Fitness coach John Quinn is conscious of the players injuring themselves during the London match and said the light training sessions are useful for the players to improve their fitness levels having not played or trained for over two weeks. ""The players will go through a couple of light training sessions before heading over to London for the Exhibition match. The training involves a bit of light ball work and running to ensure the players are conditioned properly for the match,"" Quinn said.
Essendon is no stranger to playing exhibition matches overseas. The club has participated in five matches over the last 15 years and has a strong following of Essendon supporters around the world. Essendon played Hawthorn at Yokohama Stadium in Tokyo on October 25 1987. Hawthorn 20-14-134 defeated Essendon 11-9-75 - Paul Salmon 3, Alan Ezard 2, Darren Williams, Simon Madden, Nick Walsh Mark Thompson,Terry Daniher.
On October 14th 1989, Essendon played Hawthorn at Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami. Essendon 18-16-124 defeated Hawthorn 15-20-110 - Paul van der Haar 6, Darren Bewick 3, Anthony Antrobus 2, David Grenvold 2, Kieran Sporn 2, Dean Wallis, Michael Long, Andrew Manning.
On 22 October 1989 Essendon took on Melbourne at the Oval, London. Melbourne 12-10-82 defeated Essendon 6-10-46 -Kieran Sporn 2, Darren Bewick, Dean Wallis, Craig O’Brien, Anthony Antrobus. On October, 15th 1990 Essendon played Collingwood at the Oval, London - Collingwood 19-9-123 defatted Essendon 13-12-90.
The most recent match Essendon played overseas was against Hawthorn on October, 9th 1999 at the Oval, London. Essendon 11-6-72 defeated Hawthorn 10-9-69 - Stephen Milne 4, Dustin Fletcher, Blake Caracella, Joe Misiti, Mark Johnson, Danny Jacobs, Mark Bolton, Justin Blumfield.
The ""Clash for the Sash"" match is being played at the Oval and tickets are available online through ticketmaster.co.uk or phone Ticketmaster London on - 0871 230 OVAL (6825). Tickets are 11 pounds for unreserved seats and 16 pounds for reserved seats. The match kicks off at 2.30pm and the game will be televised on Channel 9 for all of those Essendon supporters who can't make it to the match.