Joe Daniher says he is a "long way" from being the goalkicker he wants to become. Credit:AAP "I'm still not the goalkicker that I want to become, I'm a long way from that," Daniher said. "I'll continue to work really hard and get where I need to get to in that space. I think it's a little bit of maturity and a lot of help from a lot of different people that have set me on the right track and hopefully that path moving forward is getting to that player that I want to become." Daniher, the first Bomber to kick 50 goals in a season since Matthew Lloyd in 2008, is now on track to become the club's first Coleman Medal winner since 2003, when Lloyd won. But the bubbly youngster insisted being the league's preeminent goalkicker hasn't affected the way he lives his life or plays his footy.

"I'm having a lot of fun playing the game at the moment and I think that people can see that I'm enjoying myself rightly or wrongly - some people don't like that that much," Daniher said. "But I am having fun and I think that's a good place to be, whatever workplace you're in. If you go in there every day and enjoy yourself, your life's going to be a little bit more enjoyable." Seeing the development of fellow forwards Cale Hooker, Orazio Fantasia, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, James Stewart and Josh Green has been a "thrilling" part of his job this year, too. Daniher has also thoroughly enjoyed playing again with his teammates who were suspended for the 2016 season due to doping offences and said it would be a "fantastic achievement" if those players were able to participate in the finals this year.

"It's something we're striving to do, our fate's in our own hands now. If we get the wins and deserve our place in the finals then we'll get there, if we don't then we don't deserve the right to be playing in the finals," Daniher said. "It's a goal of ours to make sure we scrape in there and get in there and who knows what can happen from there but there is a lot of water to go under the bridge, a lot of work for us to do and fingers crossed that we do get there." The Bombers are precariously placed at 9-9 in 10th position and they can just about kiss their finals hopes goodbye if they lose to struggling arch rivals Carlton on Saturday at the MCG. The Blues caused an upset last time these two sides met in round three and Daniher was adamant that Essendon wouldn't rest on their laurels against the 17th-placed Blues this weekend. "As you can see in this competition this year it's incredibly even from the last place to the top place," Daniher said.

"Every week has been a serious challenge for all teams and the best footy they (Carlton) can play is as good as anyone and, like any team in the competition, if you can hold that consistent form and the way you want to play you'll have good success and we're really excited about the opportunity to play them this weekend." The Blues totally outplayed the Bombers in the wet earlier in the year but with the forecast again predicting showers on Saturday, Daniher said wet weather footy wasn't a focus at training this week. "We play a game that is predominantly played in winter and we understand that unless you play at Etihad Stadium with a roof, there's a good chance it could rain or be windy and that's football," he said.