Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy has lauded the performance of captain Matthew Lloyd in the Bombers superb 31-point win over the Adelaide Crows today. Lloyd – in just his fourth official game - played a selfless role and spent a lot of time away from the goal-square.

The skipper had 17 possessions for the game and 12 of them came outside the forward 50m arc. It was a contribution that wasn’t lost on Sheedy.

""I think in terms of a selfless captain’s game, it was as good as any I have seen from a captain in my time at the Club,"" Sheedy said. ""It wasn’t about goals today, it was about winning and I thought he led the way superbly.""

Essendon’s was a remarkable performance and a 169-point turnaround on the thumping loss the Bombers suffered at the hands of the Crow midway through last season. Sheedy told the media after the match that he was pleased with the fact so many people contributed to the win.

""The more experienced players did what we know they are capable of and the younger players gave us some excitement. We are under no illusion that we still have a lot of work to do but today was a step in the right direction. We are in the process of trying to build a team that can be very competitive,"" Sheedy said.

Essendon got out of this afternoon’s game injury free. Some players cramped in the warm conditions but it was all good news apart from the report of Alwyn Davey. Davey was reported for making high contact to Martin Mattner.

Jason Laycock (hamstring) and Sam Lonergan (ankle) will both be available for selection this week. Jason Johnson (foot) is two weeks away. Scott Camporeale played a half for Bendigo and got through well and appears to have finally shaken a persistent achilles injury. Jay Nash is still three weeks away from resuming with a foot injury.

IN other news, the Bendigo Bombers wound up their pre-season with a kick-after-the-siren loss to Frankston at Casey Field. The highlights were Jay Neagle’s five-goal haul and Ricky Dyson’s 36 possessions. Courtney Johns kicked three goals. Heath Hocking and Danny Chartres were among Bendigo’s best players.