Essendon players have started their preparation for the final match of the season with an indoor session at Windy Hill this afternoon. Mindful of the six-day break and coming off a trip to Perth, the Essendon coaching staff opted to give players some light gym work. Essendon came through the match against the Eagles in pretty good shape. Aaron Henneman (hamstring) is the major concern and he will be missing for at least two weeks. The loss of Henneman could open the door for veteran Dean Wallis who played four quarters in the reserves on Sunday and came through the game well.

Suggestions that Michael Long's season is over have been greatly exaggerated. Long came off the ground in the reserves match on Sunday just prior to half-time with some minor knee soreness. ""He has worked pretty hard in the past few weeks to ensure his fitness is right and that might have taken a bit of a toll but it was only slight soreness,"" Essendon football manager Matthew Drain said. ""He was only ever going to play a half because it was a five-day break between the VFL game and this Friday night's match with Richmond. He trained well tonight and is every chance of playing this weekend.""