Essendon duo Dylan Clarke and Jordan Ridley will finally make their Bombers debuts this weekend, after coach John Worsfold announced their inclusions at training on Wednesday.
The pair have been impressing in the VFL over recent weeks, and Worsfold told the playing group they were changes that just had to be made
“The forced changes are the forced because of the form of Clarkey and Riddles, they’re coming into the team,” Worsfold told the players at training.
Clarke has especially impressed in the reserves, and has been one of the best players in the VFL so far this season.
Young Bomber Dylan Clarke top of the VFL charts for disposals (164 from five matches) and hard-ball gets (33), second for contested possessions (79) and third for tackles (43). He’s taking to the Essendon selectors’ door with a sledgehammer.
— Paul Amy (@PaulAmy375) May 14, 2018
Clarke spoke to essendonfc.com.au on Wednesday, and was thrilled to finally be given an opportunity to play senior football.
“The messages from the coaches and the senior players (was) just, ‘keep putting your head down and regardless of the result in the ones just force them to choose you’,” Clarke said.
“So I think we both went our own way a bit in terms of just putting our heads down and getting the work done, so I think we should both be pretty proud of how we’ve been playing.
“To get rewarded on me and Rids’ form in the VFL is really positive, so we both feel pretty good at the moment and we’re hoping to have a good impact on Saturday.”
Ridley also spoke about making his first senior appearance, and is excited he's finally off the emergencies list.
“It’s been a little bit frustrating the last few weeks being an emergency a few times, but it’s finally good to break through,” Ridley said.
“It’s something we’ve all been aspiring to work towards, so especially to share it with such a great mate is an unreal feeling.”
