After its four-day training and promotional camp in Sydney, Essendon travel to Canberra this afternoon by bus in preparation for its Round 1 Wizard Cup match against the Kangaroos. Essendon will have a light training session at Manuka Oval tomorrow morning from 10am - 11am. Essendon fans can follow the team's progress in the match from 2.30pm on Saturday on the BomberLand website with the free live scoring and quarter-by-quarter summaries.

Essendon's record has been less than impressive in the last two years of the pre-season competition and they will be looking to turn things around in 2003. Essendon assistant coach Mark Harvey said the club is aiming to make an impact in the pre-season competition. ""We won the pre-season competition in 1993 and 2000 and then went on to win the day premierships in the same two years. I think if you can start off in good form early in the season, it is a good indication of things to come later in the year. This year's Wizard Cup is a knock-out competition, so there is no second chances,"" Harvey said.

The AFL has introduced a number of rules specifically for the competition:

Nine points for a goal kicked from 50 metres or more

Centre square expanded to 50 metres from 45 metres

Immediate kick into play after a behind is scored

Deliberately rushed behind by a defender in control of the ball is 3 points

Kicking backwards outside attacking 50 metre zone is play on

Essendon members in Canberra wishing to attend the Round 1 Wizard Cup match against the Kangaroos, will be required to pay to gain entry to the game. To facilitate entry, supporters are encouraged to purchase their ticket in advance by booking through Ticketek. The entry price is $14 plus booking fee for adults and $2 for children, plus booking fees. If however, you want to pay at the gate, make sure you arrive in plenty of time to purchase your ticket!