Facing a possible 0-3 start to the AFL season, Essendon admit they were desperate to rush star utility Nathan Lovett-Murray back into the team.

The Bombers play Carlton in one of the league's traditional blockbusters at the MCG on Saturday night and need a win before their season slips into early free-fall.

They reacted to their dismal start by dropping high-profile midfielder Brent Prismall and forward Alwyn Davey among six changes.

Veteran Mark McVeigh was unavailable for selection after spending the week in hospital recovering from an infected elbow.

Travis Colyer and Jake Melksham will make their debuts, with Bachar Houli, Sam Lonergan and Kyle Reimers resuming alongside Lovett-Murray, who has completed a suspension.

"If we reflect back on last season the last six rounds ... if we had have looked at the best and fairest voting on those six games I think Nathan wins the award," assistant coach Alan Richardson said on Friday.

"He was an incredibly impressive player in the second half of the year.

"His physicality is something that we've missed, his long running, his aggressive running - he's a very important player for us.

"We were very keen to get him straight back in, irrespective of the win-loss ratio.

"We think the way that he plays certainly inspires others in terms of the physical attack on the footy.

"He's probably if not our best, one of our best and we think from a spiritual physical point of view he's an outstanding member of our team."

Carlton coach Brett Ratten has urged his players not to reflect on the history of big-game clashes between his side and Essendon and Collingwood, but Lovett-Murray is energised by the big games.

"I think it doesn't matter where both teams are on the ladder we always come out and have big close games," he said.

"As a player you really get yourself up for these Carlton games - and also the Collingwood games."

But Carlton assistant coach Robert Harvey, while saying the past was irrelevant, remained cautious, noting Essendon's five-game winning streak against the Blues.

"They're all pretty fast, they're all pretty talented," Harvey said.

"We see a heap of talent and pace coming in, so that concerns us as well."

Lovett-Murray described his trip to the 100th game he will play tomorrow as "a long and tough journey".

"It's taken me six years to get here for my 100th game.

"I didn't get drafted until I was 21. The usual route for a player is to get drafted at 18 and spend a bit of time here but I had to do it the tough way," he said.

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