ESSENDON'S season is at the crossroads ahead of Saturday night's clash against Geelong at Etihad Stadium, according to coach James Hird.
With both teams locked at four wins and five losses, Hird said it was vital for the Bombers to separate themselves from the other teams – including the Western Bulldogs, Port Adelaide and North Melbourne – jostling for the top eight.
"The next two or three weeks are really important for the club in terms of this season and I think Geelong are probably in the same position as we are," Hird said.
"They're games both clubs need to win and if you've got aspirations of making the finals and being successful in those finals, then this is a game we need to play well in and hopefully win."
The contest against the Cats looms as even more crucial with the Bombers to play West Coast in Perth, followed by the bye and then a showdown with Hawthorn in round 13.
The Bombers will have to beat Geelong without experienced duo Jobe Watson and Dustin Fletcher who have both succumbed to groin strains.
However Hird is confident that the pair won't be sidelined for any more than a week.
"Really, if we were pushing [Watson] we could’ve tried to play him," Hird said.
"[Fletcher's injury] is similar to Jobe's, it's a little groin strain that'll only keep him out for a week or two – in terms of the scale of the injuries, they're not big."
Hird was adamant that Watson's groin strain is unrelated to the uncommon hip injury that kept him out for eight rounds in the middle of 2014.
James Gwilt, Orazio Fantasia and Elliott Kavanagh have been brought into Essendon's 22, however the Bombers coach has put the onus on ruckman Tom Bellchambers to perform against the Cats.
"He's fully fit. Tom would admit himself that he's not playing as well as he'd like," Hird said.
"We're hoping for a big performance from him tomorrow night. We need a big performance from him. He's a quality player and a quality person, he's worked very hard at his game and tomorrow night that will show that."
On a brighter note for the Bombers, veteran midfielder Jason Winderlich, who has been plagued by an ongoing back issue, will play his first game of the year in the VFL against Geelong's reserves side in the curtain raiser to Saturday night's AFL contest.
"Jason's a very important player for us, setting up the game across half back and he's a good player in the forward line for us," Hird said.
"We'll give him a couple of games in the reserves, to get that match conditioning, and then hopefully after the bye we'll bring him in to play."
