Champion full forward Matthew Lloyd is a better than 50-50 chance of lining up against Collingwood at the MCG this Friday night. Lloyd had an x-ray on his shoulder yesterday that confirmed there was no structural damage. It is now a matter of the bruising in the joint resolving to the point where his movement is not restricted. 

""The results of the x-ray were quite good,"" Essendon football operations manager Dom Cato said. ""You won't see him on the track this week but we think he is a better than even money chance of playing on Friday night.""

With Essendon's season on the line and the race for the Coleman Medal again wide open, Lloyd's condition will be closely monitored. Essendon will need to look closely at its forward set up should Lloyd miss.