Essendon will play three ruckmen against Collingwood on Monday in a move which could become a feature of Bomber strategy this season.

David Hille, who was impressive in the VFL last week after returning from injury, will link with Tom Bellchambers and Patrick Ryder in the Anzac Day blockbuster.

Coach James Hird said he would assess the tactic after the match but acknowledged there needed to be flexibility for conditions.

"We'll see how it goes," Hird said. "It's not something we're necessarily picking for one week.

"We're picking a structure and type of side that we'll play for more than one week.

"We think the guys can play together for a while, but I think if it starts raining at midnight before Anzac Day and it rains all day, then you wouldn't play three ruckmen."

Kyle Reimers and Henry Slattery will also come into the side following the loss of pace with Courtenay Dempsey and Jason Winderlich suffering knee injuries last week.

Hird said Reimers needs to "just play well, play his role, and try his hardest.

"He doesn't need to do anything sensational, he just needs to win his fair share of the ball, defend when he needs to defend and set up in the right areas.

"We've brought Kyle in, who is more of a running player, and Henry will play more of a defensive role than Courtenay Dempsey did.

"But we've got plenty of run and speed with (David) Zaharakis, (Leroy) Jetta, (Jake) Melksham, and (Dyson) Heppell, so we don't think we lack for runners."

Hird said the club had learned from their NAB Cup grand final loss to Collingwood but said the Magpies had virtually nothing in the way of a weakness.

"We learned a little bit out of that about Collingwood, but Collingwood's game plan has been in front of everyone for a very long time.

"They've been playing this way for a good couple of years, so we got some positives out of the NAB Cup Grand Final but definitely some things we need to work on," Hird said.

"If they've got weaknesses it would be great if they could show them to me because they look pretty solid at the moment.

"They look like they're playing with a lot of confidence, their game is very sound, they use ball well, and it just looks like a very good game plan."

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