the VFL.

With no injuries and a full list of fit players to choose from Hird said there was no rush on when the 19-year-old would make his senior debut.

“We certainly hope that he will play some senior footy for us this year, he is playing well enough to but there has to be a spot and things have to align,” Hird said.

“He is certainly coming along very nicely but it is about opportunity and also when his body is ready.”

“He is going to be a very good player for us in the future.”

The Bombers are unlikely to make any changes ahead of Friday night’s match against Fremantle with Stewart Crameri to be monitored throughout the week with a knee concern.

Hird said the team is ready for the next big challenge of playing on the road against an in form Fremantle side.

“Freo are as good a team as there is in the competition at the moment, they are playing terrific football, they defend the ground really well but they are able to attack really well as well,” Hird said on SEN.

“They know how to play Subiaco Oval better than anyone so we are under no illusions it will be a really tough game and we are excited to play in a game of football that will be a very high standard.”

The Bombers coach refused to be drawn on the long-term prospects of his side following an impressive start to the season.

“I think it is hard to say how good we are, how we are going to go or what we can achieve,” he said.

“What the players are talking about amongst themselves is about continuing to reach high standards at training and continuing to play the same way week in week out.”

“That becomes hard and the season grinds you down but true professionals work hard no matter what the situation.”

“If we do that I think we are a good team but when we go away from our training standards and consistently playing the way we want to play we become a poor team pretty quickly.”