Why wouldn't they be? The club has been featured over the two major metropolitan newspapers in Melbourne throughout the entire pre-season - for good reason too.
One of the Bombers' favourite sons, James Hird, returned to Windy Hill and will coach the club for the next four years. Former premiership captain Mark Thompson also joined the high-profile coaching panel, which includes Simon Goodwin, Sean Wellman, Brendan McCartney and Dean Wallis, and will nurture Hird through his debut season.
Essendon's performances in the NAB Cup also impressed its 40,000 members. Victories against Brisbane and Melbourne - plus that amazing draw with St Kilda - drew standing ovations from the faithful as Hird walked along the boundary line post-game.
If you believe the hype, 2011 is going to be the year of the Bombers.
Please. Settle down, Essendon supporters.
We're talking about the same team that conceded the most points in the league last year. The same team which won seven games to finish the 2010 home-and-away season in 14th. The same team that has played in just one final in six years - and that was a 96-point thrashing at the hands of Adelaide in 2009.
Amid the excitement surrounding the club this year it has gone unnoticed that there is so much hard work ahead for Hird and his coaching staff. So much needs to be done and changed before Essendon can consider itself a team to be reckoned with once again.
First step? Fix the much-publicised game plan.
Recently sacked coach Matthew Knights promised an attacking style of play when he took over in 2008. And he delivered - that is, if goals are everything in footy.
With Knights in charge Essendon won the fourth-fewest matches of any team, 25 in all, yet it still averaged 93 points a match, the seventh-highest in the competition.
If you wanted attacking footy, a Bombers game was always a safe choice.
But more often than not, the best defensive unit in any team sport wins titles. Over the last three seasons the AFL premiership-winning sides conceded an average of 80 points a game. During Knights' tenure, Essendon gave up an average of 108 a match - the most of any team.
That statistic surely was the breaking point for the Essendon board when they dismissed Knights at the end of the 2010 even though he still had two years remaining on his contract.
Hird now has a tremendous challenge ahead of him to turn the players' mindsets from attack to defence.
Switching a team's game style doesn't just happen over one pre-season. It takes a significant amount of time to plan and execute, plus plenty of experimentation and tinkering during games.
Another concern Hird and his staff have to address is the lack of midfield depth.
The reliance on Jobe Watson in the middle of the ground has turned unhealthy. In 2010, the Essendon captain won 60 more first possessions and 51 more clearances than any other teammate. In truth, if Watson didn't win the ball from a stoppage, all hell broke loose.
It's time for a few more experienced players on the Essendon list to stand up and help their skipper out around the contests. Players such as Ricky Dyson, Andrew Welsh and Sam Lonergan, who have been in the AFL system for a number of years, need to increase their work rate and begin to win more contested possessions around the stoppages.
Essendon's forward line also struggled for consistency last year after stalwarts Matthew Lloyd and Scott Lucas retired at the end of the 2009 season. Nuggety half-forward Angus Monfries was the club's leading goal kicker, but with just 24 goals for the season.
Monfries isn't the answer to the Bombers' goal scoring issues. But Scott Gumbleton and Michael Hurley are.
The development of these two key position prospects will be watched with plenty of interest throughout the year. These two players need to reinvigorate Essendon's forward line if the club wants to play finals in future years.
Both Gumbleton and Hurley were high NAB AFL Draft picks in 2006 and 2008 respectively and each has the potential to become an elite player. They haven't arrived yet, but they are very close.
The Bombers do have potential to do serious damage in the coming years. If Hird is able to change the playing group's mindset to a more defensive one and certain players lift their game, there's no question they can become a real threat.
But 2011 won't be their year. This year will be all about uniting the team and cleaning up the mess Knights left at the end of 2010.
Essendon will be a force to reckon with, Bomber fans. Just not this year.
A different perspective on Scully
By Jack Purcell
FIRST, I’d like to congratulate you for the new direction the website is heading in. As someone who reads a large volume of AFL-related articles, the idea of a space for organised and well-written public opinion and debate is a refreshing change from the pages of the Herald Sun and the rabble of a BigFooty forum.
Second, I’d like to offer a different perspective on the Tom Scully saga - although I’m probably flogging a dead horse.
A lot of opinion is very caught up in comparing Melbourne to Fremantle when they lost Jeff White - but I don’t believe this is a fair comparison.
Jeff White wanted to leave Fremantle and a trade was facilitated and accepted by both Melbourne and Freo. Although Freo did poorly with their compensation, this is more due to their drafting rather than a lopsided trade.
A better comparison, in my opinion, is Melbourne’s 2008 wooden spoon year to West Coast’s 2010 spoon year. For two teams that finished bottom in recent years and qualified for an end of first round priority pick, the rewards - or compensation - was vastly different. Melbourne received draft picks 1, 17 and 19. West Coast got 4, 27 and 29.
The Eagles, as expected, clearly weren’t stoked to get lower picks than usual, but accepted that concessions had be made to ensure the success of new clubs entering the competition - concessions that were agreed to by all clubs, including Melbourne.
Melbourne, who it must be noted lost nothing to Gold Coast, are now crying foul about possibly losing a player that they failed to secure leading up to a compromised period.
At the end of the day, Melbourne needs to focus on this season and make sure it doesn’t have a Gary Ablett 2010 style saga hanging over it all season. Yes there is a chance you may lose Tom Scully, and you should do everything within your power to keep him, but you also need to have the confidence that your exciting group of youngsters will get you to the top regardless of the outcome.
The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
Open Space is a platform for news, commentary, and debate and is now inviting readers to have their say where we will publish regular essays from readers.
Keep your submissions concise and address them to editor@afl.com.au.
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