Essendon expects both James Hird and Dustin Fletcher to be fit to take on Brisbane at Colonial Stadium this Saturday night. Hird suffered mild concussion and blurred vision following an accidental knock to the side of the face against Richmond. Fletcher missed for the second week running because of a blood virus. But Essendon football manager Matthew Drain expects both to be fit to play this weekend. ""James is feeling fine. We will do some precautionary testing that is always done as a matter of course,"" Drain said.

""As far as Fletcher goes - he has done his weight training this morning so that is a good sign. It has been frustrating for him but it looks like he is getting on top of it now. He should be okay to train later this week and play on Saturday night,"" Drain said.

David Hille (corked thigh) and Steven Alessio (thigh) are also expected to be okay for the weekend while Gary Moorcroft (ankle) will face a fitness test later this week. Moorcroft has had a shocking run with injuries this season - an operation on his elbow earlier this season sidelining him for six weeks.

And the Bombers are also giving Mark Mercuri a chance of returning this weekend. Mercuri had an operation on his groin following Essendon's Round 14 draw with the Western Bulldogs. His recovery is progressing well and if he trains well this week he could return. Aaron Henneman is still two weeks away from resuming following hip surgery.