ESSENDON captain Matthew Lloyd says he accepts he will never win another Coleman Medal.

A three-time winner of the medal for the AFL's top goalkicker, Lloyd will take one for the team and continue on from his roaming role up forward, introduced midway through last season after the Dons lost key forward Scott Lucas to injury.

Despite Lucas' return, Lloyd said the plan to play further up the ground — introduced by coach Matthew Knights — would be beneficial for the development of a young team that had "25 guys under the age of 23".

"I'll never win a Coleman again," Lloyd said. "Maybe nine years ago, I'd say I want to play full-forward and I want to kick goals but once you get to 31 — and I haven't played in finals since I was 26 or 27 — I'm sick of doing that, so all I want to do is win games of football and whatever has to be done, has to be done.

"My main focus now is to help develop these players that, when I do leave, they're in a position to win enough games and hopefully win a premiership and hopefully I've had a bit to do with it," he said.

One of the most prolific forwards in the game with 891 goals, Lloyd believes the move could extend his career by at least another season.

"We were probably a bit too predictable as a side so that was the reason for changing," he said. ''I hope (it) will add a year to my career as well just by not being beaten around as I have been for the last 13 or 14 years."

And Lloyd, who showed glimpses of turning back the clock with his match-winning feats last season, is geared up for a top season beginning in the opening game of the pre-season cup against the Western Bulldogs.

"Last year I didn't play a NAB Cup game. I probably wasn't match-fit and the confidence was down a little bit," he said, "whereas I've got through the work this year and I think if you do that, you set yourself up with a massive base and it's a great opportunity to have a good season."

He said there were many avenues in which the Bombers could improve this season and flagged the team's first finals appearance in five years, spearheaded by the return of key players from injury.

"It's going to be great to get Alwyn Davey back into the side … Hopefully, Jason Winderlich can get over his injuries and improve and I suppose (Jay) Neagle and (Scott) Gumbleton from a forward-line point of view," he said,

"Andrew Lovett has had a sensational season. His attitude has been spot-on so I expect him to have a real breakout season.

"We've just got to improve. Eight games just isn't good enough and the year before was 10 games. We've just got to get back to double-figure wins and once you get to that point, you're around the mark."