Bombers may turn to Gumbleton

Essendon midfielder Brent Stanton has earmarked a possible return for forgotten forward Scott Gumbleton after Michael Hurley was ruled out with a hamstring injury.

The Bombers endured a dirty night on Saturday, going down to a rampant St Kilda by 71 points at Etihad Stadium as Hurley joined suspended forward Stewart Crameri on the sidelines.

Hurley, who has a history of hamstring troubles, strained his 'good' hamstring against the Saints and is expected to miss at least a fortnight, paving the way for Gumbleton's return.

The 23-year-old number two pick in the 2006 draft, has played just 22 games due to repetitive injuries since his debut in 2007 and could be in line for a return after stringing together six consecutive games for Essendon's VFL affiliate the Bendigo Bombers.

"Either Tom Bellchambers could go forward or even Scott Gumbleton depending on how he went yesterday (in the VFL) and how he pulled up after the game," Stanton said of Hurley's potential replacement.

"He's (Gumbleton) had a long journey and hopefully he can get a game.

"We're not sure how he pulled up yesterday and he hasn't played a lot of footy but it's exciting to see Scott out there finally playing footy again.

Stanton admitted the timing of Crameri's ban and Hurley's injury was not ideal but said the Bombers had plenty of tall timber in reserve, including ruckman Paddy Ryder.

"It's always disappointing to lose key players like that, with Stew (Stewart Crameri) and Hurls (Michael Hurley) this week but it gives other players the opportunity to come in and play roles for the side.

"It's a pretty hard decision to make but we're pretty fortunate that we've got a few good tall guys to come into the side and hopefully replace them."

Stanton, who is currently in negotiations with the Bombers regarding a contract extension, said he hoped Hurley's injury was on the minor end of the scale.

"He's done a minor hamstring but he'll get prepared for coming back in two-three weeks time.

"I haven't heard the results of the scan but from what I heard at the weekend it was very minor.

"It's a different hammy and it's just something that happens to all players throughout the season.

The star midfielder believes the Bombers deviated from their usual defensive structures and warned his team-mates about the need to lift for Saturday's trip to face Port Adelaide at AAMI Stadium.

"We were disappointing throughout the whole night (against St Kilda), unfortunately we didn't stick to our structures and play our roles as a team.

"St Kilda came and hunted us and it was a credit to them.

"We've got a lot of areas for improvement. We've gotta go back to defending the way we have earlier on in the year and I think that will be the basis of our game.

The Bombers take a strong interstate record into the Power clash having won all three of their road trips so far this season.

But Stanton, who was well down on his usual form as he collected 22 touches against the Saints, was expecting yet another tight battle against Port after the Bombers' hard-fought 25-point when the sides met in Round 2.

"We played them earlier on in the season and they really took it to us in the contested side of the game so we need to make sure we're on our game defensively."