Essendon midfield stalwart Brent Stanton is looking forward to a bit of extra support this AFL season.

The Bombers’ biggest weakness in recent years has been an over-reliance on a few key midfielders, such as skipper Jobe Watson, Stanton, Heath Hocking and Michael Zaharakis.

But Stanton, who has finished top three in the club’s best and fairest in three of the past four seasons, says that is changing.

“We’ve been developing a pretty strong core group of midfielders,” the 25-year-old said.

“With a few young kids coming through now, we can rotate through there a lot more than what we might have previously.

“You’ll see a fair few newer guys in through the midfield, like Travis Colyer.

“(Dyson) Heppell will play a bit more through the midfield and Jake Melksham’s got a bit of size on him now, Ben Howlett.

“All these guys have really developed over the summer.”

Stanton hopes heavier midfield rotations and the increased strength and fitness of some youngsters should also help the Bombers maintain consistency both over the season and within matches.

Against Collingwood, Carlton and West Coast late last season, the Bombers either led or were in touch at halftime, only to be massacred in the second half.

They were then blown away by the Blues in an elimination final.

“It’s been a focus – we want to be a consistent footy side,” he said.

“The strength that we’ve got in our bodies and the miles that we’ve got in our legs now are going to hold us in good stead for the year.”

The Bombers look set to enter their round-one clash with North Melbourne almost at full strength, with Scott Gumbleton and Brent Prismall the only notable injury concerns.

They have also had their confidence boosted by pre-season wins over Sydney and Brisbane on the past two weekends, with young star key forward Michael Hurley’s five-goal haul against the Lions particularly encouraging.

Stanton said the 21-year-old, who missed the early part of the pre-season competition with a hamstring injury, had become important for more than just his playing feats.

“His leadership has shown out on the weekend.

“He’s looking to improve in every other way possible as well,” Stanton said.