HAWTHORN star Sam Mitchell and ex-Docker Ryan Crowley have gone head-to-head on numerous occasions, but that won’t be the case on Friday night at Etihad Stadium.

The top-up Bomber injured his hamstring in his side’s loss to Fremantle on the weekend, and will be sidelined for at least four weeks.

Replacing Crowley might not be the only change the Bombers make this week.

Essendon coach John Worsfold has also forecast a rest for exciting defender Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, who has played every game so far in his debut season.

Worsfold says the Bombers will be determined to improve on their 79-point loss to the Dockers.

"It's very tough. We all want to win, we all want to be part of a successful club, but that's what we're putting the foundations in place for," Worsfold said on Tuesday.

"There's no easy way. You've got to work hard to be successful and do the hard yards and put all the effort in. That's what this year is about for us – really knuckling down and doing a lot of hard work to be in the best position possible for the future."

Recent form

Essendon’s loss to Fremantle saw it relegated to the bottom of the ladder, with a 1-10 record at the midway point of the year.

The Bombers win came in Round 2, and while they have lost convincingly against Fremantle, Richmond and St Kilda the past three weeks, they did get within 14 points of ladder-leader North Melbourne less than a month ago.

Key players

It’s been a tough year for the Bombers, who are without multiple members of their first-choice side.

However, there have been a number of players who have delivered consistently at AFL level.

Zach Merrett, Brendon Goddard, David Zaharakis and top-up player James Kelly all average more than 26 disposals per game, while Joe Daniher and Mitch Brown offer strong marking targets inside 50.