RUCKMAN David Hille has bounded back into contention for Essendon's NAB Cup opener against the Western Bulldogs after a strong showing in Friday's intra-club match.
Hille had been all but ruled out of making the trip to Darwin after a pre-season hamstring strain was followed by a stingray encounter which left him in hospital.
However, the 27-year-old played the majority of the Whitten Oval match with coach Matthew Knights left with what could be a tough decision.
"David will come to me this afternoon and will want to go to Darwin," Knights said after the game.
"He's recovered pretty well from his stingray incident and it's good to have him out there and I thought he moved well.
"We'll decide this afternoon who we'll take to Darwin, but Christian (Bock) and Tom Bellchambers will do most of the [ruck] work because (Jason) Laycock is on the sidelines also.
"David will put his hand up to go. It just depends whether it's in the best interests of round one.
"That's what the focus is. [For] Darwin next week, we'll be taking a very young team."
Knights said he was pleased with the output of Bock, the younger brother of Adelaide defender Nathan.
The new rookie took some impressive marks up forward and, despite some wayward kicking and a skinny frame, looks to be a promising acquisition.
"When we're looking at Christian we think, 'How is he looking in the ruck?', but what I was most pleased about was some of the ground balls he took and some of the contested marks he took," Knights said.
"For someone who's six-foot-eight with 84kg, you probably don't expect that.
"We got a little bit of a pleasant surprise today when he showed some real agility over the ball, and he went forward. We're not convinced he can play forward yet – that might come over time, but he certainly took a few marks forward.
"He's a long-term project. His pedigree is sound with Nathan, and I'm pretty sure Nathan started out as a lightly-framed player and built his body up over time.
"In three or four years' time, we might have something on our hands."
Knights said the Bombers will send a "competitive" team to the Top End with an aim to beat the Bulldogs and progress to the second round of the NAB Cup.
He predicted his line-up would be mostly young players, especially after experienced midfielder Andrew Welsh sustained a serious ankle injury on Friday.
"We're not a senior list by any stretch. The reality is we've probably got six or seven players that have senior experience, and [Welsh] is one of those," he said.
"He comes out of the side and the youth in the team will continue to get bigger and stronger.
"Another young player will now get an opportunity, and it will definitely be a young player because we've only got six or seven at the senior end.
"There were a few good signs today to suggest that some younger players still want to take roles in the team."
Knights added that Hayden Skipworth, Sam Lonergan and Bachar Houli, among others, could fill the vacancy created by Welsh's injury.
Scott Gumbleton, Jason Winderlich and Scott Lucas all featured in Friday's game but are not expected to make the trip to Darwin.
