Acting Essendon captain Paul Chapman admits the club’s disjointed AFL pre-season hurts their preparation, but insists they will be ready for round one.

The former Geelong premiership star will captain a team for the first time in his AFL career on Saturday when the Bombers start their NAB Challenge campaign against St Kilda in Morwell.

Essendon’s teams in their three pre-season matches will feature top-up players as the club awaits the much-anticipated AFL anti-doping tribunal verdicts.

All 25 current players who were at the club in 2012 are sitting out games until the tribunal rulings are known.

That is expected to happen later this month.

Asked what effect the disjointed pre-season will have on his 25 team-mates, Chapman said: “it hurts – I think our program is good enough though to replicate games.

“They will be well-prepared when round one comes around.

“Round one – no excuses, the guys will be ready to play.”

Chapman added they had not yet looked at whether those players might not be available for the start of the regular season.

“It’s great to have these young guys around, but hopefully by round one we have our full team back,” he said.

“Ideally, we’d want our main players back, but if that’s not the case then we’ll do with what we (have).

“But we’ll be very competitive, there’s no doubt about that.”

While Chapman said their pre-season is “way different”, he added the mood among the Bombers remains good.

“It’s very positive,” he said.

“The end’s in sight – how many times have you heard that said?

“But we really believe it is and we’re really looking forward to that.

“I believe we’re in a pretty good position this year and once this stuff is all done, we can just concentrate on football.

“It’s what we all want to do and I’m sure everyone wants that too. “

The tribunal is deliberating on charges against 34 current and past Essendon players relating to the club’s controversial 2012 supplements program.

The 25 players are sitting out the pre-season to protect the anonymity of those among them facing charges.

The charged players are not playing to protect potential backdated suspensions if they are found guilty.

Chapman also said talks between AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan and a delegation of senior Essendon players had gone well.

It has emerged that captain Jobe Watson, Brendon Goddard and David Myers visited McLachlan last week at his home.

“He (Watson) said it was a very constructive meeting,” Chapman said.

“(There were) probably strained relationships a little bit between the footy club and the AFL and things that.

“That’s been all sorted out.

“We need them and they need us and we need to start rebuilding that friendship.

“Getting together was the first step.”