Essendon has named three club debutants for Sunday's round one clash against Hawthorn at the MCG.
Father/son draft selection Alwyn Davey, and off-season recruits Will Setterfield and Sam Weideman have all been named on-field in the 26-man squad for the Bombers' opening game.
The son of 100-game excitement machine, Alwyn Snr, Alwyn Jnr will continue the Davey legacy after earning his spot following an impressive pre-season where he has slotted ins seamlessly into the Dons' forward setup.
Weideman will take his place at centre-half forward as he looks to create a dominant paring with full forward Peter Wright, while Setterfield will lineup as a starting midfielder.
Forward Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti is still a chance to make a remarkable round one appearance after completing a full pre-season post his retirement backflip. The fan-favourite has been named on the extended bench, with fellow small forward Jye Menzie also in line to earn a small forward spot.
Essendon's final team will be announced on Friday at 5pm AEDT.
Essendon round one squad
| B | 27. Redman | 14. Ridley | 30. Zerk-Thatcher |
| HB | 29. Kelly | 15. Laverde | 1. McGrath |
| C | 21. Heppell | 7. Merrett | 9. Shiel |
| HF | 22. Durham | 10. Weideman | 4. Langford |
| F | 33. Davey | 20. Wright | 16. Perkins |
| FOLL | 2. Draper | 12. Setterfield | 3. Parish |
| EXT BENCH | 6. Caldwell | 11. Snelling | 23. Jones |
| 34. Phillips | 37. Martin | 42. D'Ambrosio | |
| 43. McDonald-Tipungwuti | 47. Menzie |
