Young gun Ben Hobbs promises to shine brightly for the Bombers this season. Photo: AFL MEDIA

ESSENDON
2023 record: 11 wins, 12 losses (11th)

THE INS
Todd Goldstein (North Melbourne), Ben McKay (North Melbourne), Jade Gresham (St Kilda), Xavier Duursma (Port Adelaide), Nate Caddy (Northern Knights), Luamon Lual (GWV Rebels), Archie Roberts (Sandringham Dragons), Vigo Visentini (Sandringham Dragons)

THE OUTS
Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti (retired), Andrew Phillips (retired), Brandon Zerk-Thatcher (Port Adelaide), Will Snelling (delisted), James Stewart (delisted), Massimo D’Ambrosio (Hawthorn), Alastair Lord (delisted), Rhett Montgomerie (delisted), Cian McBride (delisted), Anthony Munkara (delisted), Patrick Voss (delisted)

THE STRENGTHS
For the first four months last year, Essendon implemented a defined game plan which made them competitive in almost every match they played, and had them sitting in fifth spot with a 9-7 record with seven rounds to go. Unlike previous seasons, each player went out on the field with clarity about what their role was and the Bombers looked like a cohesive unit. But after Round 17, it all went pear-shaped as the Dons dramatically ran out of gas, losing five of their last seven matches to crash out of finals contention. It was a diabolical stretch that was capped off by their 126-point embarrassment at the hands of GWS in Round 23. In fact, their two wins in that period were by a combined 10 points against two of the worst teams in VFL/AFL history – West Coast and North Melbourne. However, if coach Brad Scott is able to get his team producing that same level of consistency it showed for majority of 2023 for an extended period in 2024, the top eight should be in reach again. Wins over top-six sides GWS, Melbourne and Carlton illustrate that Essendon can mix it with some of the league’s best teams. Zach Merrett is becoming one of the best captains in the AFL, Nic Martin goes from strength to strength on a wing, and was perhaps unlucky to miss out on the 2023 All-Australian squad, while Kyle Langford was a revelation up forward, having a belated breakout year in his ninth season with a club/career-best 51 goals. Sam Draper has the scope to become one of the premier ruckmen in the league this year, Jordan Ridley and Mason Redman add star power to their backline, Ben Hobbs, Jye Caldwell and Sam Durham are coming on very nicely in the middle of the park, and, as is always the case, if Jake Stringer can get his body right and return to the form that took the competition by storm in the second half of 2021, he will be a huge weapon again. Perhaps entering the final year of his contract will spark him into action. The Dons recruited pretty well in the off-season as well, identifying key areas that needed addressing. McKay bolsters their key back stocks, Gresham has the potential to be the gun small forward they’ve been craving since McDonald-Tipungwuti’s exit from the side in late 2021, Duursma adds depth to their wing options and Goldstein replaces Andrew Phillips as back-up ruck. The Bombers ranked third for tackles last year, behind only top-four sides Collingwood and GWS.

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THE WEAKNESSES
But once again, they fell short of their target of finishing in the top eight, and there are plenty of reasons for that – not least their dramatic drop-off in the final seven rounds. The midfield still continues to be a concern for the Bombers. Merrett and Darcy Parish do much of the heavy lifting at the coal face, but they continue to lack the kind of support that is required to become a perennial challenger. Despite that star duo’s best efforts, last year the Dons ranked 10th for disposals, 12th for clearances, 13th for contested possessions and a woeful 16th for inside 50s. Those kind of numbers just will not cut it at the top level. Granted, a big chunk of Essendon’s engine room is young and developing, and as previously stated, the likes of Hobbs, Caldwell, Durham and Elijah Tsatas look very promising indeed, but if finals is the goal in 2024, then that quartet has to expedite the process of taking the next step in their careers. Given how poorly the Bombers rated for forward entries, it’s no surprise that they also ranked 14th for marks inside 50 last season, although having Peter Wright and Harrison Jones unavailable for large chunks of the year didn’t help either. With that duo getting regular game time, the Dons should also be able to improve their standing of 16th in the AFL for contested marks. Injuries have long been an issue for Essendon, and 2023 was no exception with Draper (nine), Wright (13), Will Setterfield (13), Nik Cox (17), Jones (18), Tsatas (19) and Dylan Shiel (11) all missing huge sections of the season. It’s no surprise that Essendon’s downward spiral coincided with Draper’s unavailability. Setterfield started life as a Bomber quite brightly last year, so if he can get a clear run at it, he will assist their midfield struggles.

ONE TO WATCH
After a decent debut year in 2022, Hobbs improved dramatically last season to stake his claim as a star of the future for the Bombers. When Parish and Shiel were both out of the team for extended periods in the middle of the season, Hobbs stood up to the plate with aplomb, ensuring their absence was hardly noticed with some big performances during a four-game winning streak for the club. After averaging 20 touches (eight contested), four tackles and four clearances in 2023, the 20-year-old could explode this year.

UNDER THE PUMP
Sam Weideman made a good start to his career at Essendon last year with 13 goals in his first eight games, including a career-best five majors against Geelong. But things quickly went south for the former Demon who went goalless in his next seven games, before spending over a month in the reserves. He enters the final year of his contract under a lot of pressure, especially if Wright and Jones stay relatively injury-free.

BEST 22
B: Jayden Laverde, Ben McKay, Andrew McGrath
HB: Mason Redman, Jordan Ridley, Dyson Heppell
C: Nic Martin, Darcy Parish, Xavier Duursma
HF: Jake Stringer, Harrison Jones, Archie Perkins
F: Peter Wright, Kyle Langford, Jade Gresham
R: Sam Draper, Zach Merrett, Ben Hobbs
Inter: Jye Caldwell, Nick Bryan, Sam Durham, Jye Menzie
Emerg: Nick Hind, Elijah Tsatas, Matt Guelfi, Nik Cox

Don’t expect the Bombers’ best 22 to remain static, because they will be very keen to give former top-10 picks Cox and Zach Reid as much game time as they can as the season unfolds, fitness permitting. The pair have only played 41 of a possible 136 games combined since being drafted, but are seen as key planks of Essendon’s side for the next decade. Setterfield and Alwyn Davey Jr will no doubt be pressing their claims for senior selection throughout the year too. Goldstein is a handy insurance policy if either Draper or Bryan hurt themselves, but while Jake Kelly and Weideman played plenty of senior footy last year, the pair are on the outer with the addition of McKay and the return of Jones. Meanwhile, with Hobbs and Caldwell flourishing last year, the team has moved on from Shiel who is now exclusively a ‘break-glass-in-emergency’ option.

*all team stat rankings mentioned are based on differentials, not totals (apart from overall offence and defence).