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Essendon are confident both Harrison Jones and Jake Stringer will be ready for round one of the 2022 AFL campaign as they battle back from injury.
The Bombers are priced at 13/10 to finish in the top eight of the AFL and know that the duo will be key to their chances of getting the season off to a strong start.
Exciting forward Jones was going well in 2021 when booting 20 goals from 16 games before his season was cut short because of a stress fracture in his foot.
The 20-year-old recovered only to then suffer an ankle injury pre-season which has further limited the amount of training he has been able to do.
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Jones is expected to play in a practice match against the Western Bulldogs on Wednesday and coach Ben Rutten says that will be key to his chances of playing in round one.
"We're hoping so," Rutten told AFL.com.au. "That's going to be the balance for him. We're hoping to get a bit of a look at him next Wednesday in our first game.
"For him, considering the injury he's had and a little bit of a limited pre-season, we just have to balance that up between him being available but also how fit and prepared to play he is.
"We're going to build him up over the next few weeks but with 'Jonesy', barring any interruptions, we're pretty confident he'll be available at the start of the season."
Meanwhile Rutten is also hopeful that the influential Stringer will have recovered from a groin issue in time to face Geelong in round one.
"We're pretty confident that Jake will be ready then. He's done a fair bit of work for us. He did a fair bit of training for us pre-Christmas and post-Christmas as well. He hasn't missed a beat up until now," Rutten added.
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