Matthew Knights admits he will face a tough selection dilemma in narrowing his squad of 25 to 22 players ahead of Sunday’s match against the Kangaroos.

In his match preview this week, Knights revealed Mark McVeigh and Adam McPhee are certainties to take to the field while David Myers has been sent back to the VFL to improve his match conditioning.

Nathan Lovett-Murray has also been named in the squad of 25 after a solid display for the Bendigo Bombers, while Michael Quinn, Jay Nash and Sam Lonergan have also been named.

The Essendon squad is:

B: Fletcher Daniher H.Slattery

HB: Pears McPhee Dempsey

C: Monfries Stanton Dyson

HF: Winderlich Lucas Zaharakis

F: Ryder Lloyd Davey

F: Hille Watson Lovett

Int: Jetta McVeigh Lonergan Lovett-Murray Nash Quinn Skipworth

Ins: McVeigh, McPhee, Lonergan, Quinn, Lovett-Murray, Nash

Outs: Myers (omitted), Hocking (foot)

Read Knights’ preview below:

FORMLINE

The Kangaroos look like a tough opponent to beat this week. They have played two really tough teams over the past two weeks in the Western Bulldogs and Hawthorn and have looked solid on both occasions. We are under no illusions - they are going to be a really tough opponent and we are going to have to put in a big effort this week.

Over the last two weeks we have really improved our form. The win against Fremantle was quite good for us and the game against Carlton was one of those dire struggles that ebbed and flowed all night. Thankfully we did a couple things right at those crucial times and it resulted in a great victory for us. While it was something we enjoyed at the time, we quickly refocused for this week’s game against the Kangaroos during our team meeting 20 minutes post-match.

INS AND OUTS

Mark McVeigh and Adam McPhee will definitely come into the line-up this week. They have trained really well today and will be a positive inclusion for Sunday’s game.

Michael Quinn and Sam Lonergan have been named in the squad in addition to Nathan Lovett-Murray who has displayed really strong form in the VFL. It is good to see him playing really good footy and putting the pressure on.

David Myers has been omitted this week. He is a very young player who is still building his skills, conditioning and his ability to run hard in games. Last week his conditioning challenged him at times but we are really excited by David Myers and his future at the Essendon Football Club. He will go back into the VFL and continue to build up his match fitness because he has had a few injuries over the last year or so. He just needs to get that match conditioning at VFL level so the next time he comes into the seniors he will be cherry ripe.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

It has been positive to watch the emergence of David Hille and Patrick Ryder as a ruck duo. We are still working on the mechanics of that relationship because we have only just put Paddy in there but I am sure they will get better as the weeks go on.

Mark McVeigh will also be another player to watch this week. He is a leader on and off the field for our footy club. He has a real passion for Essendon and loves running out on match-day. I expect him to make an impact pretty early in the game and look forward to enjoying his work.

The Kangaroos’ Lindsay Thomas and Matthew Campbell are as good as any small crumbers in the league. I think they are dynamic about their football. Their captain Brent Harvey has also been a sterling player for many years. Their young backline is something they have really focused on this year and when we played them at Bendigo earlier in the pre-season, their young defenders played really well. They certainly have a good sprinkling of players with a good mix of youth and experience.

TOPIC OF THE WEEK

It is great to have some intense selection pressure this week. The guys we have added to the squad are very much deserving to play senior football and it will be a tough task for the selection committee.

While it is great to have selection pressure, it is almost a little bit irrelevant because there are only 22 that run out. These 22 that play have a responsibility to run out and make the other players who missed out proud.

It is a great predicament to be in. Over the last three to four weeks of the season last year, we only had 24 or 25 players to choose from on our list. While it is great for the players who get a chance to play at senior level, it is not something from a match committee or playing group that you really aspire to. It is better when you have a list of 47 and you have 41 players to choose from. This year’s injury list looks like it is on an upward curve with only six injured players on our list and we just have to keep working  hard to get it better.