ESSENDON captain Matthew Lloyd isn't thinking long-term just yet, but admits the light at the end of the tunnel may be a motivating factor when it comes to deciding his playing future.

Lloyd will play his 250th senior game for the Bombers when they take on Adelaide at Telstra Dome on Saturday afternoon, and the champion will proudly lead his team out for the clash.

Although Essendon is out of finals calculations this season, Lloyd and everyone at Windy Hill can sense things are on an upward curve since coach Matthew Knights implemented his youth strategy and fast-paced game plan.

Using Hawthorn star Shane Crawford as an example that 'good things come to those who wait', Lloyd, who turned 30 this year, indicated he too was willing to hang around if it meant he could enjoy Essendon's future successes.

"I look at Shane Crawford and there’s no doubt he was ready to finish a few years ago but now he just plays his part in the side but he can see there’s a premiership not far away," Lloyd said.

"They are things that would make you want to keep playing."

A serious hamstring injury in 2006 restricted Lloyd to just three matches but he said he was confident of a return.

"I always thought, you know at 28, that I had the chance to come back but the last few years there’s been some trying times," he said.

"But I always felt that if I didn’t have another injury I’d get there but I sort of look back as a whole at my career and wouldn’t change anything – form, injuries, wins [and] losses, it’s just been a fantastic journey since 1995."

Things weren't looking quite so peachy earlier this year when the Bombers – and Lloyd – were under the pump after a few sub-par performances.

Lloyd believes his mid-season form slump was "blown out of proportion", but it was bound to happen in the ride of being an AFL footballer.

"You know I wasn’t playing great but I think every year you’re going to have two or three weeks where you’re not in great form," he said.

"But over the course of a season I know when I work hard enough and have a good run I’m always going to produce around the 60-goal mark, which is pretty rare for a footballer."

So does the man who has booted 883 career goals think he could possibly play 300 AFL matches?

"I might have said no earlier in the year but … this time next year, if it’s going like it is, now I’d say, 'Yeah I’m ready to go again'," Lloyd said.

"I think from the end of next year I’ll just look at it from a year-to-year basis. Body-wise I’m in pretty good nick so I don’t see why I couldn't."