Reborn Francis on Bomber radar

FIRST he re-found happiness and now Aaron Francis is on the verge of an AFL recall.

The resurgence of the 2015 No.6 draft pick is good news for Essendon, who are in the wars ahead of Sunday’s match against Brisbane at the Gabba.

After two big wins over Geelong and GWS, they were no match for reigning premiers Richmond last Saturday night and suffered a 71-point mauling.

They also lost in-form midfielder David Zaharakis with a shoulder injury. Essendon are 4-7 and two games plus percentage outside the top eight. But Francis has been through more fundamental problems.

He was denied a trade back to his native South Australia at the end of last season and in February had several weeks off to deal with a mental health issue. Francis has had a solid run of VFL form to put him in the frame for his sixth AFL match.

But coach John Worsfold said the more important thing is that Francis is in a good frame of mind again.

“Ultimately, our first aim was that we just want to see a happy young man regardless of footy and we’ve been seeing that, so that’s been great,” he said.