Bomber set to revive stalled career

Essendon midfielder Dylan Shiel is poised to revive his stalled career against Collingwood on Friday night after mounting an irresistible case for selection in the VFL.

Shiel, 31, is in line to play his second game for the season after he was dropped back to the reserves following a fleeting appearance as the sub in round 10.

It has been a long road back for the powerful left-footer after he was restricted to only 12 games in 2023 by a frustrating foot injury that forced him to carefully manage his time on his feet over the pre-season.

Shiel had 33 disposals, six clearances and six tackles in Essendon’s 35-point VFL win over Collingwood on Saturday and is set to return to a midfield unit that was comprehensively beaten by Geelong in the second half of the heavy defeat on Saturday night.

Track watchers say the former All-Australian on-baller has “pop’’ in his step and several times against the Magpies was able to glide through congestion.

The potential return of Shiel to the middle – and of Darcy Parish at some stage this season – would open avenues for the likes of Zach Merrett and Sam Durham to play more forward, an area where the Bombers have struggled in recent weeks.

Former top-10 pick Archie Perkins could be the one to make way after a month in which his impressive early-season form has tailed off significantly.

Essendon coach Brad Scott said on Tuesday that Shiel was “right in calculations” for the Magpies blockbuster after the best of his nine VFL games this season.

“I thought he looked like the Dylan Shiel we all know and love on the weekend in the VFL, I thought it was his best performance for the year,” Scott said.

“He’s had some injuries which have been really frustrating for him and have limited his ability to play to his strengths, but he’s over that now and he looks really solid … I was rapt with the way he played.”

Shiel, who resisted attempts from St Kilda to lure him to Moorabbin in the off-season, is still contracted until the end of 2025.

Clubs could again come knocking at the season’s end if he fails to reinstate himself in the Bombers’ senior side, but Shiel said earlier this year he was committed to the club.

“It’s an interesting time of the year when as a footy club and a player where you’re taking two weeks where you really have to think about what you’re doing with your life and career,” he said in February.

“There was the opportunity to move to the Saints … it would have been a more convenient drive from home, I live just around the corner there. But fortunately, I’m still here.

“This is where I’ve always wanted to be. I’ve been really clear with the club how committed I am in helping this club where it wants to be, and I’m excited.”

Scott doubled down on his post-game comments that fielding two specialist ruckmen had not hurt the Bombers in wet conditions against the Cats.

But he said he was still not wedded to playing both Sam Draper and Todd Goldstein and would experiment with different team balances over the next month.

“We’ll certainly look at different structures over the next month or so. One, so that we try and work out what fits for the right opponent in the right conditions but also to find out about some of the players in slightly different positions,” the coach said.

“We’ve had pretty good success with some positional changes this year, and I suspect there’ll be some more and hopefully we get some upside and surprise out of that.”