Essendon is set to be buoyed by the inclusion of spearhead Peter Wright in its Sunday night blockbuster against Carlton, but another exciting tall will be held back longer.
Bombers coach Brad Scott said Nik Cox was available for senior selection with two VFL games under his belt following his return from a back injury but wanted the 200cm prospect to learn some new tricks in a prolonged stint at the lower level first.
The top 10 draft pick only played five games last year due to recurring injuries and has been sidelined all season, but Scott said he was excited by the small “glimpses” he was receiving from the utility.
He said it was important that Cox built slowly towards the senior level and learnt a number of roles the Bombers had in mind for the athletic tall.
“We’re probably looking at a few positional variations with Coxy as well, so we really want to spend the time drilling that at VFL level, we don’t want to experiment at AFL level,” Scott said.
“He’s a really good player – I haven’t been exposed to him much because he’s been injured while I’ve been here, but it’s hard not to get excited with the little glimpses you see.
“I’ve said to the coaches we’ve just got to temper that excitement, and build him up slowly.”
Scott said Wright was “more likely than unlikely” to play his first game of the season against the Blues, with a valuable extra week of contact training under his belt.
He said Dylan Shiel could again be held back after getting stuck in a “cycle” of pulling up sore after games, with the 30-year-old subbed out of last week’s win with an ankle complaint.
“Shiel is just an elite player, and he’s got elite power and elite speed, and when you’re a bit sore it makes it hard to display those attributes,” he said.
“He’s pulled up a little bit sore, so we’re not going to keep going through this cycle of train, play, pull up sore.
“I’ll again have a discussion with him – he’ll warm up with the group (at Thursday training), but he needs to feel absolutely unrestricted and pain free, and if he has any pain or his movement is hindered in any way he won’t play.”
Scott said Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti’s training program had been modified to help build up his fitness levels, but the goalsneak would continue to play in the VFL while completing the extra work.
“We’re modifying his program to get a fair bit of work in … Walla, by his own admission, wants to get fitter, and he’s really driving that,” he said.
“Coaches can push, and high performance staff can push, but he’s really impressed me.
“It’s an incredible effort to get to where he is right now after so long out of the game.”
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