General manager of football Josh Mahoney says Essendon will add at least one more recruit to its list ahead of the 2022 season.
The Bombers have two list spots available and until the eve of the season to sign players through the pre-season Supplemental Selection Period (SSP).
Among those vying for contracts are four train-on players - delisted midfielder Dylan Clarke, Darwin prospect Ronald Fejo, Subiaco forward Nick Martin and James Hird Academy graduate Tex Wanganeen.
"We’ve got four guys training on for those two spots. We’ve got right up to the start of the season to make that decision," Mahoney told SEN 1116 on Monday.
"At this stage we’re definitely taking one. Whether we take a second, we’ll make up our mind about that.
"Obviously there’s the mid-season opportunity to bring a player in, and Michael Hurley’s recovery has probably been ahead of schedule, so there’s a few things playing out at the moment, but we look forward to making an announcement at some point about adding another player to our list."
The Bombers surged into finals last year in their first season under senior coach Ben Rutten, with shrewd trades, high-end draft picks and positional changes rejuvenating their list.
Mahoney said there was plenty of room for improvement in the list, however, forecasting a new forward mix in particular this season.
"Our strength is in our midfield. Our midfield group is well established. They’ve played a lot of footy together now, and we look forward to having Dylan Shiel and Andy McGrath back in there playing full seasons," he said.
"We saw Jake Stringer go in there last year, and we think we’re adding a lot of players who can run through that position, which is very important. We see that with the best teams, they have eight or nine guys run through it.
"We think our defence really took shape last year. A lot of guys went through defence after playing different positions, like Jayden Laverde and James Stewart. We think adding [unrestricted free agent] Jake Kelly strengthens that defence a lot.
"Up forward there’s a different mix. We’ve got Harry Jones coming through, who missed the last bit of the season. Peter Wright came in last year and had a good season. Cale Hooker is a big out in terms of experience, but we’ll think be able to manufacture a good forward line that we can keep building on to kick winning scores.
"We’ve got Kaine Baldwin on our rookie list who’s training really well at the moment. He’s a key-position forward.
"We’ve got a few younger guys like Josh Eyre who we’ve drafted. There are some young guys, but how quickly they can come on is the question.
"We’ve certainly gone to the draft in the last couple of years and think we’ve done quite well in our selections there. We want to give those guys some games, but we’re always looking at bringing in players through the trade period."
The Bombers will have their first hitout against opposition when they face the Western Bulldogs later this month.
They'll round out their pre-season campaign against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium on March 5, before their round one clash with Geelong at the MCG on March 19.
