NEW BOMBER Sam Grimley envisions playing mostly up forward after he was announced as the club's eighth top-up player.

Despite starting his career as a ruckman, the 199cm big man said he was keen to make his mark in attack after dominating at VFL level in recent seasons.

Grimley has been joint winner of the VFL's Frosty Miller Medal as leading goalkicker over the past two seasons, kicking 46 goals last year and 45 in 2014.

"I’ve played the last three seasons up forward with a little bit of pinch-hitting in the ruck. In saying that, I’ll be happy to play anywhere," Grimley said.

The Bombers have been struggling to find talls to lend support to Joe Daniher up forward, although they recently signed former Melbourne ruckman Mark Jamar.

AFL.com.au reported on Thursday that Grimley had been training with the Bombers and was likely to join the senior list for 2016.

Grimley had signed on to play with Subiaco in the WAFL after being delisted by the Hawks at the end of last year, having only played three games in his six years at the club.

He said he was always keen to continue his AFL career.

"I spoke to (Essendon list manager) Adrian Dodoro about a week and a half ago, and when he rang me there was no hesitation," he said.

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Grimley said he was feeling fresh and he hoped to play in Essendon’s first NAB Challenge game.

"The body feels good. I had a little bit more time off than usual, obviously not starting the pre-season until January," he said.

"It was good for my preparation I thought, it kind of cleared the mind and I had a fresh start.

"It has been a bit of a whirlwind two weeks, but I’m fresh and ready to go."

Grimley joins Jamar, Ryan Crowley, James Kelly, Mathew Stokes, James Polkinghorne, Matt Dea and Jonathan Simpkin as recruits following last month's decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which found 34 past and present players guilty of taking banned substance Thymosin Beta-4, suspending them for the entire 2016 season.