Essendon General Manager of Football Dan Richardson says his club would’ve preferred the Good Friday Eve slot, as opposed to the Friday, to give them another day of preparation for Anzac Day.

The Bombers will take on North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium in the marquee match, giving the club six days before a Thursday clash with Collingwood on Anzac Day.

“Our preference was probably Good Friday eve, which would’ve led into a longer break (for Anzac Day), but with that said, it’ll be a game we embrace,” Richardson told SEN’s Whateley.

“But importantly, we’ll still embrace the Good Friday Appeal which is still crucial for the kids and from a footy perspective, I think we put on an entertaining game against North Melbourne during the year.”

Richardson said the club will do its best to get through the awkward placement of their marquee games across April and early May.

“It’s a five or six day break. It’ll certainly be an interesting four game block for us,” he said.

“You just focus on what you can do to best prepare your players to perform well.”

The Bombers GM said he understands other clubs would be frustrated with Essendon getting another marquee game to go with Anzac Day and the Dreamtime game.

“I guess you can understand (the criticism from other clubs), but look the draw is a challenging thing from the AFL to put together,” he said.

The full AFL fixture is expected to be released at midday on Thursday.