After a stirring win in their AFL season opener, Essendon coach John Worsfold insists he is not worried about an emotional letdown against Brisbane because the Bombers are "not good enough yet".
Essendon welcomed back six players who served 12-month suspensions in their round-one boilover against Hawthorn.
Another returns against Brisbane at the Gabba on Saturday after Ben Howlett was named to replace the injured Josh Green, marking his first AFL game in 18 months.
Emotions ran high as Essendon savoured their opening upset but Worsfold said the Bombers knew they couldn't afford to be flat against the Lions.
"We know we've got a long way to go so I think the players are pretty clear that game was a start," Worsfold said when asked if he worried about an emotional letdown.
"But we have to work hard to get better because we're not good enough yet and we want to work hard to achieve that."
Howlett will join the six players backing up from their comeback match.
"Ben's been slowly feeling like he's been getting back to playing his best footy," Worsfold said.
"I thought he was really good against Box Hill on the weekend and he fits into the spot left by Green."
Like Worsfold, Brisbane coach Chris Fagan was also not getting ahead of himself after a tight opening win over Gold Coast.
"We know Essendon is a formidable opponent," he said.
"Not too many teams have been able to do that to Hawthorn over the last four or five years but Essendon were able to do so.
"They played with passion. They are obviously fired up and are on a journey.
"We will need to quickly forget about the great things that happened for us last week."
Brisbane will no doubt focus on vice-captain Zach Merrett in a bid to stop the Bombers' midfield juggernaut after his star turn last round.
"They're a team that can move the ball incredibly quickly," Fagan said.
"They love to bring the ball into the corridor, their forwards are really dangerous, they work well as a team and they've got a strong group of midfielders.
"A very important part of our game tomorrow night is our ability to defend quickly and stop that ball movement and hold them up a little bit."
Ex-Collingwood defender Jack Frost will make his Lions debut after missing last week through suspension.
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