Essendon coach Matthew Knights says the Bombers can not keep getting away with slow starts to AFL games.

While Saturday night's comeback win over Richmond was their fifth victory in nine games, they have led at half-time just twice.

A barnstorming 12.7 to 3.5 second half against the Tigers turned a 16-point deficit into a comfortable 19.11 (125) to 12.13 (85) win.

But Knights said against more experienced sides there would be no such recoveries.

"We have to address it because we can not keep giving starts, it's not good enough," Knights said.

"It's alright that their resilience is great, they keep coming and keep fighting, but we're nearly the youngest team in the comp, we've got to find a way to stay in games.

"You're not going to be always able to come back against bigger, harder bodies as the year goes on, so we must improve on our first quarters definitely."

The coach said he would be questioning the players on Monday on why the situation kept repeating itself.

"There is opposition out there, we understand that, obviously Richmond were very good and on the flipside we were ordinary in the first half, so that culminates in a first half deficit," he said.

"But I'll speak to the players more so about getting the direction on why we're starting the way we are."

The Bombers face a sterner test against Geelong next Sunday, with the Cats having whipped them by 99 points in their last meeting, in round seven last year.

"I'm looking forward to it, I think last year I stuck my chin out and said we were going to take them on and I think it was 99 points later I woke up," Knights said.

"We'll look forward to the contest, I think there'll be a massive crowd ... it's going to be great for our young players to go up against undoubtedly the best team."

The Bombers will face some interesting selection decisions, with Mark McVeigh, Kyle Reimers, Jason Laycock and Hayden Skipworth all playing for Bendigo in the VFL on Sunday, after overcoming injuries.

"That's a really healthy situation to be in," Knights said of deciding which of those players to include against the Cats.

But Courtenay Dempsey could miss the match, after spraining his ankle against the Tigers, while Nathan Lovett-Murray will be sweating on Monday's match review panel meeting after a late, high bump on Richmond's Kayne Pettifer.

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