Young Essendon pair reportedly set for sideline stints

Essendon are expected to be without young pair Elijah Tsatas and Archie Perkins for Thursday's clash with Port Adelaide due to injury.

Tsatas is said to be dealing with a broken finger sustained in the warm-up for the weekend's loss to Adelaide, while Perkins has reported a quad complaint and also faces a period on the sidelines, per News Corp.

The pair of injury blows will see coach Brad Scott forced into at least two changes for Round 3, with the winless Bombers potentially looking at further alterations given their worrying start to the season.

Defender Jordan Ridley is expected to be available in time for this week's game at Marvel Stadium after entering concussion protocols from a head knock sustained in Round 1, while star midfielder Darcy Parish isn't expected back this week as he continues to recover from a back injury.

2025-03-27T08:30:00Z

Essendon WON BY 12 POINTS

Marvel Stadium

ESS

72

FT

60

PORT

#AFLDonsPower

MATCH CENTRE ▶︎

Parish is said to be in line for minutes in the VFL this weekend when Essendon's reserves take on Werribee on Saturday at Tullamarine, which will be Parish's first appearance of the year.

Scott could have fringe midfielder Will Setterfield available after his groin injury, with the ex-Blue and Giant not used for a VFL return over the weekend, while midfield-forward Alwyn Davey made his return from a pre-season knee injury in the Bombers' win over Williamstown.

Key defender Jayden Laverde is another nearing a return from injury, having dealt with a hip concern since the early stages of this month.

Essendon are still searching for their first win of the season, with Thursday's meeting with the Power their next chance to bounce back from a poor outing, having fallen to Adelaide by 61 points in Round 2.

Port Adelaide are coming off a heavy win over Richmond, however suffered a 91-point defeat to Collingwood in Round 1 at the MCG.

The Bombers and Power will clash at Marvel Stadium on Thursday at 7:30pm (AEDT).