Ty Zantuck made a solid start to life in the red and black at Carrara on Saturday night and looks set to play an important role in defence for Essendon this season. Coming off a minor back complaint, Zantuck was restricted to a half of football but he had 12 touches and took five marks in that time. Considering his modified training program in recent weeks, it was an encouraging start.

Zantuck, 23, was itching to get among the action and was quick to let the opposition know he was around even before the opening bounce. He quickly settled down and combined well with Essendon full back Dustin Fletcher.

""I enjoyed it because it was my first game in about six months – I blew up a bit late in the first quarter but it was good just to get the first one out the way,"" Zantuck said.

""It was great to play alongside Dustin Fletcher. He was very encouraging and he always seems to get in the right spot and help you out. I look forward to playing next to him. You just learn watching players like that the way he cuts of leads and spoils.

Zantuck said his back felt fine during the match.

""The back is good – I didn’t feel a thing and that was despite the flight and bus trip. It came up well so hopefully that is behind me now,"" he said. ""I was going to play the second half but Sheeds decided to throw me in straight away which I didn’t mind. It is good to be out there when the heat is on. I wasn’t really nervous – they might kick in when the real stuff starts.""

Essendon assistant coach and the man in charge of the Bomber defence Dean Wallis said it had been a positive start for Zantuck although there were parts of his game that will only improve in the coming weeks.

""I think he was very competitive and he got a lot of early touches. He made some skill errors but he hasn’t touched a football a hell of a lot in recent weeks because of his injury so he will definitely get better,"" Wallis said.

""I think deep in defence is where you will see him play. He could take a third tall but he also has the ability to play short so he certainly will give us some flexibility in that area of the ground.""

NoNameKICKSHANDBALLSMARKSGoalsBeh
2Dyson44
3Henneman41411
4Watson744
5Hird1044
6Monfries6321
8Winderlich9751
10McVeigh1165
11Peverill12104
12Welsh554
13Cupido12441
14Johnson151051
16Bradley10103
17Thomas10461
18Lloyd114733
20Richards623
22Cartledge261
23Bolton522
24Stanton7531
25Lucas9341
27Allan122
28Murphy787
29Reynolds231
31Fletcher1346
33McPhee1676
36Zantuck1115
42L/Murray895