Essendon are set to welcome back star midfielder Darcy Parish for his first game of the season, while a handful of Bombers players are in the mix to add to the club's long list of 2025 debutants.
Coach Brad Scott has had to dive deep into his ranks to name a competitive 23-player side this season due to an ongoing injury battle that has hindered the Dons' key position stocks across all lines of the field.
A decimated backline has led to captain Zach Merrett being deployed in defence, with the Essendon star handing the keys to the engine room to his fellow onballers.
"It's a bit of a reality," Scott said this week.
"Our VFL team had a really good performance but didn't have any AFL-listed players playing in defence. We're giving players opportunities in that spot.
"Merrett we'd like to use in four different places. He's a really flexible player and we'll just assess where we play him and what suits us best."
Merrett is likely to return to his role down back when the Bombers face Carlton this week, with fellow Crichton Medal winner Darcy Parish to play his maiden game of the season after calf and back injuries delayed his campaign kicking off.
Parish will add to an in-form midfield unit off the back of some strong form in his return to the field via the VFL.
"The only caveat I'd put on that is that he's got to get through our main session," Scott said.
"We've planned for this for quite some time, and he's had an uninterrupted last month in terms of his build into playing. Two games in the VFL, played really well. Barring incident today he'll be available.
"(The midfield) is the one part of the ground where we do have good flexibility at the moment. It's a good thing, you want to have multiple options running through the midfield.
"That gives us the flex with Zach being the most flexible of those mids."
Parish might not be the only inclusion for Essendon this week, with Mid-Season Draft signing and former Carlton VFL forward Liam McMahon also in the mix.
McMahon was recruited by the Bombers after a dominant 18 months on the Blues' reserves list, with the key forward a chance to aid the Bombers' key position stocks.
"We'll certainly consider him," Scott said of the former Collingwood draftee.
"We think he's probably been the dominant key forward in the VFL this year. He's been starved of opportunity.
"We have a pretty strong philosophy; barring absolute necessity, you want to set guys up to succeed. In an ideal world he'd fit into our system before we consider him, but given our talls situation we're considering him this week."
Fellow Mid-Season Draft addition Lachie Blakiston could also be close to an AFL debut to ease the workload on veteran ruckman Todd Goldstein in the coming weeks, while second-year ruck Vigo Visentini is also in the mix after continuing to press his case in the VFL.
Bombers pair Sam Durham and Jade Greare sham will play thanks to a 10-day break, with both players having suffered niggles in the Round 12 loss to Brisbane.
Essendon and Carlton wlll clash at the MCG on Sunday night, with the two sides looking to close in on the top eight.
