There had been concerns over Hird's fitness after he landed awkwardly and grabbed at his knee in the final minutes of last weekend's clash with the Western Bulldogs. But Hird will line up against the Crows and he did participate in some light skills work late in the training session.
The Bombers’ face one of their biggest challenges for the season when they head over to Adelaide on Friday to face the in-form Crows. Sheedy said the coaching panel has altered the team’s travel routine and they will fly on the morning of the game instead of travelling over on the previous day.
""Our record at AAMI Stadium hasn’t been very good at all. It will be our best side that we have taken over for some time. We always end up going over with no Lloyd or no Fletcher or no both of them or three or four players not available. Most players will be available this week,"" Sheedy said.
Essendon has a close to full list available for selection this week. Mark McVeigh and Damian Cupido got through another VFL game and will push up for senior selection. ""Mark McVeigh played very well and Cupido has played three games now. They are a chance to come in. We don’t like to make too many changes. We haven’t had any injuries in the VFL or the AFL, so that has been pretty good considering the start to the year.""
After a slow start to the season, the Crows are in good form after defeating home town rival Port Adelaide on the weekend. ""We have had some big tests this year against Port Adelaide over in Adelaide and St Kilda. We have worked hard to get back to a five two win loss ratio. It is just so important that we play well over in Adelaide and go after the four points like the Crows will,"" Sheedy said.
