Freo fan favourite returns as Darcy goes out again
Fremantle ruckman Sean Darcy has been managed out of their clash with Essendon and debutant ruckman Vigo Visentini.
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The Dockers will leave athletic big man Luke Jackson to take on the teenage first-gamer head-to-head in Thursday night's primetime clash at Optus Stadium.
Sam Switkowski is also out with a hamstring injury, but the Dockers have not recalled impressive first-year small forward Isiah Dudley.
They have instead recalled Nathan O'Driscoll and versatile small James Aish.
It means O'Driscoll is in line for his first match at AFL level since he suffered a syndesmosis injury in the round four defeat to Western Bulldogs.
Aish has played just two games this season, against West Coast in round four and Melbourne in round seven.
The pair have both been named on a five-man bench that also includes Nat Fyfe. The Dockers are weighing up whether or not to give the two-time Brownlow medallist a full game after he came on as an effective final-quarter substitute in their past two matches.
Darcy has played seven times for the club this season. He missed the first part of the season in the final weeks of his recovery from off-season knee and ankle issues.
He was then subbed out of their loss to Collingwood in round 10 and missed another two weeks.
The breather will give Darcy a second fortnight-long break inside a month, after the Dockers' round 14 bye.
He had 23 hit-outs and was influential in Fremantle's ruck battle with North Melbourne's Tristan Xerri.
The Dockers' high-priced ruck combination has been at the centre of great debate this season, with many experts suggesting Jackson should be used as a solo ruck, while others — including The West Australian columnist and former senior coach Danielle Laidley — believe Darcy being in the side allows Jackson to impact other parts of the game.
Jackson has started as the No.1 centre-bounce ruckman in both games since he returned in the win over Gold Coast.
Coach Justin Longmuir has played both rucks and three key forwards in all of those matches. Nathan O'Driscoll returns for his first AFL match since round four. Credit: Paul Kane / Getty Images
O'Driscoll had 24 touches in Peel Thunder's win over West Coast in the WAFL at the weekend. Aish was effective with his own 24 disposals down back in that victory.
The Dockers confirmed on Tuesday Switkowski had suffered a hamstring injury in Saturday night's win over North Melbourne.
Since round nine, the damaging forward had been the fourth-highest rated player in the competition, according to Champion Data.
Visentini is one of two inclusions for the injury-ravaged Bombers, alongside midfielder Ben Hobbs.
Todd Goldstein — who has been shouldering the ruck load for the Bombers since both Sam Draper and Nick Bryan went down injured — has been given a long-awaited rest of his own.
Archer Day-Wicks has been omitted.
Visentini is Essendon's 11th debutant this season, which also includes Lachie Blakiston and Archer May, who have both been retained in the side from their debut against Geelong last week, less than a month after they were plucked from the WAFL in the mid-season draft.
B: L Ryan, J Draper, B Cox
HB: H Chapman, K Worner, J Clark
C: J Sharp, C Wagner, M Johnson
HF: M Frederick, S Bolton, B Banfield
F: P Voss, J Treacy, J Amiss
R: L Jackson, C Serong, A Brayshaw
IC: J Aish, N Erasmus, N Fyfe, N O'Driscoll, M Reid
EMG: W Brodie, O McDonald, L Reidy
B: A McGrath, J Laverde, A Roberts
HB: Z Johnson, J Prior, A Clarke
C: X Duursma, Z Merrett, L Lual
HF: A Perkins, N Caddy, N Martin
F: A May, P Wright, I Kako
R: V Visentini, J Caldwell, D Parish
IC: B Hobbs, J Gresham, W Setterfield, M Guelfi, L Blakiston
EMG: D Shiel, R Unwin, A Day-Wicks
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