Essendon coach James Hird believes he has 35 players capable of slotting straight into AFL football after injury has forced the Bombers to test their depth.
When Essendon's horror run of injuries finally abates, it could prove a blessing in disguise for the AFL high-flyers.
The Bombers have used 31 players so far this season in marching to eight wins from nine matches and have not yet been able to field their best side because of a spate of injuries - mainly soft tissue.
But it has allowed coach James Hird to sift through the players at his disposal, and discover a deep pool of talent which should make the Bombers even more formidable when all are fully fit.
Conventional wisdom among coaches is that clubs need at least 32 players ready to immediately slot into senior football to be finals and premiership-capable.
Hird believes he now has 35.
But he was careful when pressed about whether that was the magic number for the finals tilt surely coming after the Bombers' sizzling start to the season.
"You'd like to think you've got 35 guys who are ready to come in," Hird said on Friday.
"I'm not sure of how good we can be or where we can go. I suppose that we think we've got 34 or 35 players who can play.
"Whether they're good enough or not, or whether as a team we're good enough or not, the next 15 weeks of the season will play out and we'll see what happens from there."
Virtually all the Bombers' wins this season have come with a good player missing.
It happens again for their clash with winless Melbourne at the MCG on Saturday night, with young defender Dyson Heppell and experienced Mark McVeigh the latest casualties.
Heppell will miss his second successive match with a knee injury, while Hird said McVeigh was being spelled to overcome complications from off-season hip surgery.
Heppell should return next week, with midfielder McVeigh out for no more than a fortnight.
But the plus side of the ledger is a return for veteran defender Dustin Fletcher against the Demons.
And Hird said injury-troubled forward Scott Gumbleton was approaching full fitness, along with experienced ruckman David Hille and speedy midfielder Jason Winderlich.
Hird sees all three as playing some role in the second half of the season.
"Depth in your team, and depth with that sort of class in Hille, Winderlich and Gumbleton who a few years ago were a huge part of this team, is very exciting," Hird said.
