Essendon has made three changes for Sunday’s twilight clash with Adelaide.

Craig Bird, Sam Michael and James Polkinghorne return to the Bombers team, replacing James Kelly (rested), Shaun McKernan (illness) and Mitch Brown (groin).

Ex-Brisbane Lion Polkinghorne has been rewarded for his strong VFL form, while Bird has recovered from a minor quad injury. Michael provides versatility in the absence of talls Brown and McKernan.

See Adelaide’s team

Draftee Aaron Francis, who made his debut last weekend, will play his first AFL game in SA.

Essendon’s squad is:

B: M. Dea, M. Hartley, A. McDonald-Tipungwuti
HB: M. Gleeson, S. Michael, A. Francis
C: Z. Merrett, D. Zaharakis, W. Hams
HF: A. Cooney. P. Ambrose, O. Fantasia
F: J. Laverde, J. Daniher, D. Parish
FOL: M. Leuenberger, C. Bird, B. Goddard
IC: C. Dempsey, K. Langford, C. McKenna, J. Polkinghorne

IN: J.Polkinghorne, C.Bird, S.Michael
OUT: J.Kelly (Rested), S. McKernan (illness), M. Brown (Groin)