Friday February 13th

One more week to go.

Essendon’s fitness foundation was largely established over seven weeks pre-Christmas, built through intensive and repetitive running to develop conditioning.

Since returning in the new year, the focus has shifted toward structure, roles, combinations and cohesion through intra-club match simulations.

This week was the final internal hit-out before Essendon tests that work against opposition for the first time in 2026, starting with Richmond next week.

What follows are my observations from the session, including who’s on track — figuratively and literally — and, importantly, who impressed and why.

Pounding the turf.

Jordan Ridley’s cautious build, overseen closely by the strength and conditioning team, was once again evident. He completed the warm-up with the main group before switching to the secondary oval alongside Archie Perkins, who has steadily been building the running base his teammates established before the holiday break.

Alongside them were Tom Edwards and Nick Bryan, who would be close to sick of each other by now, paired together for the majority of their preseason rehabilitation.

Harrison Jones was only with the group briefly, while Cillian Bourke appeared to go through the motions jogging along the boundary.

Sullivan Robey stretches out for longer each time I’m in attendance. This week his endurance work went up another level, though he is yet to take part in any football drills.

While Lewis Hayes made his first appearance for 2026 last week, both he and Will Setterfield were absent at all stages this time around.

Nik Cox, for the second week in a row, was missing from his familiar wing role, while Zach Merrett (representing Victoria tomorrow night) and Isaac Kako were also not part of proceedings.

Zach Reid limped off early in the second quarter last Friday after learning firsthand what it’s like to stand in front of Nate Caddy, copping a knee to the hip and buttock area and finishing the game iced up on the bench. The pain proved short-lived, however, with Reid playing every minute of this week’s “mini game.”

Who’s where.

For the first time in any extended match simulation this preseason, the line-ups for each side seemed to indicate the coaches had selected their preferred 18 against the rest.

In previous weeks, Peter Wright, Nate Caddy and Kyle Langford had been shadowed by Ben McKay, Zach Reid and Mason Redman. Today they all lined up on the same team, leaving Kayle Gerreyn and VFL-listed Tyler Sellers and Domanic Akuei with too big a job down back, particularly as the game wore on.

In the midfield, Elijah Tsatas was effectively on his own, while the “A” side started with Darcy Parish, Sam Durham, Jye Caldwell and Archie Roberts, later joined by Dyson Sharp, with Lachie Blackiston aiding them in the ruck.

A cut above.

The last two weeks Archie Roberts has featured prominently on ground and rightly earned praise in these reviews — this week will be no different.

Shifted on ball three “games” ago, he initially went head-to-head against Parish, Merrett and Caldwell. The following week, he switched sides to join the more experienced midfielders, which took his game to another level.

This time he began as a first rotation midfielder, and once injected into the game his impact was immediate — particularly at stoppage.

He not only clamped down on the opposition’s main ball winner in Tsatas, but also followed up as an outside option, unafraid to take on the tackler before going long to the stronger forward line.

Though still early, the move from the back six has been all positive — for him and for those around him.

Xavier Duursma’s summer role change showed its best potential today.

His work rate to push up the ground and assist defensively was just the start, followed by becoming an outlet in transition and being rewarded inside 50 for forcing turnovers through pressure and tackling, while also finding space as a leading target.

With greater exposure alongside his fellow forwards, both tall and small, Duursma’s strong hands overhead and his hunt at ground level will play a big part in improving Essendon’s inside 50 efficiency.

Last week, Jye Caldwell missed his first session I’ve attended, restricted to running with a heavily bandaged left knee. This week, still bandaged in the same area, he showed no signs of being hampered — starting the match sim at the centre bounce, impacting at stoppages and linking up in transition to deliver inside 50.

To this point, he’s gone about his work as expected, but today he stamped his authority early, emerging as the clear best hardball winner in the first half.

Lachie Blackiston has had the edge on Vigo Visentini so far this preseason, with his leap and general agility around the ground standout traits. Today, Visentini put his best foot forward in this battle.

At times this summer, the 20-year-old — now on the main list — has appeared slightly unsettled by Blackiston’s athleticism at centre bounce, often having to adjust mid-air. Today, with improved timing, he matched Blackiston’s aggression, not only neutralising his aerial advantage but also limiting his ability to follow up post-contest. That allowed Visentini to become a more viable option for his midfield group.

Dyson Sharp was unmissable in the early parts of scenario training this preseason, showing his strength to stand up in the tackle, either freeing his arms or shaking off the pressure applied to feed the ball out to teammates.

Since the new year, with training shifting to full-ground match simulations, the pick 13 draft selection has had to contend with Durham and Caldwell to win that “dirty ball.”

Understandably, at this stage of his career, their strength and experience have made this challenging, so much so that Sharp has spent large portions of recent quarters at half-forward as he adjusts to the rigours of senior football.

Today he blended both phases of his development, using his education at half forward effectively while also offering glimpses of what he can produce on ball.

For much of the first half he acted as a bridge between defence and attack, finding space as a dangerous option that had to be used. From there he either carried the ball himself or brought runners into the game through overlap. Later, when rotated on ball alongside Durham, Caldwell and Roberts, the added grunt around him allowed him to focus on balance, both offensively and defensively.

Andrew McGrath’s run from handball receives in the back half was impossible to ignore — firstly because it altered the tempo of the game, and secondly because that element was largely absent for much of the day.

The captain’s willingness to be an option forced teammates to give, which in turn generated movement ahead of the ball and created space to work within.

The defensive lineup, one I suspect is close to the early-season starting group, defaulted largely to kicking for rebounds.

For mine, a better balance between that and run-and-overlap is needed to truly test the opposition’s ability to defend ball movement, particularly if the methods introduced this preseason are to succeed.

A little extra.

Kyle Langford’s timing as a forward is beginning to generate better leading opportunities, with his clean hands out in front too difficult to defend.

Hussein El Achkar was all damage, repeatedly scooping up forward-50 groundballs close to goal and showcasing his finishing skills.

Brayden Fiorini again impressed with his work rate, complemented by vision to either change angles by foot or release teammates into space by hand.

A couple of disappointing performances a few weeks ago have sharpened Ben McKay, making him respect his matchup with a much shorter leg rope, especially when playing further up the ground.

Hurry up.

After what has felt like a long and arduous preseason, the time has arrived to see how the internal progress measures up against opposition.

*Once again, big shout-out, appreciation, and credit to Charlie (Caddy Shack @CharlieDons on X) for his photos.

For more pics from today and past training, Charlie can be found on X here:

https://x.com/charliedons?s=21&t=L4mpm7shJJYGHL-jgpWWBw