Essendon coach John Worsfold says he is confident the Bombers can find the chemistry they need to despite making six changes for Saturday’s clash with the Western Bulldogs.
While the Dons may not have been able to find continuity in the side following last week’s loss to Port Adelaide, Worsfold says the experienced inclusions will ensure the team is settled.
Captain Dyson Heppell leads the inclusions with David Myers, Shaun McKernan, Mark Baguley, Josh Begley and Ben McNiece also joining the side.
“Ben McNiece played a couple of weeks ago, Shaun comes back in, we know Dyson’s been a big part of the team,” Worsfold said on Thursday.
“So as much as it sounds like we’ve been hit hard, we’re really lucky when you talk about the calibre of Heppell, Myers, McKernan and Baguley coming back in with a couple of younger players as well.
“We’re really confident with the guys that we’ve brought in.”
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Worsfold said Heppell is “full of energy” ahead of his return following two weeks out with foot soreness, while he praised fellow leader Myers for his recent VFL form including his dominant performance against Sandringham last week gathering 39 disposals, 18 contested possessions, six marks, 11 clearances, nine inside 50s and three goals.
“‘Myersy’ has been outstanding all year for us; he’s been clear on where he sits in terms of the team and supporting the team, and his leadership and form in the VFL has been brilliant.
“The opportunity is there for him to come in and play with the guys and we’re rapt to have him out there.”
David Myers has been in sensational form in the VFL. (Image: AFL Photos)
McKernan’s return is an important one for Essendon, with his late withdrawal last week due to illness forcing the side to tinker with the line-up across the board against the Power.
“No doubt we missed him. We had ‘Hooksy up’ there for a fair part of the game, but it threw us out a little bit with having to ruck Mitch Brown and shuffle a couple of players around,” Worsfold said.
“To have Shaun back, he was great against Gold Coast (kicking four goals), he’s been in good form so he’ll be really valuable for us.”
In-form defender McNiece bounced back brilliantly from his omission last week and has been rewarded with a spot in the side after speedster Adam Saad’s minor hamstring injury.
The versatile backman claimed 26 disposals and 10 rebound 50s in the VFL against the Zebras, following on from his strong performance against Gold Coast in the seniors in round 19.
“He was outstanding on the weekend and really carried on his good form.
“We were pleased with everything he did against Gold Coast; it was just with Conor McKenna coming back from Ireland he forced Ben out.
“With Saad being injured, it opens up another opportunity for Ben and he’s in good touch.”
Ben McNiece will return to the senior line-up against the Bulldogs. (Image: AFL Photos)
Promising mid-season recruit Will Snelling has unfortunately succumbed to a foot injury following his impressive game against the Power, but Worsfold only expects the setback to keep the new Bomber out for one to two weeks.
“His foot was a little bit sore after the game, but he wasn’t too concerned about it really until today when he tried to run on it with his boots back on and it was still sore.
“We quickly sent him off for a scan and he just shows minor bone stress there. Basically, that means he probably misses one to two games, but we’re confident it will get to that point where he’ll be ready to go in a couple of weeks.”
Goalkickers Josh Begley and Mark Baguley are set to return to the team to help fill the void left by Snelling and Worsfold just wants to see them play their role for the side, just like they did in the VFL last week when combining for five goals.
“They’ve both been in good form over a number of weeks. ‘Baggers’ in particular has been hitting the scoreboard, he got another three (goals) on the weekend.
“They’ll come in and play very similar roles to what they’ve been doing, they’re in good touch, they’re fit and they’ve both been waiting for this opportunity, so it’s great for them.
Worsfold said exciting young duo Darcy Parish (concussion) and Aaron Francis (whiplash) had “struggled” to recover quickly following heavy knocks against the Power, while key defender Michael Hartley has made way due to team balance reasons despite a pleasing effort as a late inclusion for McKernan last week.
The Bulldogs have been surging up the ladder in the last two months, recovering from a slow start to the year with five wins from seven games before last week’s three-goal loss to Brisbane.
Their strong run has seen them rise to just one win out of the top eight – two away from the Bombers – and Worsfold is looking forward to the crucial contest.
“They’re still a hugely talented team coming through.
“There’s a lot at stake as we’ve known over the last couple of months for us. Generally, our footy has been pretty good, so we want to get back to our best footy.”
The game will begin at 7:25pm on Saturday at Marvel Stadium.
