Overview
- Essendon sacked senior coach Brad Scott earlier this week and appointed Dean Solomon as interim coach, with two support staff departing and Brent Stanton stepping into midfield coaching duties.
- The Bombers will travel to Optus Stadium without captain Andy McGrath, Mason Redman, Sam Durham, Jye Caldwell and Matt Guelfi because of a broken jaw, knee, concussion, ankle and hamstring respectively.
- To cover those absences Essendon named five inclusions — Elijah Tsatas, Will Setterfield, Nik Cox, Saad El‑Hawli and Max Kondogiannis — with Cox selected after strong VFL form.
- West Coast named an unchanged AFL side for the WA Day eve match and will keep Brandon Starcevich and Cooper Duff‑Tytler building match fitness in the WAFL while monitoring Harry Edwards’ return from multiple concussions.
- Coach Andrew McQualter said he does not expect a guaranteed new‑coach bounce but warned Essendon will be fired up, leaving West Coast to prepare tactically for a pride‑driven response and manage player workloads.