ESSENDON will open the pre-season competition next year against Collingwood, and the Bombers' No.1 pick Andrew McGrath has already identified the game as his first possible appearance in the red and black.

McGrath became the Bombers' first ever No.1 pick when they used the prized selection on him at last month's NAB AFL Draft after the Sandringham Dragon pieced together a brilliant under-18 campaign.

Many clubs viewed the 18-year-old as a prospect who could step into an AFL side straight away and perform, and on Wednesday the League revealed its fixture for the JLT Community Series with the Bombers and Magpies opening proceedings on Thursday, February 16.

McGrath, who this week was given the club's No.1 guernsey for next season, said he would be targeting that contest as the first time he will don the Essendon colours.

"I think everyone's aim at the moment is to play in [the opening pre-season game]. But I guess I'll see how my body's tracking and where the coaches think I'm at and we'll go from there," McGrath said on Wednesday.

Despite his keenness to run out for the Bombers as soon as possible, McGrath admitted he remained unsure how he matched up against his more senior teammates and if he would be ready immediately to step up to AFL level.

McGrath's first week as an Essendon player was spent at naval camp HMAS Cerberus on the Mornington Peninsula, meaning he has only had two or three footy sessions so far.

Even those have been cut short for the first-year players, who have being taken out of some drills to avoid being overloaded, so McGrath hasn't been able to set too many goals about what he could achieve in his first season in 2017.

"It's hard at first because you feel like a pretty little kid in a big pond coming from the top of a smaller pond. I don't know [if I'll be ready], to be honest. I haven't trained too much yet and it's a really hard question to answer," he said.

"I'm just trying to do everything right at the moment and get my body as strong as I can before the start of next year and get my fitness base up as well. If that means playing in round one or playing in three years' time, I'm happy to wait for my time and to make an impact."

McGrath won All Australian honours this season following a brilliant campaign for Vic Metro across half-back, but moved into the midfield later in the TAC Cup season and finished the year averaging 32 disposals.

He thinks he is most likely to start his career at Essendon as a rebounding small defender before progressing further up the field.

"I've been in the backline group recently because the midfield group is pretty stacked at the moment," he said. "There's a lot of good players in there. I've enjoyed my time down back and I think that's probably where I'll start."