Essendon coach John Worsfold has declared that his team can win the premiership this season.
The Bombers have not won a final since 2004 and were knocked out of September last year by West Coast in the elimination final.
However, Worsfold believes his team is suited to the the shorter quarters and are poised to make a charge at the top four.
"We think we can win the flag,โ Worsfold said on theย Working Through Itย podcast.
"Who knows what happens with other clubs, availability of players, how this season's going to play out, how everyone's going to adapt to being in hubs and playing off short breaks.
"There's a few clubs that, when you look at their lists with their age and experience demographic and past form over the last few years, they deserve to be favourites to be in the Grand Final and top four.
"We've got a bit of work to do to prove we're worthy of being seen as a top-four team, (because) that's when you're really in the hunt to win a flag.
"Our aim is to show we're closing that gap and closing in on that top-four crew, and if you can do that and finish in the top six in a season like this is going to be, I thinkโฆeveryone in the finals is going to be a chance to win it.
"Overall I think if we can keep our squad fit, healthy and available, potentially the type of season we're going to play may assist us as much as any other club.
"The games will be a little bit shorter, so with our speed, which is one of our key strengths, we should be really able to take it up to teams and not be too worried about drop-offs late in games and try to use that to our advantage.
"As we find out whether there's extra players on the bench, again we feel as though that may play more into our advantage with our list make-up than it would some other clubs.
"There's some pros and cons with the season to come but suffice to say we're doing everything we can to find all the avenues to perform at our absolute best."
