Essendon is walking into Saturday's clash with Richmond at the MCG as an opportunity to potentially end the Tiger's nine-year run of dominance over the Dreamtime at the G' game.
Brad Scott spoke to media on Wednesday, saying that he is happy with the lessons the team has been taught.
"We've had really good opponents the last five or six weeks at least," Scott said.
"Reality is, every game is a tough game for us."
Scott was also quizzed on Richmond'sย system and how they seem to be back to their best, including champion midfield-forward Dustin Martin.
"Essendon fans want to beat Richmond, we are gonna be doing everything we can to make sure that happens," the Bombers coach said.
"Hopefully some people are putting up their hands to play on Martin."
The Bombers will not yet be at full strength but will welcome the return of defender Jordan Ridley from concussion protocols, while Jake Kelly remains sidelined with concussion.
โJake's still experiencing someย lingering symptoms,โ Essendon's GM of Performance Daniel McPherson said on Wednesday.
โWe have to respect how he's feeling, so his progression towards a return to play will obviously be guided by his symptoms.โ
Essendon will also be without Will Setterfield in the coming weeks, with the Bombers confirming on Wednesday that the 25-year-old had suffered a foot fracture.
โWill reported some foot soreness coming out of the weekend's match,โ McPherson said.
โUpon further investigation, it's been revealed he hasย a small fractureย in his footย after being trodden on in game. At this stage, we're unsure on the timeline, but it'll be a short to medium term injury.โ
Peter Wright is expected to return earlier than originally expected, the club confirming that the forward may be available before the mid-season bye.
โHe'sย done a mountain of work, and hasย improved rapidlyย in recent weeks,โ McPherson said.
โHe's re-joined training,ย andย there's now a chance he could be availableย prior to the bye. With all things going well over the next few weeks, he'll be back earlier than expected.โ
Richmond is also facing some injuries after they confirmed Jacob Hopper would be ruled out for the 'medium term', which could be the difference come Saturday. With Tom Lynch, Maurice Rioli Jnr, Robbie Tarrant, and Ivan Soldo out, Saturday could be Essendon's chance to end the reign of terror by the Tigers and possibly be back in the top eight.
