General Manager Football Operations Paul Hamilton said Hille’s return is a major boost for the club.
“It is great to see David back in full training. He’s gone through rehab, been in full training for a couple of weeks and I know he is so excited to get back out there on the field.” Hamilton said.
“We are probably not expecting him to play massive game time but I suppose the thought of him and Ryder and Bellchambers developing a strong ruck group will be a wonderful thing for our side.”
Henry Slattery will miss at least the next month of football, after breaking his thumb in Friday night’s semi final clash against St Kilda. Hamilton said while the loss of Slattery is a big blow to the Club, it is an opportunity for another player to step up in both a tagging and defensive role.
“The break in his thumb means he had surgery on Monday and at this stage, he will probably miss around four to five weeks, maybe even up to six maximum and that is a great loss.”
“This however gives the opportunity to another player to take over and play that defensive role or a tagging type role, which is something Henry does extremely well,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton praised Slattery’s impressive NAB Cup pre-season, crediting both his passion and high work rate on field.
“With Henry, the coaches fall in love with him pretty quickly because he is a player that gets the job done and does so really well. His performances over the duration of the NAB Cup have been really good, so to lose him is really disappointing,” he said.
Lively forward Alwyn Davey is recovering well following his surgery earlier in the week on a hairline fracture sustained during the Bombers clash against Melbourne in the NAB Cup.
“Alwyn had a plate put in his arm, and that was more based on history rather than anything else because it wasn’t dislocated but just a hairline fracture, however given his history of brakes it was the right thing to do to have a plate inserted,” Hamilton said.
In the lead up to Essendon’s NAB Cup Grand Final clash against Collingwood, Hamilton said that while there was excitement in the air, the main focus remained on Round 1.
“We are definitely not getting carried away with things because it is a long year and our target is still Round 1 and that has not changed, but we know that when the guys run out on the field on Friday night they will be running out to put their best foot forward and to hopefully show the continued development and improvement of this list.” Hamilton said.
