Essendon young gun Joe Daniher ready to test wings against GWS Giants Bombers coach James Hird is licking his lips at the prospect of the 201cm father-son selection dominating in the ruck and full-forward for the next decade. Essendon young gun Joe Daniher could be ready to make his debut. COMMON sense will probably prevail tomorrow given Joe Daniher, potentially, has a 15-year career ahead of him. After a rest last weekend, Essendon will probably get Daniher back in the VFL and let him make his AFL debut later in the year when he has truly earned it. But as Essendon begins to realise the biggest impediment to a deep run into September is the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority, imagine the possibilities of a Daniher debut against Greater Western Sydney on Saturday. If Daniher is the extraordinary talent Essendon believes him to be, is it worth handing him an early debut? Twenty years on from the Baby Bombers, no one at Essendon needs reminding of just how valuable young players can be in a premiership surge. With key position Giants Phil Davis and Setanta O'hAilpin sidelined, the game is as close to a live kill as football gets. The virtual bye against GWS - the Bombers are $1.01 - is the perfect opportunity to ease Daniher into the action and give him a chance to shine. It would take something amazing for a 201cm tall to be a factor in his first season, but this kid has been rated the best TAC Cup graduate since Chris Judd. If the Dons give him a taste of the action, find he is out of his depth and warehouse him until later, what harm is done? But if Daniher can provide a real point of difference in a forward line already boasting Paddy Ryder, Michael Hurley, Stewart Crameri and Scott Gumbleton, the world is at his feet. In all likelihood the twin factors of his VFL rest last weekend and the returning stars will again push Daniher down the pecking order. Essendon says Hurley is right to go after overcoming ankle issues, and defenders Jake Carlisle and Dustin Fletcher are fit to play. Carlisle has been cleared of structural damage to his ankle but, as with Hurley and Fletcher, why play the trio when another week of rest prepares them for a five-week stretch that includes Geelong, Brisbane Lions, Richmond, Sydney at the SCG and Carlton? Informed wisdom says Daniher won't play but, as the wily old fox Kevin Sheedy said so often at Windy Hill, too often we think why rather than why not.