Essendon has locked in their round one team to face Hawthorn on Saturday afternoon.
The season-opener will see four club debutants for the Bombers, with off-season recruits Xavier Duursma, Ben McKay, Todd Goldstein and Jade Gresham all named in the line-up.
Emerging defender Zach Reid will play his first AFL game since the final round of 2022.
Essendon has decided to play one ruck, with Sam Draper named as an emergency and likely to feature in Saturday's VFL practice match against Box Hill.
The Dons' midfield will feature Will Setterfield and Jye Caldwell under Skipper Zach Merrett, while Darcy Parish will miss as he recovers from a hamstring strain.
Kyle Langford and Peter Wright form the Dons' spine in attack, while Harry Jones is also set for his first appearance at senior level in nearly 11 months.
The Bombers and Hawks will face off at the MCG this Saturday, with the first bounce at 1:45pm AEDT.
Essendon round one team v Hawthorn
|
B: |
1. McGrath |
32. McKay |
21. Heppell |
|
HB: |
27. Redman |
31. Reid |
29. Kelly |
|
C: |
5. Tsatas |
6. Caldwell |
37. Martin |
|
HF: |
22. Durham |
4. Langford |
16. Perkins |
|
F: |
25. Stringer |
20. Wright |
11. Gresham |
|
Foll: |
17. Goldstein |
12. Setterfield |
7. Merrett (C) |
|
Int: |
13. Cox |
23. Jones |
28. Duursma |
|
|
35. Guelfi |
47. Menzie |
|
|
Emg: |
2. Draper |
15. Laverde |
19. Hind |
New: 11. Gresham, 17. Goldstein, 28. Duursma, 32. McKay
