Essendon has made two changes for its Dreamtime in Perth blockbuster against Richmond at Optus Stadium on Saturday night.

Defender Aaron Francis returns to the line-up after missing last week's win over West Coast through illness, while Brayden Ham has been elevated to the starting 22 after not being used as the medical sub against the Eagles.

Small forward Will Snelling was ruled out earlier in the week with a fractured thumb, while young defender Brandon Zerk-Thatcher has been omitted.

Zerk-Thatcher, Patrick Ambrose, Ned Cahill and Nick Bryan have been listed as emergencies, with one to be named the medical sub an hour before the bounce.

MATCH PREVIEW: BOMBERS v TIGERS

The Bombers will face the Tigers from 7:40pm AEST in front of a capacity crowd in the 17th instalment of the Dreamtime game, with The Long Walk to begin at the WACA (event starts at 2:30pm local time) and finish at Optus Stadium ahead of the match.

02:56

Rd 12 | Team selection

Senior coach Ben Rutten takes us through the team to face Richmond at Dreamtime in Perth on Saturday.

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ESSENDON'S DREAMTIME IN PERTH LINE-UP

Backs: Jayden Laverde, Aaron Francis, Jordan Ridley
Half-backs: Dyson Heppell (C), James Stewart, Nick Hind
Centre: Andrew McGrath, Zach Merrett, Nik Cox
Half-forwards: Archie Perkins, Jake Stringer, Harrison Jones
Forwards: David Zaharakis, Cale Hooker, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti
Followers: Andrew Phillips, Darcy Parish, Kyle Langford
Interchange: Mason Redman, Matt Guelfi, Alec Waterman, Brayden Ham

Emergencies: Brandon Zerk-Thatcher, Patrick Ambrose, Ned Cahill, Nick Bryan

In: Francis, Ham

Out: Snelling (thumb), Zerk-Thatcher (omitted)

Last week's sub: (Ham - not used)