Senior coach Ben Rutten fronted the media at the NEC Hangar on Wednesday as the Bombers prepare to bounce back against the Crows at Marvel Stadium on Friday night.

Here are the five key takeaways from his media conference.

1. Parish highlights re-signing cohort

The start of Rutten’s presser was touching on the overnight news of star midfielder Darcy Parish inking a new two-year deal to stay at the Bombers until at least the end of 2023.

The 23-year-old ball winner has been in scintillating form this season, highlighted by claiming best-on-ground honours in the Anzac Day, Dreamtime and Powercor Country Festival games.

Rutten said Parish’s signature was another tick for the club and further proof of the Bombers shaping as a place to be for burgeoning players.

“It’s great to have Darcy re-sign,” Rutten said.

“To see a lot of our players recommitting to the club is fantastic.

“Nick Bryan, Harry Jones, Mason Redman and Will Snelling, there’s been a whole host of less-experienced players signing on as well.

“It’s important we keep signing on these young guys and have them want to be here - that our club is an environment where they think here’s the best place for them to be and realise their potential.

2. Stringer’s contract situation

The final piece of the Dons’ re-signing puzzle is agreeing to terms with 27-year-old excitement machine Jake Stringer.

Stringer, who will play his 150th AFL game on Friday night, has enjoyed his best season since crossing to the Bombers at the end of 2018, producing career-highs in disposals (15.7), tackles (four) and clearances (3.5) per game.

Rutten believes a deal with the 27-year-old will get done, stating Stringer is "happy" at the NEC Hangar.

“If he leaves it any longer, the cash might run out,” he joked.

“Jake is going alright. I’ve been really pleased with the way Jake has been playing the last sort of month. That’s what we’re focusing on.

“Jake’s happy and he wants to be at the footy club. Jake’s deal will get done.”

3. Heppell to miss

A major blow for the Bombers ahead of Friday night’s fixture with Adelaide is the forced withdrawal of captain Dyson Heppell.

Rutten said his skipper completed surgery on a thumb injury this morning and will hopefully miss just round 17.

“He had a little thumb operation this morning, so he won’t play this week,” he said.

“We're pretty fortunate to be able to get him looked at straight away. He’ll miss (just) a week hopefully, but we’ll see how he pulls up.”

4. Francis back and happy

A positive news story at this morning’s presser was the return of young key defender Aaron Francis to Tullamarine.

Francis had been away from the club on mental health leave for several weeks, arriving back from Adelaide this week to resume training.

Rutten said the 23-year-old would not play at any level this weekend and would focus on progressing towards a return at some stage.

“He’s back, he’s looking good and he’s happy,” he said.

“He won’t play this weekend, but it’s about building himself up now.

“We want ‘Franc’ back for the rest of the year and performing at his best.”

5. Execution inside 50 the key

A massive focus for Rutten’s men at training this week has been rectifying their inefficiency inside 50.

Essendon won the inside-50 count 62-45 for just eight goals against Geelong last week.

Rutten said a major focus for the rest of the season would be maximising every inside 50.

“We’re certainly trying to remedy that now,” he said.

“It’s certainly a focus area that we want to get better at and (in particular) that last kick inside 50.

“(We’ve seen it not work) especially the last two weeks against teams like Melbourne and Geelong who protect their defensive 50 as well as anyone.

“We’re having some problems against some good teams. We’re addressing it, training it and focusing in on it.”