Essendon’s AFL resurgence continues to come at a cost, with defender Michael Hurley their latest injured star.
Coach John Worsfold confirmed that Hurley has an AC joint injury after a collision with North Melbourne forward Cam Zurhaar in the third quarter of Saturday’s five-point win at Marvel Stadium.
It’s the third win in a row for the Bombers, all of them by 10 points or less.
As of Saturday night they were eighth, although they will stay ninth if Port Adelaide beat Brisbane.
Essendon have only been in the eight once this season, in round seven.
They won on Saturday despite the ongoing absence of captain Dyson Heppell, while key forward Joe Daniher and reigning club best and fairest Dylan Smith are gone for the season.
Now Hurley is hurt as well and Worsfold said post-match they are unsure how many weeks the All-Australian backman will be sidelined.
The challenges keep coming for Essendon, with a major Friday night assignment at Adelaide Oval against the Crows.
Adelaide and the Bombers have 9-7 record, with the Crows boasting a better percentage.
Asked what Saturday’s win meant for the bigger picture, Worsfold said the focus remained on improvement rather than ladder position.
“Not having the captain out there, it’s showing we have a lot of faith in the guys who’ve come in and they understand their role and are playing their role,” Worsfold said.
“So we are improving in that, but we’ve still got some improvement to go – that’s our focus.
“What happened (on Saturday night) or last week really won’t influence how much better we get, as we go into training for our next opposition.”
Two players who have come into the side to great effect are the Clarkes – Zac and Dylan.
Ruckman Zac Clarke broke even with Todd Goldstein and that was a great result for the Bombers.
Dylan Clarke continued to impress in a run-with midfielder role, restricting Kangaroos star Ben Cunnington.