Essendon players were put on notice this afternoon that nothing short of their best will guarantee themsleves a place in a side slowly returning to full strength. Essendon selectors made five changes to the side that defeated Melbourne last weekend - Mark Mercuri and Dustin Fletcher were forced changes but David Hille, Daniel McAlister and Gary Moorcroft were all omitted. Matthew Lloyd, James Hird and Steven Alessio return for the Bombers while Jordan Bannister and Joel Reynolds get another chance at senior level.