| Essendon Football Club | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Names | ||||
| Full name | Essendon Football Club[1] | |||
| Nicknames |
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| Motto | Suaviter in Modo, Fortiter in Re "Gently in manner, resolutely in execution" | |||
| 2025 season | ||||
| Home-and-away season | 15th | |||
| Leading goalkicker | Peter Wright (28 goals) | |||
| Crichton Medal | Zach Merrett | |||
| Club details | ||||
| Founded | 1872; 153 years ago (1872) | |||
| Colours | Red Black | |||
| Competition | AFL: Senior men AFLW: Senior women VFL: Reserves men VFLW: Reserves women VWFL: Wheelchair | |||
| President | Andrew Welsh | |||
| CEO | Craig Vozzo | |||
| Coach | AFL:Brad Scott AFLW:Natalie Wood VFL:Cameron Joyce VFLW: Cherie O'Neill | |||
| Captain(s) | AFL:Zach Merrett AFLW:Stephanie Cain/Bonnie Toogood VFL:Xavier O'Neill VFLW:El Chaston VWFL: Louis Rowe | |||
| Premierships | VFL/AFL (16)VFA (4)Reserves/VFL (7)VFLW (1)Championship of Australia (1) | |||
| Ground | AFL:Docklands Stadium (56,347) &Melbourne Cricket Ground (100,024) AFLW:Windy Hill (10,000) VFL/VFLW:Windy Hill (10,000),The Hangar (3,500) VWFL: Boroondara Sports Complex | |||
| Former grounds | East Melbourne Cricket Ground (1897–1921) | |||
| Windy Hill (1922–91) | ||||
| Training ground | The Hangar (2013–) | |||
| Uniforms | ||||
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| Other information | ||||
| Official website | essendonfc.com.au | |||
 Current season | ||||
TheEssendon Football Club, nicknamed theBombers or colloquially theDons, is a professionalAustralian rules football club that plays in theAustralian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in theirAscot Vale home "Alisa" adopting the name of thelocal borough. While the exact date is unknown, it is generally accepted to have been in 1872. The club's first recorded game took place on 7 June 1873 against aCarlton seconds team. From 1878 until 1896, the club played in theVictorian Football Association (VFA), then joined seven other clubs in October 1896 to form the breakaway Victorian Football League (known as theAustralian Football League since 1990). Headquartered at the Essendon Recreation Ground, known asWindy Hill, from 1922 to 2013, the club moved toThe Hangar inTullamarine in late 2013 on land owned by theMelbourne Airport corporation. The club shares its home games betweenDocklands Stadium and theMelbourne Cricket Ground.Zach Merrett is the currentclub captain.
Essendon is one of Australia's best-known and most successful football clubs.[2] It has won 16 VFL/AFL premierships, which, along withCarlton andCollingwood, is the most of any club in the competition. The club won four consecutive VFA premierships between 1891 and 1894, a feat unmatched in that competition's history. Essendon also hold the distinction of being the only club to win a premiership in their inaugural season (1897). It has struggled to achieve significant on-field success in the 21st century, however, having won its most recent premiership in2000 and most recent final in2004.
The team plays in two of the AFL's two longest-running annual marquee fixtures:the Anzac Day clash withCollingwood since 1995 andDreamtime at the 'G withRichmond since 2005.
Three Essendon players —John Coleman,Bill Hutchison, andDick Reynolds — and one coach,Kevin Sheedy, are classified as "Legends" in theAustralian Football Hall of Fame.
Essendon also fields reserve men's and women's teams in theVictoria Football League andVFL Women's, respectively. Since 2022 (S7), it has fielded a senior women's team in the nationalAFL Women's competition.[3][4]
The club was founded by members of the Royal Agricultural Society, the Melbourne Hunt Club and the Victorian Woolbrokers.[5] The Essendon Football Club is thought to have been formed in 1872 at a meeting in the home of a well-known brewery family, the McCrackens, whoseAscot Vale property hosted a team of local junior players.[6]
Robert McCracken (1813–1885),[7][8] the owner of several city hotels, was the founder and first president of the Essendon Football Club, and his son,Alex McCracken, its first secretary. Alex later became president of the newly formed VFL. Alex's cousin Collier McCracken, who had already played withMelbourne, was the team's first captain.[9]
The club played its first recorded match against theCarlton Second Twenty (thereserves) on 7 June 1873,[10] with Essendon winning by one goal. Essendon played 13 matches in its first season, winning seven, with four draws and losing two.[11] The club was one of the inaugural junior members of the Victorian Football Association (VFA) in 1877,[12] and it began competing as a senior club from the1878 season.[13] During its early years in the Association, Essendon played its home matches at Flemington Hill, but it moved to theEast Melbourne Cricket Ground in 1881.[citation needed]
In 1878, at Flemington Hill, Essendon played its first match on what would be considered by modern standards to be a full-sized field. In 1879, Essendon played Melbourne in one of the earliest night matches recorded when the ball was painted white. In 1883, the team played four matches in eight days in Adelaide:[14] losing to Norwood (on 23 June)[15] and defeating Port Adelaide (on 16 June),[16] a combined South Australian team (on 18 June),[17] and South Adelaide (on 20 June).[18]
The club played against thetouring British footballers in 1888.[19][20]
In 1891, Essendon won their first VFA premiership, which they repeated in1892,1893 and1894. One of the club's greatest players,Albert Thurgood, played for the club during this period, making his debut in 1892.[21] Essendon (18 wins, 2 draws) was undefeated in the 1893 season.[21][22]
At the end of the1896 season, Essendon, along with seven other clubs, formed theVictorian Football League. Essendon's first VFL game was in1897 againstGeelong atCorio Oval inGeelong. Essendon won its first VFL premiership by winning the1897 VFL finals series in around-robin event. Essendon again won the premiership in1901, defeatingCollingwood in theGrand Final. The club won successive premierships in1911 and1912 over Collingwood andSouth Melbourne, respectively.[23][24]
The club is recorded as having played at McCracken's Paddock, Glass's Paddock, and Flemington Hill. It is likely that these are three different names for the one ground, given that McCracken's Paddock was a parcel of land that sat within the larger Glass's Paddock, which in turn was situated in an area widely known at the time as Flemington Hill. In 1882, the club moved home games to theEast Melbourne Cricket Ground (since demolished) after an application to play on the Essendon Cricket Ground (later known as Windy Hill) was voted down by Lord Mayor of theCity of Essendon, James Taylor, on the basis that the considered the Essendon Cricket Ground "to be suitable only for the gentleman's game of cricket".[25]
The club became known by the nickname "the Same Old Essendon" from the title andhook of the principal song performed by a band of supporters which regularly occupied a section of the grandstand at the club's games.[26] The nickname first appeared in print in the localNorth Melbourne Advertiser in 1889,[27] and ended up gaining wide use, often as the diminutive "Same Olds".[28]
This move away from Essendon, at a time when fans would walk to their local ground, didn't go down too well with many Essendon people; and, as a consequence, a new team and club was formed in 1900, unconnected with the first (although it played in the same colours), that was based at the Essendon Cricket Ground, and playing in theVictorian Football Association. It was known firstly asEssendon Town and, after 1905, as Essendon (although it was often called Essendon A, with the A standing for association).[29]
After the 1921 season, theEast Melbourne Cricket Ground was closed and demolished to expand theFlinders Street Railyard. Having played at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground from 1882 to 1921, and having won four VFA premierships (1891–1894) and four VFL premierships (1897,1901,1911 and1912) whilst there,[30] Essendon was looking for a new home. It was offered grounds at the currentRoyal Melbourne Showgrounds,Ascot Vale; atVictoria Park, Melbourne; atArden St, North Melbourne; and the Essendon Cricket Ground. The Essendon City Council offered the (VFL) team the Essendon Cricket Ground, announcing that it would be prepared to spend over £12,000 ($1,009,066 in 2021 terms, according to theRetail Price Index[31]) on improvements, including a new grandstand, scoreboard and re-fencing of the oval.[citation needed]
The club's first preference was tomove to North Melbourne[32]—a move which theNorth Melbourne Football Club (then in the VFA) saw as an opportunity to get into the VFL. Most of Essendon's members and players were from the North Melbourne area, and sportswriters believed that Essendon would have been taken over by or rebranded as North Melbourne within only a few years of the move.[33][34] However, the VFA, desperate for its own strategic reasons not to lose its use of the North Melbourne Cricket Ground,successfully appealed to the State Government to block Essendon's move to North Melbourne.[35] With its preferred option off the table, the club returned to Essendon, and the Essendon VFA club disbanded, with most of its players moving to North Melbourne.[36]
The old "Same Olds" nickname fell into disuse, and by 1922 the other nicknames "Sash Wearers" and "Essendonians" that had been variously used from time to time were also abandoned. The team became universally known as "the Dons" (from EssenDON). The club adopted the nickname "theBombers" at the start of 1940[37] during theearly phases ofWorld War II, due to Windy Hill's proximity to theEssendon Aerodrome.[38]
In the1922 season, playing in Essendon for the first time in decades, Essendon reached the final four for the first time since1912, finishing in third place. In the1923 season, the club topped the ladder with 13 wins from 16 games. After a 17-point Second Semi-Final loss toSouth Melbourne, Essendon defeatedFitzroy (who had beaten South Melbourne) in the1923 Grand Final (then known as a "Challenge Final" due to its different finals format): Essendon 8.15 (63) to Fitzroy 6.10 (46). Amongst Essendon's best players were half-forward flankerGeorge "Tich" Shorten, centre half-forwardJustin McCarthy, centre half-backTom Fitzmaurice, roverFrank Maher, and wingmanJack Garden. This was one of Essendon's most famous sides, dubbed the "Mosquito Fleet" due to the number of small, very fast players in the side. Six players were 5'6" (167 cm) or smaller.[citation needed]
In the1924 season, for the first time since their inaugural premiership in 1897, there was no ultimate match to decide the league's champion team – either "Challenge Final" or "Grand Final" – to determine the premiers; instead, the top four clubs after the home-and-away season played around-robin to determine the premiers. Essendon, having previously defeated both Fitzroy (by 40 points) and South Melbourne (by 33 points), clinched the premiership by means of a 20-point loss to Richmond. With the Tigers having already lost a match to Fitzroy by a substantial margin, the Dons were declared premiers by virtue of their superior percentage, meaning that Essendon again managed to win successive premierships. But the low gates for the finals meant this was never attempted again, resulting in Essendon having the unique record of winning the only two premierships without a grand final.[39][40]
Prominent contributors to Essendon's 1924 Premiership success included back pocketClyde Donaldson, followerNorm Beckton, half-back flankerRoy Laing, followerCharlie May, and roverCharlie Hardy.[40] The 1924 season was not without controversy, however, with rumours of numerous players accepting bribes. Regardless of the accuracy of these allegations, the club's image was tarnished, and the side experienced its lowest period during the decade that followed, with poor results on the field and decreased support off it.[citation needed]
There was worse to follow, with various Essendon players publicly blaming each other for a poor performance againstRichmond, and then, with dissension still rife in the ranks, the side plummeted to an unexpected and humiliating 28-point loss to VFA premiersFootscray in aspecial charity match played a week later in front of 46,100 people, in aid ofDame Nellie Melba's Limbless Soldiers' Appeal Fund, purportedly (but not officially) for the championship of Victoria.[41]
The club's fortunes dipped alarmingly—and persistently. Indeed, after finishing third in the1926 season, it was to be 14 years later—in1940—before Essendon would even contest a finals series.[42]
After the malaise of the late 1920s and early 1930, the1933 season proved a turning point in morale despite no finals entries for the entire 1930s. Essendon saw the debut of the player regarded as one of the game's greatest-ever players,Dick Reynolds. His impact was immediate. He won his firstBrownlow Medal aged 19. His record of three Brownlow victories (1934,1937,1938), equalledFitzroy'sHaydn Bunton, Sr (1931,1932,1935), and later equalled byBob Skilton (1959, 1963, 1968), andIan Stewart (1965,1966,1971).[citation needed]
Reynolds went on to arguably even greater achievements as a coach, a position to which he was first appointed, jointly with Harry Hunter, in 1939 (this was while Reynolds was still a player). A year later he took the reins on a solo basis and was rewarded with immediate success (at least in terms of expectations at the time which, after so long in the wilderness, were somewhat modest). He was regarded as having a sound tactical knowledge of the game and being an inspirational leader, as he led the side into the finals in 1940 for the first time since 1926, when the side finished 3rd. Melbourne, which defeated Essendon by just 5 points in the preliminary final, later went on to trounce Richmond by 39 points in the grand final.[citation needed]
The Essendon Football Club adopted the nicknameThe Bombers in April 1940.[43]
1941 brought Essendon's first grand final appearance since 1923, but the side again lowered its colours to Melbourne. While Australia had enteredWorld War II – located primarily in Europe and Africa – in 1939, thePacific Theatre opened in December 1941. Australian sports competition was considerably weakened, with Geelong being forced to pull out of the competition due petrol rationing. Attendances at games also declined dramatically, whilst some clubs had to move from their normal grounds due to them being used for military purposes. Many players were lost to football due to their military service. Nevertheless, Essendon went on to win the 1942 Premiership with Western AustralianWally Buttsworth in irrepressible form at centre half-back. Finally, the long-awaited premiership was Essendon's after comprehensively outclassing Richmond in the grand final, 19.18 (132) to 11.13 (79). The match was played at Carlton in front of 49,000 spectators.[citation needed]
In any case, there could be no such reservations about Essendon's next premiership, which came just four years later. Prior to that Essendon lost a hard-fought grand final to Richmond in1943 by 5 points, finished 3rd in 1944, and dropped to 8th in 1945.[citation needed]
After World War II, Essendon enjoyed great success. In the five years immediately after the war, Essendon won 3 premierships (1946,1949,1950) and were runners up twice (1947,1948). In1946, Essendon were clearly the VFL's supreme force, topping the ladder after the home-and-away games and surviving a drawn second semi-final against Collingwood to make it through to the grand final a week later with a score of 10.16 (76) to 8.9 (57). Then, in the grand final against Melbourne, Essendon set a grand final record score of 22.18 (150) to Melbourne 13.9 (87), featuring a 7-goal performance by centre half-forwardGordon Lane. Rover Bill Hutchinson, and defenders Wally Buttsworth,Cec Ruddell andHarold Lambert were among the best players.[citation needed]
The1947 Grand Final has to go down in the ledger as 'one of the ones that got away',[citation needed] with Essendon losing to Carlton by a single point despite managing 30 scoring shots to 21. As if to prove that lightning does occasionally strike twice, the second of the 'ones that got away' came just a year later, the Dons finishing with a lamentable 7.27, to tie with Melbourne (who managed 10.9) in the 1948 grand final. A week later Essendon waved the premiership good-bye, as Melbourne raced to a 13.11 (89) to 7.8 (50) triumph. The club's Annual Report made an assessment that was at once restrained and, as was soon to emerge, tacitly and uncannily prophetic: "It is very apparent that no team is complete without a spearhead and your committee has high hopes of rectifying that fault this coming season".[citation needed]
The1949 season heralded the arrival on the VFL scene ofJohn Coleman, arguably the greatest player in Essendon's history, and, in the view of some,[who?] the finest player the game has known.[44] In his first ever appearance for the Dons, againstHawthorn in Round 1, 1949, he booted 12 of his side's 18 goals to create a round one record which was to endure for forty-five years. More importantly, however, he went on to maintain the same high level of performance throughout the season, kicking precisely 100 goals for the year to become the first player to kick 100 goals in a season since Richmond'sJack Titus in1940.[citation needed]
The Coleman factor was just what Essendon needed to enable them to take that vital final step to premiership glory, but even so it was not until the business end of the season that this became clear. Essendon struggled to make the finals in 4th place, but once there they suddenly ignited to put in one of the most consistently devastating September performances in VFL history.[citation needed]
Collingwood succumbed first as the Dons powered their way to an 82-point first semi-final victory, and a fortnight later it was the turn of theNorth Melbourne Football Club as Essendon won the preliminary final a good deal more comfortably than the ultimate margin of 17 points suggested. In the grand final, Essendon were pitted against Carlton and in a match that was a total travesty as a contest they overwhelmed the Blues to the tune of 73 points, 18.17 (125) to 6.16 (52). Best for the Dons included pacy aboriginal half-back flankerNorm McDonald, ruckmanBob McLure, and roversBill Hutchinson andRon McEwin. John Coleman also did well, registering six goals.[citation needed]
A year later, in1950, Essendon were—if anything—even more dominant, defeating theNorth Melbourne Football Club in both the Second Semi-Final and the Grand Final to secure consecutive VFL premierships for the third time. Best afield in the1950 Grand Final, in what was officially hisswan song as a player, was captain-coachDick Reynolds, who received sterling support from the likes of Norm McDonald, ruckman/back pocketWally May, back pocketLes Gardiner, and ruckman McLure.[citation needed]
With Reynolds, aka 'King Richard', still holding court as coach in 1951, albeit now in a non-playing capacity, Essendon seemed on course for a third consecutive flag, but a controversial four-week suspension dished out to John Coleman on the eve of the finals effectively destroyed their chances. Coleman was reported for retaliation after twice being struck by his direct Carlton opponent, Harry Caspar, and without him the Dons were rated a four-goals-poorer team. Nevertheless, they still managed to battle their way to a 6th successive grand final with wins over Footscray by 8 points in the first semi-final and Collingwood by 2 points in the preliminary final.[citation needed]
The Dons sustained numerous injuries in the preliminary final, and the selectors sprang a surprise onGrand Final day by naming the officially retired Dick Reynolds as 20th man. Reynolds was powerless to prevent the inevitable; although leading at half-time, Geelong kicked five goals to Essendon's two points in the third quarter to set up victory by 11 points.[citation needed]
Essendon slumped to 8th in1952, but Coleman was in blistering form, managing 103 goals for the year. Hugh Buggy noted inThe Argus: "It was the wettest season for twenty-two years and Coleman showed that since the war he was without peer in the art of goal kicking".[citation needed]
Two seasons later, Coleman's career was ended after he dislocated a knee during the Round 8 clash with theNorth Melbourne Football Club at Essendon. Aged just 25, he had kicked 537 goals in only 98 VFL games in what was generally a fairly low-scoring period for the game. His meteoric rise and fall were clearly the stuff of legend, and few (if any) players, either before or since, have had such an immense impact over so brief a period.[citation needed]
According toAlf Brown, football writer forThe Herald:
Somewhat more colourfully, R.S. Whittington suggested:
Without Coleman, Essendon's fortunes plummeted, and there were to be no further premierships in the 1950s. The nearest miss came in1957 when the Bombers (as they were popularly known by this time) earned premiership favouritism after a superb 16-point Second Semi-Final defeat of Melbourne—only to lose by over 10 goals against the same side afortnight later.[citation needed]
1959 saw another grand final loss to Melbourne, this time by 37 points, but the fact that the average age of the Essendon side was only 22 was seen as providing considerable cause for optimism. However, it was to take another three years, and a change of coach, before the team's obvious potential was translated into tangible success.[citation needed]
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John Coleman started his coaching career at Essendon in1961, thus ending theDick Reynolds era at the club. In the same year, Essendon finished the season mid-table, and supporters were not expecting too much for the following season. However, the club blitzed the opposition in1962, losing only two matches and finishing top of the table. Both losses were to the previous year's grand finalists. The finals posed no problems for the resurgent Dons, easily accounting for Carlton in the season's climax, winning the1962 Premiership by 32 points. This was a remarkable result for Coleman, who, in just his second season of coaching, claimed the ultimate prize in Australian football. As so often is the case after a flag, the following two years were below standard. A further premiership in1965 (won from 4th position on the ladder) was also unexpected due to periods of poor form during the1965 season. The Bombers were a different club when the finals came around, but some of the credit for the improvement was given to the influence ofBrian Sampson andTed Fordham during the finals. Coleman's time as coach turned out to be much like his playing career: highly successful but cut short when he had to stand down due to health problems in 1967. Only six years later, on the eve of the1973 season, he died of a heart attack at just 44 years of age.
Following Coleman's retirement, the club experienced tough times on and off the field. Finals appearances were rare for the side, which was often in contention for thewooden spoon. Essendon did manage to make the1968 VFL Grand Final, but it lost to Carlton by just three points and did not make it back to the big stage for a 15 years.
During the period from 1968 until 1980, five different coaches were tried, with none lasting longer than four years. Off the field, the club went through troubled times as well. In 1970,five players went on strike before the season even began, demanding higher payments. Essendon did make the finals in1972 and1973 under the autocratic direction ofDes Tuddenham (Collingwood), but they were beaten badly in successive elimination finals bySt. Kilda and did not taste finals action again until the very end of the decade. The 1970s' Essendon sides were involved in many rough and tough encounters under Tuddenham, who himself came to loggerheads withRon Barassi at a quarter-time huddle where both coaches exchanged heated words. Essendon had tough but talented players with the likes of "Rotten Ronnie"Ron Andrews and experienced players such asBarry Davis,Ken Fletcher,Geoff Blethyn,Neville Fields and West Australian importGraham Moss. In May 1974, a controversial half-time all-in-brawl with Richmond at Windy Hill and a 1975 encounter with Carlton were testimony of the era. Following the Carlton match, theHerald described Windy Hill as "Boot Hill" because of the extent of the fights and the high number of reported players (eight in all—four from Carlton and four from Essendon). The peak of these incidents occurred in1980 with new recruitPhil Carman making headlines for head-butting an umpire. The tribunal suspended him for sixteen weeks, and although most people thought this was a fair (or even lenient) sentence, he took his case to the supreme court, gathering even more unwanted publicity for the club. Despite this, the club had recruited many talented young players in the late 1970s who emerged as club greats. Three of those young players wereSimon Madden,Tim Watson andPaul Van Der Haar.Terry Daniher and his brotherNeale came via a trade withSouth Melbourne, andRoger Merrett joined soon afterwards to form the nucleus of what would become the formidable Essendon sides of the 1980s. This raw but talented group of youngsters took Essendon to an elimination final in1979 under Barry Davis but were again thrashed in an Elimination Final, this time at the hands of Fitzroy. Davis resigned at the end of the 1980 season after missing out on a finals appearance.
One of the few highlights for Essendon supporters during this time was when Graham Moss won the 1976Brownlow Medal; he was the only Bomber to do so in a 40-year span from 1953 to 1993. Even that was bittersweet, as he quit VFL football to move back to his native Western Australia, where Moss finished out his career as a player and coach atClaremont Football Club. In many ways, Moss's career reflects Essendon's mixed fortunes during the decade.
FormerRichmond playerKevin Sheedy started as head coach in 1981.[45]
Essendon reached the Grand Final in 1983, the first time since 1968. Hawthorn won by a then record 83 points.[46]
In 1984, Essendon won the pre-season competition and completed the regular season on top of the ladder. The club played, and beat, Hawthorn in the1984 VFL Grand Final to win their 13th premiership—their first since 1965. The teams met again in the1985 Grand Final, which Essendon also won. At the start of1986, Essendon were considered unbackable for three successive flags, but a succession of injuries to key playersPaul Van der Haar (only fifteen games from 1986 to 1988),Tim Watson,Darren Williams,Roger Merrett andSimon Madden led the club to win only eight of its last eighteen games in 1986 and only nine games (plus a draw withGeelong) in 1987.[47] In July 1987, the Bombers suffered a humiliation at the hands ofSydney, who fell two points short of scoring the then highest score in VFL history.[48]
In 1988, Essendon made a rebound to sixth place with twelve wins, including a 140-point thrashing of Brisbane where they had a record sixteen individual goalkickers.[49] In 1989, they rebounded further to second on the ladder with only five losses and thrashed Geelong in the Qualifying Final. However, after a fiery encounter with Hawthorn ended in a convincing defeat, the Bombers were no match for Geelong next week.[citation needed]
In 1990, Essendon were pace-setters almost from the start, but a disruption from the Qualifying Final draw between Collingwood andWest Coast was a blow from which they never recovered. The Magpies comprehensively thrashed them in both the second semi-final and the grand final.[citation needed]
Following the 1991 season, Essendon moved its home games from its traditional home ground atWindy Hill to the larger and newly renovatedMCG. This move generated large increases in game attendance, membership and revenue for the club. The club's training and administrative base remained at Windy Hill until 2013.[citation needed]
Following the retirement ofTim Watson andSimon Madden in the early 1990s, the team was built on new players such asGavin Wanganeen,Joe Misiti,Mark Mercuri,Michael Long,Dustin Fletcher (son of Ken) andJames Hird, who was taken at No. 79 in the 1990 draft. This side became known as the "Baby Bombers", as the core of the side was made up of young players early in their careers.[citation needed]
The team won the1993 Grand Final against Carlton and that same year, Gavin Wanganeen won theBrownlow Medal, the first awarded to an Essendon player since 1976. Three years later, James Hird was jointly awarded the medal withMichael Voss of Brisbane.[50]
In 2000, the club shifted the majority of its home games to the newly openedDocklands Stadium, signing a 25-year deal to play seven home matches per year at the venue, with the other four remaining at the MCG.[51] The season was one of the most successful by any team in VFL/AFL history, and the club opened with 20 consecutive wins before theylost to the Western Bulldogs in round 21. The team went on to win their 16th premiership, defeatingMelbourne, thereby completing the most dominant single season in AFL/VFL history. The defeat to the Bulldogs was the only defeat for Essendon throughout the entire calendar year (Essendon also won the 2000 pre-season competition).[52]
Essendon was less successful after 2001. Lucrative contracts to a number of premiership players had caused serious pressure on the club's salary cap, forcing the club to trade several key players.[citation needed]Blake Caracella,Chris Heffernan,Justin Blumfield,Gary Moorcroft andDamien Hardwick had all departed by the end of 2002; in 2004,Mark Mercuri,Sean Wellman andJoe Misiti retired. The club remained competitive; however, they could progress no further than the second week of the finals each year for the years of2002,2003, and2004. Sheedy signed a new three-year contract at the end of 2004.[citation needed]
In2005, Essendon missed the finals for the first time since 1997, and in2006, despite a first-round 27-point thrashing of defending premiersSydney in which newly appointed captainMatthew Lloyd kicked eight goals playing onLeo Barry,[53] the Bombers were uncompetitive for the majority of the season, partially due to Lloyd suffering a season-ending hamstring injuring in Round 3,[54][55][56] recording only three wins and one draw from twenty-two games to suffer its worst season since1933.[57][58] In Lloyd's absence,David Hille was appointed captain for the remainder of the season. The club improved its on-field position in2007 but again missed the finals.[59]
Sheedy's contract was not renewed after 2007, ending his 27-year tenure as Essendon coach.Matthew Knights replaced Sheedy as coach, and coached the club for three seasons, reaching the finals once—an eighth-place finish in2009 at the expense of reigning premiersHawthorn.[60] On 29 August 2010, shortly after the end of the 2010 home-and-away season, Knights was dismissed as coach.
On 28 September 2010, former captainJames Hird was named as Essendon's new coach from 2011 on a four-year deal. Dual-premiership-winning coach withGeelong and triple-premiership-winning player with EssendonMark Thompson later joined Hird on the coaching panel. In his first season, Essendon finished eighth. The club started strongly in 2012, sitting fourth with a 10–3 record at the halfway mark of the season, but won only one more match for the season, finishing eleventh to miss the finals.
In 2013, the club moved its training and administrative base toThe Hangar, a new facility in the suburb ofMelbourne Airport which it had developed in conjunction with theAustralian Paralympic Committee. Essendon holds a 37-year lease at the facility[61] and maintains a lease at Windy Hill to use the venue for home matches for its reserves team in theVictorian Football League as well as for a social club and merchandise store on the site.[62]
During 2013, the club was investigated by the AFL and theAustralian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA) over its2012 player supplements and sports science program, most specifically over allegations into illegal use ofpeptide supplements. An internal review found it to have "established a supplements program that was experimental, inappropriate and inadequately vetted and controlled", and on 27 August 2013, the club was found guilty of bringing the game into disrepute for this reason. Among its penalties, the club was fined A$2 million, stripped of early draft picks in the following two drafts, and forfeited its place in the 2013 finals series (having originally finished seventh on the ladder); Hird was suspended from coaching for twelve months.[63] Several office-bearers also resigned their posts during the controversy, including chairman David Evans[64] and CEO Ian Robson.[65]
In the midst of the supplements saga, assistant coachMark Thompson took over as coach for the2014 season during Hird's suspension.[66] He led the club back to the finals for a seventh-place finish but in a tense second elimination final against archrivals North Melbourne, the Bombers led by as much as 27 points at half time before a resurgent Kangaroos side came back and won the game by 12 points. After the 2014 season, Mark Thompson left the club to make way for Hird's return to the senior coaching role.[citation needed]
In June 2014, thirty-four players were issued show-cause notices alleging the use of banned peptideThymosin beta-4 during the program.[67] The players faced the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal over the 2014/15 offseason, and on 31 March 2015 the tribunal returned a not guilty verdict, determining that it was "not comfortably satisfied" that the players had been administered the peptide.[68]
Hird returned as senior coach for the 2015 season,[69] and after a strong start, the club's form severely declined after the announcement that WADA would appeal the decision of the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal. The effect of the appeal on the team's morale was devastating and they went on to win only six games for the year. Under extreme pressure, Hird resigned on 18 August 2015 following a disastrous 112-point loss to Adelaide.[70] Former West Coast Eagles premiership coachJohn Worsfold was appointed as the new senior coach on a three-year contract.[citation needed]
On 12 January 2016 the Court of Arbitration for Sport overruled the AFL anti-doping tribunal's decision, deeming that 34 past and present players of the Essendon Football Club, took the banned substance Thymosin Beta-4. As a result, all 34 players, 12 of which were still at the club, were given two-year suspensions. However, all suspensions were effectively less due to players having previously taken part in provisional suspensions undertaken during the 2014/2015 off-season.[71][72]As a result, Essendon contested the 2016 season with twelve[73] of its regular senior players under suspension. In order for the club to remain competitive, the AFL granted Essendon the ability to upgrade all five of their rookie listed players and to sign an additional ten players to cover the loss of the suspended players for the season.[citation needed]
Due to this unprecedented situation, many in the football community predicted the club would go through the2016 AFL season without a win; however, they were able to win three matches: againstMelbourne,Gold Coast andCarlton in rounds 2, 21 and 23 respectively. The absence of its most experienced players also allowed the development of its young players, withZach Merrett andOrazio Fantasia having breakout years, withDarcy Parish andAnthony McDonald-Tipungwuti impressing in their debut seasons. Merrett acted as captain in the side's round 21 win over the Suns.[74] The club eventually finished on the bottom of the ladder and thus claimed its first wooden spoon since 1933.[citation needed]
Essendon made their final financial settlement related to the supplements saga in September 2017, just before finals started.[75] They also improved vastly on their 2016 performance, finishing 7th in the home-and-away season and becoming the first team sinceWest Coast in 2011 to go from wooden spooner to a finals appearance, but they ultimately lost their only final toSydney.[76]
The2017 season was also capped off by the retirement of much-loved club legend and ex-captainJobe Watson, midfielderBrent Stanton, and ex-Geelong starJames Kelly, who later took up a development coach role at the club. MidfielderHeath Hocking, who played 126 games for the club, was delisted.
Expectations were high for the2018 season, with the club having an outstanding offseason. The recruitment ofJake Stringer,Adam Saad andDevon Smith from theWestern Bulldogs,Gold Coast Suns andGreater Western Sydney Giants respectively was expected to throw Essendon firmly into premiership contention.
After beating the previous year's runner upAdelaide (which went on to beat reigning premiersRichmond the following round)[77] in round one,[78] Essendon's form slumped severely, only winning one game out of the next seven rounds and losing to the then-winless Carlton in round eight.[79] Senior assistant coachMark Neeld was sacked by the club the following Monday.[80]
The team's form improved sharply after this, recording wins against top-eight sides Geelong, GWS,eventual premiers West Coast, and Sydney, winning ten out of the last 13 games of the season. However, the mid-season revival was short-lived, with a loss to reigning premiersRichmond by eight points in round 22 ending any hopes they had of reaching the finals.
The 2018 season was capped off by the club not offering veteranBrendon Goddard a new contract for 2019.
Essendon acquiredDylan Shiel fromGreater Western Sydney in one of the most high-profile trades of the2018 AFL Trade Period.[81] The Bombers had inconsistent form throughout the2019 season but qualified for the finals for the second time in three seasons,[82] finishing eighth on the ladder with 12 wins and 10 losses. The Bombers, however, were no match for the West Coast Eagles in the first elimination final and lost by 55 points to end their season.[83] The defeat extended their 15-year finals-winning drought, having not won a final since 2004.[84]
Following the end of the 2019 season, assistant coachBen Rutten was announced as John Worsfold's successor as senior coach, effective at the end of the2020 AFL season. Rutten effectively shared co-coaching duties with Worsfold during the 2020 season.
2020 was a particularly disappointing year for the club. The Bombers failed to make the finals, finishing thirteenth on the AFL ladder with just six wins and a draw from 17 games.Conor McKenna became the first AFL player to test positive to COVID-19 during the pandemic. A number of players also left the club at the end of the 2020 season, includingJoe Daniher, Conor McKenna,Adam Saad andOrazio Fantasia. This also marked 20 years since their last premiership win, a new record for the club's longest premiership drought, with the previous record of 19 years from1965–1984 being dethroned.
With Rutten solely at the helm in 2021, Essendon improved significantly from the previous year and returned to the finals, finishing eighth on the ladder with 11 wins and 11 losses; and, despite having beaten theWestern Bulldogs towards the end of the regular season, the Bombers would lose to the same team by 49 points in the first elimination final.
Season 2022 was the club's 150th anniversary. Hopes were high, with some even predicting Essendon to break their 21-year premiership drought.[85] However, these predictions proved drastically wrong, as the Bombers went on to finish 15th, winning only 7 games with a percentage of 83.2%.[86] This poor performance placed Rutten's position under scrutiny, and after a late attempt to lure former Hawthorn coachAlastair Clarkson failed,[87] Rutten was unceremoniously sacked.[88] He was replaced by former AFL General Manager of Football and North Melbourne coachBrad Scott.[89] As a result of the 2022 season's turmoil, board members such as former CEO Xavier Campbell, former president Paul Brasher, former playerSimon Madden, and Peter Allen left their roles.[90] Campbell was replaced byAndrew Thorburn, who was pressured into resignation after only one day in the role due to his simultaneous position as a board member of the conservative City on the Hill Church Movement—whose controversial teachings conflicted with Essendon's progressive values—was made public.[91] Craig Vozzo replaced Thorburn in November 2022.[92]
Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti,Devon Smith andMichael Hurley announced their retirements at the end of the 2022 season; however, Tipungwuti revoked the announcement on 10 November 2022. Tipungwuti again announced his retirement at the end of the 2023 after playing only two further games at senior level.
In 2023, reports emerged claiming that the club was reconsidering its logo. These included rumours that the current bomber logo was insensitive due to the operation of bomber jets in conflict. These reports were denied by then-captainZach Merrett.[93][94]
At the end of the2023 season, it was announced that former West Coast and Gold Coast playerMatt Rosa would join Essendon as Talent & Operations Manager and that Adrian Dodoro would step back from his position of recruiting manager after the upcoming trade and draft periods.[95]
In Brad Scott's first season as coach, Essendon sat in fifth position after round 17, but their form fell off later in the season to finish 11th with 11 wins and 12 losses.[96]
In Brad Scott's second season as coach, Essendon finished with a win–draw–loss record of 11–1–11.[97]
On 13 August 2024 club championDyson Heppell announced he would retire at the end of the season after playing 253 games for the club.[98] Heppell was the final player of theEssendon 34 still playing at the club.[99]
Brad Scotts third season as coach was less successful with Essendon finishing the season with just 6 wins and 17 losses, failing to win a game after round 9 . The season was marked by injury with the bombers breaking the record for the most number of players debuted in a season at 15, surpassing Fitzroy who previously held the record with 13 debutants.[100] Essendon announced part way through the season that head of high performance Suan Murphy and the club would part ways.Mathew Inness was announced as his replacement in September after the end of the season.[101]
Essendon's first recorded jumpers were navy blue (The Footballers, edited by Thomas Power, 1875) although the club wore 'red and black caps and hose'. In 1877,The Footballers records the addition of 'a red sash over left shoulder'. This is the first time a red sash as part of the club jumper, and by 1878 there are newspaper reports referring to Essendon players as 'the men in the sash'.
Given that blue and navy blue were the most popular colours at the time, it is thought that Essendon adopted a red sash in 1877 to distinguish its players from others in similar-coloured jumpers.
In 2007, the AFL Commission laid down the requirement that all clubs must produce an alternative jumper for use in matches where jumpers are considered to clash. From 2007 to 2011, the Essendon clash guernsey was the same design as its home guernsey, but with a substantially wider sash such that the guernsey was predominantly red rather than predominantly black. This was changed after 2011 when the AFL deemed that the wider sash did not provide sufficient contrast.[102]
From 2012 to 2016, Essendon's clash guernsey was predominantly grey, with a red sashfimbriated in black; the grey field contained, in small print, the names of all Essendon premiership players.[102]
Before the 2016 season, Essendon's changed their clash guernsey to a predominantly red one, featuring a red sash outlined in black. Similar to the grey jumper, the names of Essendon premiership players were also printed outside the sash.[103]
The 2025 season saw Essendon unveil a new away/clash guernsey, which is red with a black sash, a reverse of the home guernsey.
FollowingAdam Ramanauskas's personal battle with cancer, a "Clash for Cancer" match againstMelbourne was launched in 2006. This was a joint venture between Essendon and theCancer Council of Victoria to raise funds for the organisation.[104] Despite a formal request to the AFL being denied, players wore yellow armbands for the match, which resulted in the club being fined $20,000.[105] In 2007, the AFL agreed to allow yellow armbands to be incorporated into the left sleeve of the jumper.[106] The 'Clash for Cancer' match against Melbourne has become an annual event, repeated in subsequent seasons, though in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2016,Hawthorn (twice), theSydney Swans andBrisbane Lions were the opponents in those respective seasons instead of Melbourne.[107][108][109] In 2009, the jumpers were auctioned along with yellow boots worn by some players during the match.[110]
The club's theme song, "See the Bombers Fly Up", is thought to have been written c. 1959 by Kevin Andrews in the home of player Jeff Gamble at which time Kevin Andrews was living. The song is based on the tune ofJohnnie Hamp's 1929 song "(Keep Your) Sunny Side Up" at an increased tempo. Jeff Gamble came up with the line 'See the bombers fly up, up' while Kevin Andrews contributed all or most of the rest. At the time, "(Keep Your) Sunny Side Up" was the theme song for the popular Melbourne-based TV show on Channel 7Sunnyside Up.[111] The official version of the song was recorded in 1972 by the Fable Singers and is still used today.[112]
The song, as with all other AFL clubs, is played prior to every match and at the conclusion of matches when the team is victorious.
SongwriterMike Brady, of "Up There Cazaly" fame, penned an updated version of the song in 1999 complete with a new verse arrangement, but it was not well received. However, this version is occasionally played at club functions. In 2018, Andrews revealed that there was an error in the lyrics, in which in the line "The other teams they don't fear", the word "they" was supposed to be "we".[113]
The club's current logo was introduced in 1998,[114] making it the oldest AFL logo currently in use.
Their mascot is known as "Skeeta Reynolds", and was named after Dick Reynolds. He is a mosquito and was created in honour of the team's back-to-back premiership sides in the 1920s known as the "Mosquito Fleet". He was first named through a competition run in the Bomber magazine with "Skeeta" being the winning entry. This was later changed to "Skeeta Reynolds". He appears as a red mosquito in an Essendon jumper and wears a red and black scarf.
The Essendon Football Club primary training and administration base has been atThe Hangar since 2013.[115] Prior to this, the primary training and administration base of Essendon Football Club was based atWindy Hill Oval from 1922 until 2013.[116] Prior to Windy Hill, the home ground of Essendon Football Club was at theEast Melbourne Cricket Ground from 1882 until 1921.[citation needed]
| Year | Total Members[citation needed] |
|---|---|
| 1984 | 10,231 |
| 1985 | 11,376 |
| 1986 | 12,607 |
| 1987 | 8,129 |
| 1988 | 8,432 |
| 1989 | 7,958 |
| 1990 | 11,046 |
| 1991 | 11,593 |
| 1992 | 10,034 |
| 1993 | 11,546 |
| 1994 | 19,720 |
| 1995 | 23,833 |
| 1996 | 24,324 |
| 1997 | 28,063 |
| 1998 | 27,099 |
| 1999 | 29,858 |
| 2000 | 34,278 |
| 2001 | 36,227 |
| 2002 | 35,219 |
| 2003 | 31,970 |
| 2004 | 33,469 |
| 2005 | 32,734 |
| 2006 | 32,511 |
| 2007 | 32,759 |
| 2008 | 41,947 |
| 2009 | 40,412 |
| 2010 | 40,589 |
| 2011 | 50,275 |
| 2012 | 47,708 |
| 2013 | 56,172 |
| 2014 | 60,714 |
| 2015 | 61,317 |
| 2016 | 57,494 |
| 2017 | 67,768 |
| 2018 | 79,319 |
| 2019 | 84,237 |
| 2020 | 66,686 |
| 2021 | 81,662 |
| 2022 | 86,001 |
| 2023 | 86,274 |
Essendon's biggest rivals areCarlton,Richmond, andCollingwood, as these teams and Essendon are the four biggest and most supported clubs in Victoria. Matches between the clubs are often close regardless of form and ladder positions. If out of the race themselves, all four have the desire to deny the others a finals spot or a premiership. Essendon also has a fierce rivalry with Hawthorn, stemming from excessive on-field violence in the 1980s, perhaps reaching its zenith with the infamousLine in the Sand Match in 2004. Additionally, Essendon has a three-decade rivalry with theWest Coast Eagles.
Andrew Welsh has served as chairman of the board since September 2025.[131]
Essendon's board members are Andrew Welsh, Tim Roberts, David Wills, Dorothy Hisgrove, Andrew Muir, Kate O'Sullivan, Anthony Howard AM KC, Catriona Larritt, andAnthony Di Pietro.
The club's apparel is currently produced byPuma. The club's apparel has also been produced byReebok,Fila,Adidas,ISC andUnder Armour.[132]
| Year | Kit Manufacturer | Major Sponsor | Shorts Sponsor | Bottom Back Sponsor | Top Back Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 S7 | Cotton On | Fujitsu (Home) Toyota Forklifts (Away) | Coles | Toyota Forklifts (Home) Fujitsu (Away) | Liberty Financial |
| 2023 | Toyota Forklifts (Home/Away) Fujitsu (Clash) | Airstage (Home/Away) Toyota Forklifts (Clash) |
SeeEssendon Football Club honours.
| Premierships | |||
| Competition | Level | Wins | Years won |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Football League | Seniors | 16 | 1897,1901,1911,1912,1923,1924,1942,1946,1949,1950,1962,1965,1984,1985,1993,2000 |
| Reserves(1923–1999) | 6 | 1941,1950,1952,1968,1983,1992,1999 | |
| Under 19s(1946–1991) | 5 | 1950,1952,1959,1961,1966 | |
| VFL Women's | Reserves | 1 | 2022 |
| Victorian Football Association | Seniors(1877–1896) | 4 | 1891,1892,1893,1894 |
| Other titles and honours | |||
| AFL pre-season competition | Seniors | 4 | 1990,1993,1994,2000 |
| McClelland Trophy | Seniors | 9 | 1951,1953,1957,1968,1989,1993,1999,2000,2001 |
| Championship of Australia | Seniors | 1 | 1893 |
| AFC Night Series | Seniors | 2 | 1981,1984 |
| Lightning Premiership | Seniors | 3 | 1896,1943,1996 |
| Finishing positions | |||
| Australian Football League | Minor premiership | 17 | 1898,1911,1923,1924,1942,1946,1948,1950,1962,1968,1984,1985,1990,1993,1999,2000,2001 |
| Grand Finalist | 14 | 1898,1902,1908,1941,1943,1947,1948,1951,1957,1959,1968,1983,1990,2001 | |
| Wooden spoons | 5 | 1907,1918,1921,1933,2016 | |
| VFL Women's | Minor premiership | 1 | 2022 |
| Wooden spoons | 1 | 2018 | |
To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the club, as well as 100 years of the VFL/AFL, Essendon announced its "Team of the Century" in 1997.[133]
| B: | Gavin Wanganeen 1991–96, 181 cm, 83 kg, | Fred Baring 1910–15/1918–24, 185 cm, 90 kg, | Tom Fitzmaurice 1918–20/1922–24, 192 cm, 96 kg, |
| HB: | Barry Davis 1961–72, 185 cm, 87 kg, | Wally Buttsworth 1939–49, 185 cm, 91 kg, | Harold Lambert 1940–41/1946–51, 175 cm, 76 kg, |
| C: | Reg Burgess 1954–60, 175 cm, 72 kg, | Jack Clarke 1951–67, 175 cm, 78 kg, | Michael Long 1989–2001, 178 cm, 80 kg, |
| HF: | James Hird 1992–2007, 188 cm, 89 kg, | Ken Fraser 1958–68, 187 cm, 80 kg, | Terry Daniher 1978–92, 188 cm, 89 kg, |
| F: | Bill Hutchison 1942–57, 174 cm, 70 kg, | John Coleman 1949–54, 185 cm, 80 kg, | Albert Thurgood 1899–1902/1906, 183 cm, 76 kg, |
| Foll: | Simon Madden 1974–92, 198 cm, 99 kg, | Tim Watson 1977–91/1993–94, 185 cm, 96 kg, | Dick Reynolds (c) 1933–51, 179 cm, 82 kg, |
| Int: | Mark Thompson 1983–96, 177 cm, 87 kg, | Keith Forbes 1928–37, 171 cm, 72 kg, | Frank Maher 1921–28, 170 cm, 70 kg, |
| William Griffith 1899–1913, 175 cm, 76 kg, | |||
| Coach: | Kevin Sheedy 1981–2007; Coached 634, Won 386, Lost 242, Drew 6 | ||
In 2002, a club panel chose and ranked the 25 greatest players to have played for Essendon.[134]
 | This sectionmay be in need of reorganization to comply with Wikipedia'slayout guidelines. The reason given is:List is not well organised. Suggest converting to a collapsible table that combines legends and normal hall of famers with color coding, years served, and other stats (such as games, premierships, etc.). Please help byediting the article to make improvements to the overall structure.(April 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Essendon Hall of Fame Legends(year inducted): Bill Brew (2013),Bill Busbridge (1996),Jack Clarke (1996),John Coleman (1996),Bill Cookson (1996),Wally Crichton (2010),Terry Daniher (1996),Barry Davis (2006),Ron Evans (2012),Tom Fitzmaurice (1996),Ken Fraser (1996),Allan Hird Sr (1996),James Hird (2011),Harry Hunter (2015),Bill Hutchison (1996),Matthew Lloyd (2013),Simon Madden (1996),Alex McCracken (1996),Michael Long (2010),Howard Okey (2012), Frank Reid (1996),Dick Reynolds (1996),Greg Sewell (2009),Kevin Sheedy (2008),Albert Thurgood (1996),Tim Watson (1998),Neale Daniher* (2018),Dustin Fletcher*,Dr Bruce Reid* (2014),Gavin Wanganeen*
*denotes recent elevation to Legend status
Essendon Hall of Fame members (year inducted):Noel Allanson (2015),Fred Baring (2013),John Birt (2010),Reg Burgess (2015),Wally Buttsworth (2010),Barry Capuano (2014),Kevin Egan (2015),Alec Epis (2014),Ken Fletcher (2011),Keith Forbes (2010),Garry Foulds (2010),Darryl Gerlach (2013),Mark Harvey (2014), Bruce Heymanson (2013),Jack Jones (2012), Ron Kirwan (2016),Harold Lambert (2018),Scott Lucas (2013),Roy McConnell (2013),Don McKenzie (2010),Roger Merrett (2018),Joe Misiti (2012),Hugh Mitchell (2012),Graham Moss (2012),Gary O'Donnell (2014), Dr Ian Reynolds (2018),Paul Salmon (2012), David Shaw (2011), Arthur Showers (2010),George Stuckey (2010),Hugh Torney (2011),Paul Vander Haar (2015)
| Senior list | Rookie list | Coaching staff | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Head coach Assistant coaches
| |||||||||
| Essendon | ||
|---|---|---|
| Names | ||
| Full name | Essendon Football Club | |
| Former name | Essendon Juniors (1919−1922) | |
| Nickname(s) | Bombers, Dons, Same Olds | |
| 2023 season | ||
| Home-and-away season | 17th | |
| Club details | ||
| Founded | 1919, re-established 2013 | |
| Competition | Victorian Football League | |
| Coach | Cameron Joyce | |
| Captain | Xavier O'Neill | |
| Premierships | VFL/AFL reserves (7) | |
| Ground | Windy Hill (10,000) | |
| Training ground | The Hangar (2013–) | |
| Uniforms | ||
| ||
TheEssendon reserves are thereserves team of the club, playing in theVictorian Football League.[135]
The team first competed in theVictorian Junior Football League (later theAFL reserves) when the competition was established in1919, and was known asEssendon Juniors until the end of1922.
The team enjoyed success in the form of eight premierships, including in the last year of the reserves competition in1999. From 2000 until 2002, the club's reserves team competed in theVictorian Football League.
At the end of 2002, the club dissolved its reserves team and established areserves affiliation with theBendigo Football Club in the VFL. The affiliation ran for ten years from 2003 until 2012, allowing reserves players from the Essendon list to play with Bendigo. For all but thefinal year of the affiliation, Bendigo was known as the Bendigo Bombers.
The club re-established its reserves team in 2013, seeking greater developmental autonomy. The team plays its home games atWindy Hill.[136] The team is made up of senior-listed AFL players and VFL-contracted players.
| Year | Competition | Opponent | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | VFL seconds | Fitzroy | 12.16 (88) – 9.17 (71) | MCG |
| 1950 | VFL seconds | North Melbourne | 12.8 (80) – 8.7 (55) | MCG |
| 1952 | VFL seconds | Collingwood | 7.14 (56) – 4.5 (29) | MCG |
| 1968 | VFL reserves | Richmond | 15.7 (97) – 13.14 (92) | MCG |
| 1983 | VFL reserves | Collingwood | 19.14 (128) – 15.9 (99) | MCG |
| 1992 | AFL reserves | Melbourne | 18.19 (127) – 14.10 (94) | MCG |
| 1999 | AFL reserves | St Kilda | 20.13 (133) – 11.10 (76) | MCG |
| Year | Competition | Opponent | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1922 | VJFA | Collingwood | 1.9 (15) – 8.10 (58) | MCG |
| 1924 | VJFA | Geelong | N/A[a] | Kardinia Park |
| 1932 | VFL seconds | Melbourne | 4.10 (34) – 8.12 (60) | MCG |
| 1949 | VFL seconds | Melbourne | 9.14 (68) – 17.10 (112) | MCG |
| 1951 | VFL seconds | Carlton | 7.9 (51) – 8.15 (63) | MCG |
| 1953 | VFL seconds | Carlton | 11.7 (73) – 15.7 (97) | MCG |
| 1971 | VFL reserves | Richmond | 8.18 (66) – 14.14 (98) | MCG |
| 1981 | VFL reserves | Geelong | 18.6 (114) – 21.14 (140) | MCG |
| 1996 | AFL reserves | North Melbourne | 7.10 (52) – 23.18 (156) | MCG |
| 1998 | AFL reserves | Footscray | 12.8 (80) – 20.16 (136) | MCG |
a Essendon refused to play the Grand Final in Geelong, so the premiership was awarded to Geelong.
Essendon fielded a team in theAFL Women's (AFLW) competition from its seventh season.[137] In March 2022, formerNorth Melbourne AFLW player and Essendon VFLW captainGeorgia Nanscawen was announced as the club's first AFLW player signing,[138] andWestern Bulldogs AFLW assistant coachNatalie Wood was announced as the club's first AFLW coach a week later.[139] The club's AFLW coaching panel was finalised in late June.[140]
| Senior list | Coaching staff | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Head coach Assistant coaches
| |||||||||
Essendon has fielded a team in theVFL Women's (VFLW) competition since the2018 season. The league is the highest-grade competition for female footballers in Victoria and one of three second-tier female competitions underneath the national AFL Women's.
| Essendon VFLW honour roll | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Final position | Coach | Captain | Best and fairest | Leading goalkicker | |||
| 2018 | 13th | Brendan Major | Lisa Williams | Hayley Bullas | Alexandra Quigley (7) | |||
| 2019 | 9th | Brendan Major | Courtney Ugle | Georgia Nanscawen | Alexandra Quigley (10) | |||
| 2020 | Season cancelled due to theimpact of the COVID-19 pandemic | |||||||
| 2021 | 3rd | Brendan Major | Georgia Nanscawen | Eloise Ashley-Cooper | Mia-Rae Clifford (16) | |||
| 2022 | Premiers | Brendan Major | Georgia Nanscawen/Mia-Rae Clifford | Georgia Nanscawen | Federica Frew (35) | |||
| 2023 | 5th | Travis Cloke | Mia-Rae Clifford/Courtney Ugle | Sophie Molan | Mia-Rae Clifford (11) | |||
| 2024 | 5th | Cherie O'Neill | El Chaston | El Chaston | Olivia Manfre (9) | |||
| 2025 | 6th | Cherie O'Neill | El Chaston | El Chaston | Tia Davidge (14) | |||
Sources:Club historical dataArchived 8 March 2021 at theWayback MachineVFLW 2017-21 stats andVFLW 2021-present stats
In December 2017, Essendon enterede-sports by acquiring AustralianLeague of Legends team Abyss ESports.[141] This made them the second AFL team to acquire an e-sports division after Adelaide acquired Legacy ESports in May.
On 2 December 2019, it was announced that the Bombers' OPL slot had been sold toPerth-based internet providerPentanet, marking Essendon's exit from the e-sports arena.[142][143]
In 2018, the Essendon Football Club, along with four other AFL clubs, entered the Victorian Wheelchair Football League.
Starting withNorm McDonald in 1947, Essendon has a proud history of fosteringAboriginal talent at the top level. This came to the fore during the 1990s with players such asMichael Long,Derek Kickett,Gavin Wanganeen, andDean Rioli rising through the ranks and being fostered byKevin Sheedy.Dreamtime at the 'G and the Long Walk are two prominent annual events staged to help promote and support Aboriginal culture. The Long Walk, specifically, is designed to raise money forIndigenous education programs across the country.[144][145]
Additionally, Essendon is a supporter of theVoice to Parliament.[146]
During theAustralian Marriage Law Postal Survey, Essendon supported the Yes vote.[147]
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