Not for the first time, Essendon was left to rue a poor first half of the year after storming home with a rocket to just miss the finals.
BY THE NUMBERS
Position: 11th
W-L-D (%): 9-9 (95.7%)
Players used: 49
Played every match: 5 – Jayden Davey, Jackson Hately, Lewis Hayes, Luamon Lual, Xavier O’Neill
AFL players used: 23 (212 matches)
Ex-AFL players: 3 (51 matches)
Debutants: 24 – James Barrat, Ryan Brodie, Noah Caracella, Jayden Davey, Ryan Eyre, Campbell Gray, Jackson Hately, Jack Jedwab, Luamon Lual, Alex Molan, Amin Naim, Jayden Nguyen, Cam Nyko, Xavier O’Neill, Archie Roberts, Bailey Scott, Jobe Shanahan, Dylan Shiel, Oskar Smartt, Tom Toma, Dayten Uerata, Vigo Visentini, Peter Wright
STAR PERFORMERS
Best and Fairest: 1st: Jackson Hately (213 votes), 2nd: Lewis Hayes (210), 3rd: Xavier O’Neill (190); 4th: Matthew Foley (186), 5th: Nick Bryan (177)
J.J. Liston Trophy: Elijah Tsatas (12 votes), Nick Bryan (9), Saad El-Hawli (5), Archie Roberts (5), Will Setterfield (5)
Coaches MVP Award: Elijah Tsatas (39 votes), Nick Bryan (37), Jackson Hately (21), Archie Roberts (20), Dylan Shiel (18)
Leading Goalkickers: Jared Eckersley (18), Jackson Hately (17), Jayden Davey (17), Oskar Smartt (12), Vigo Visentini (11), Nate Caddy (11), Jobe Shanahan (11)
Smithy’s VFL Team of the Year: Nick Bryan (ruck), Saad El-Hawli (wing)
STAT LEADERS
(Averages – minimum 6 matches)
Disposals: Elijah Tsatas 30.8, Will Setterfield 27.1, Dylan Shiel 24.1, Jackson Hately 22.4, Archie Roberts 21.2
Contested possessions: Elijah Tsatas 14.7, Will Setterfield 13.2, Dylan Shiel 11.4, Nick Bryan 11.1, Jackson Hately 9.6
Kicks: Elijah Tsatas 14.0, Matt Foley 14.0, Will Setterfield 13.0, Nick Bryan 12.6, Lewis Hayes 12.6
Handballs: Elijah Tsatas 16.8, Dylan Shiel 14.6, Will Setterfield 14.1, Jackson Hately 10.1, Archie Roberts 8.9
Marks: Will Hoare 6.6, Sam Weideman 6.5, Lewis Hayes 5.8, Solly McKay 5.3, Matt Foley 5.1
Tackles: Will Setterfield 7.2, Jackson Hately 4.6, Jack Peris 4.3, Elijah Tsatas 4.0, Alwyn Davey 4.0
Hitouts: Nick Bryan 40.2, Vigo Visentini 8.4, Campbell Gray 0.4, Will Hoare 0.4, Jack Jedwab 0.1, Will Setterfield 0.1, Sam Weideman 0.1
Clearances: Elijah Tsatas 7.4, Dylan Shiel 6.6, Nick Bryan 6.5, Will Setterfield 6.5, Jackson Hately 4.6
Inside-50s: Will Setterfield 5.6, Elijah Tsatas 4.7, Jackson Hately 4.4, Xavier O’Neill 3.7, Nick Bryan 3.6
Rebound-50s: Lewis Hayes 4.8, Matt Foley 4.6, Will Hoare 4.3, Archie Roberts 3.2, Sam Weideman 2.8
What went right: The end of the season was excellent. Essendon won six of its last seven games, with the best result being another home victory over reigning premier Gold Coast. It meant a late rush from the bottom six, where it had spent the entire season, to 11th and just a game short of the finals. Ex-AFL players Jackson Hately and Xavier O’Neill proved astute pick-ups, Lewis Hayes continued to develop strongly, Campbell Gray was picked up in the mid-season draft, defender Will Hoare put himself into AFL reckoning and is now training for an SSP spot, Matt Foley had a breakout year, Jack Jedwab showed promise and Jobe Shanahan’s three-game cameo that yielded 11 goals resulted in him being drafted by the West Coast Eagles.
What went wrong: Once again the Bombers missed the kick at the start of the season. They dropped their first four games, which included a heartbreaker to Southport when they gave up a 14-point lead at the 25-minute mark of the last quarter to lose by a point. The season was effectively over at 3-8 after Round 13, with consecutive losses of 61 points against Richmond in the Dreamtime at the ‘G clash and 72 points against the Box Hill Hawks being the low point. Country footy star Tom Toma was having a terrific debut year at 28 years of age until injury sidelined him for seven games through the middle of the season just as the Bombers were trying to stay alive, while young recruit Declan Willmore did his ACL in the pre-season.
Summary: Not for the first time, the Bombers will be ruing their terrible first half of the year after storming home with a rocket to just miss the finals. Most of their defeats were convincing in nature and their inability to break a long drought at Casey Fields in Round 16 ended up being the final straw in their bid to play finals. None of the teams they played in those last seven matches made the finals, so that tempers the strength of that run home. But it also provides reasons for the slow start – Essendon played three of the eventual top four in the first month, with only one of their first eight losses coming against a side who didn’t play finals (Sandringham). They’ll hope for a more friendly start to get rolling quicker in 2025.
Grade: 5/10
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