Essendon VFL hosted St Kilda for a practice match on home deck Sunday, with the Saints claiming a 16.11 (107) to 10.6 (66) win.

Both sides boasted a healthy contingent of senior-listed players, with a mix of both youth and experience apparent in the nine AFL Dons on the ground.

Two notable and well-received inclusions from that group were Nik Cox and Harry Jones, who both got through the day well on managed minutes.

Making his first appearance since last year’s gruesome ankle injury, Jones was rested after the main break but had worked into the game well as the first half wore on. The 25-year-old began getting his hands on the footy further up the ground before presenting nicely as a deep forward to register three shots at goal in the second term.

Cox looked confident on the wing, particularly when the Dons had the scoring end – he used his towering height to advantage and picked off a few of the Saints’ rebound attempts, quickly sending it back into dangerous spots and setting up scores. Around the ground he also stayed involved at ground level and actively looked to take the game on.

“To get ‘Coxy’ and ‘Jonesy’ through the game was awesome,” VFL Senior Coach Cameron Joyce said post-game.

“It’s good reward for the work those returning boys have put in, seeing them back out playing in that environment against opposition. They’ll keep building as the weeks go on from here.”

The Dons started the game strongly with the breeze – Matt Guelfi and Ryan Brodie applied the first scoreboard hits, with Liam McMahon then adding a third from a long-range beauty beyond the arc.

St Kilda began to adapt better to the conditions and had most of the running in the second term, establishing a five-goal buffer late in the piece before the Bombers saved some of their best work for the final minute.

Lachie Monteath goaled against the flow to manage some damage, before a seamless centre bounce tap from Vigo Visentini hit a running Elijah Tsatas in stride – his deep entry landed in the outstretched hand of McMahon, who converted after the siren to cut the half-time lead to 16.

A large majority of players from Saturday’s AAMI Community Series matchup in Ballarat turned out to see the boys in action, all present in the NEC Hangar at half-time and getting around the players during the break.

Joyce said the brewing competition for spots ahead of round one is creating good opportunities for his side.

“For all the other AFL-listed boys to get another game under their belt is only a good thing,” Joyce said.

“They’re obviously pushing for round one selection while the VFL-listed guys themselves have already gotten exposure over the last two weeks with match sim opportunities.”

After the break, the Bombers evened things out in general play but struggled to capitalise on the wind advantage, with three goals kicked apiece in the third quarter.

One of the positives was the form of new VFL recruit Charlie Naish in his cameo after the break, slotting back-to-back goals in a nice burst.

“Charlie obviously came on and made a pretty quick impact, getting a few shots at goal and kicking a real nice one from a stoppage,” Joyce said.

“He’s a smart footballer and used his skills quite well given the conditions. (Key forward) Will Bella was another one in a lot of contests today, he’s strong and takes a good contested mark.

“Even the new guys like Jaxon Binns – his running and workrate speaks for itself, he’s just able to get to a heap of contests. There’s been some pleasing signs from our recruits over the last few months.”

In a similar vein to Lachie Blakiston from Friday’s game, the new ruck rules have been handled well by Visentini, whose agility and natural leap at ruck contests made for good viewing.

Tsatas was able to accumulate plenty of footy through the midfield as a result, with Jade Gresham also spending stints at clearances around the ground compared to the typical small forward role we’ve seen from him in the past.

Kayle Gerreyn was posted on the last line of defence and took a few strong grabs under pressure, while Archer Day-Wicks was utilised as a high half-forward.

Most of the play was in the Saints’ favour through the final term (piling on six goals to two) – while Joyce was disappointed with the fallaway, he saw the day as another positive step on the road to round one.

“The Saints definitely just handled the conditions better. Some of our skill and fundamental stuff struggled under their pressure, which opened the door and that was a bit disappointing,” Joyce said.

“Our boys certainly hung in there and were competitive, that’s what we want to get out of it. Really, it’s quite a good audit to go through as the Saints are only a week out from Opening Round and had solid 13-14 contingent of senior guys out there today.”

Final Score:
Essendon 10.6 (66) def. by St Kilda 16.11 (107)

Goals:
McMahon 2, Naish 2, Guelfi, Brodie, Day-Wicks, Bella, Monteath, Hately