Essendon coach James Hird thinks the absence of key midfielders Jobe Watson and Heath Hocking for this week's Dreamtime at the 'G clash with Richmond will be a true test of how far the club has come in 2011.

Watson will miss the game on Saturday night with a hamstring injury sustained in last week's win over the Brisbane Lions, while Hocking was suspended for three weeks for striking Lion James Polkinghorne.

Hird said the pair, who finished top two in last season's best and fairest at the club, would be missed, but the systems in place at the club were not reliant on certain personnel, including captain Watson.

""Losing Jobe and Heath this week isn't ideal. You'd love (to have) your best players, you'd love your captain playing every week, but we need to have a club that can deal with injuries. Hopefully our structure and systems will override some personnel coming out of the team,"" Hird said at Windy Hill on Friday.

""I think it's a great opportunity for other players to step up. You never know what will happen until someone is out of the team, and the Essendon football team has to be good enough to win big games with Jobe, and without Jobe.""

""Until we do that, we probably haven't improved as much as we think we have. We'll miss him, but I think there's enough players in there who will take the opportunity and relish the fact that the ball will be coming to them a bit more,"" he said.

Hird said he was surprised Richmond had dropped ruckman Angus Graham from its side, but it did not necessarily mean his side - with three ruckmen - would have an advantage.

""I don't think you can count your chickens. They have a very talented midfield and they want to get it to ground quickly,"" Hird said.

He also said the playing group were coping with the demands of an intense pre-season and NAB Cup campaign, as well as tough start to the 2011 Premiership season.

""I wouldn't say we're tired but we are just dealing with the demands of a footy season. Some weeks guys are up and about, and some weeks they are sorer than others,"" Hird said.