Essendon's defence are ready to show they can hold the fort without luckless star Jordan Ridley.
And emerging defender Zach Reid is determined to play a key role in Saturday's clash with Sydney at Marvel Stadium.
Essendon looked all at sea against North Melbourne when Ridley went down with a hamstring injury just before half-time last Thursday.
The Bombers will be without Ridley for around eight weeks.
"He's a great player - so it's always hard to miss him," Reid told AAP.
"He sets us up so well."
Sydney forward Hayden McLean insists Ridley's absence won't change the Swans' approach.
"Obviously Ridley is a star player for them and a key asset for them, but it doesn't really affect how we prepare for this week," McLean said.
"A different person comes in, he's probably going to try to play the same role, just like we have players that come in and we expect the most from them.
"If they're losing players, we're losing players. It's going to be a really good battle."
Lewis Hayes will debut as Essendon's third tall defender.
"Hayesy's VFL form has been unreal," Reid said.
"He'd be a direct swap - can play tall or small."
Reid and Hayes will also take confidence from playing alongside defensive general Ben McKay.
"He's always in the right spots, and he's just a rock back there, really," Reid said.
"It's nice to look back and you have Ben there behind me every week. So we're building that synergy."
Reid, 23, is relishing a run of consistent games after an injury-plagued first four years.
"It's the most I've played AFL consecutively, so loving it," he said.
"But I'm feeling good. The first couple rounds, I just had to find my feet again and pick up the speed of AFL.
"But after I did that, I feel like I've built in nicely."
Reid knows the Swans will be a big task.
"The competition is really close, and if you're off by a metre, it really hurts," he said.
"It's a challenge. They're coming off the grand final, so they're still a grand final playing team. We'll have to prep really well
"Their ball movement's quick, they've got skilful players at their half back line - they've added (Riley) Bice and they've got (Nick) Blakey."
