Essendon Football Club

Essendon Football Club
File:2006 AFL Essendon.jpg
Names
Full name	Essendon Football Club
Nickname(s)	The Bombers, The Dons
2007 season
Leading goalkicker	Scott Lucas
Best and fairest	James Hird
Club details
Founded	1871
Colours	Red and Black
Competition	Australian Football League
Chairman	Ray Horsburgh
Coach	Matthew Knights
Captain(s)	Matthew Lloyd
Ground(s)	Telstra Dome (capacity: 56,000)
	Windy Hill (capacity: 15,000)
Other information
Official website	www.essendonfc.com.au

Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club that is part of the Australian Football League. Formed in 1871 as a junior club and as a senior club in 1873, it is headquartered at the Essendon Recreation Reserve, commonly known as Windy Hill in the Melbourne suburb of Essendon, but plays its home matches at the Telstra Dome. The club was coached by Kevin Sheedy for 27 years until it was announced that his contract would not be renewed for the 2008 season. On 27 September 2007, the club announced that ex-Richmond midfielder, captain and Bendigo Bombers coach Matthew Knights had signed a three-year contract as first team coach.

File:EssBombersjumper.png

Essendon's Home and Clash Jumpers

History

Some doubt exists as to precisely when the Essendon Football Club came into being, with 1871, '72 and '73 all being suggested as possible starting dates.

Essendon the football club grew from a meeting held at the home of a well-known brewery family, the McCrackens, whose Ascot Vale property hosted a team of local junior players. There they formed the Senior Club at "Ailsa", Kent St, Ascot Vale. At this stage, the uniform consisted of black and red stripes.

Robert McCracken, owner of several city hotels, became Essendon’s first president, and his 17-year-old son, Alex, its secretary. He would follow his father into the same post, and later become president of the newly formed VFL. Alex’s cousin, Collier, who had already played with Melbourne, was the team’s first captain. The McCracken family loomed large in the formation and running of the club.

Equally, there seems little doubt that, whatever the exact date of its formation, the club's first official fixture took place on 7 June 1873 against Carlton, with Essendon achieving victory by the only goal. Essendon played 13 matches in its first season, winning seven, drawing four and losing only two. In 1873, before the club's first senior match, the club changed the design of its guernsey to the black with red sash that has remained the official uniform since.

At first Essendon was regarded as a junior club, and even after the formation of the VFA in 1877 the side was sometimes allowed 'odds' of, for example, twenty-five players as against twenty, when confronted by the leading teams of the time. Essendon finished their first year in the VFA playing 19 games for eight wins and a finish in fourth place.

During its early years in the Association, Essendon played its home matches at Flemington Hill, but in 1881 it made a controversial move to the East Melbourne Cricket Ground which was situated near the centre of the city and had more suitable facilities. There Essendon would stay until its return to its heartland at the Essendon Recreation Reserve some 40 years later. The move made it easier for players to travel to training but also had the adverse side effect of disenfranchising many of the club's supporters. Nevertheless, the team continued to show improvement on the field, finishing second on three occasions during the 1880s, and attracting ever larger crowds to their games.

In 1883 Essendon travelled to Adelaide where it engaged in 4 matches, winning 3 and losing 1, and in 1888 it was one of several VFA clubs to confront a team of a visiting rugby players from Great Britain who played rugby while in New Zealand and New South Wales, and Australian football in Victoria and South Australia. Essendon won 7.13 to 3.3 (behinds were recorded in the score at this time, but were not actually to count until 1897).

In 1891 Essendon were the supreme side in the Association, comfortably securing the premiership with only 1 loss from 20 matches played. The following season saw the arrival of one of the club's and the game's greatest ever players, Albert Thurgood, who kicked a VFA record 56 goals for the year as Essendon once again marched triumphantly to the premiership, again with only a single defeat all season. In 1893 they did even better, securing the premiership without losing once, and in 1894 they made it four premierships in a row with 16 wins and a draw from 18 matches. All told, Essendon won 200 and drew 15 of 621 VFA competition matches played during the period 1820-94, and if you add the 52 wins recorded in games against intercolonial opposition during that time you are left in little doubt of their pedigree.

In 1895 Albert Thurgood moved to Western Australia and this coincided with a slump in Essendon's fortunes. Nevertheless, the Same Old were still very much perceived as being among the Association elite, a fact brought dramatically into focus at the end of the 1896 season when they joined 9 other leading clubs establishing a break away body, the Victorian Football League. An implicit purpose of the schism was to raise the profile of football by providing a competition which was evenly contested and of high overall standard, traits which had been notoriously lacking in the VFA of late.

The club was part of many innovations that shaped the modern game, as well as being the first to achieve several milestones. Essendon was involved in the first match in 1886 where the goal umpires used white flags to signal scores, they were the first team to wear white shorts in away matches in 1893, and in 1878, they were involved in the first match played on what would be considered by modern standards to be a full sized field at Flemington Hill. In 1879 Essendon played Melbourne in one of the earliest night matches recorded when the ball was painted white. In 1880 they also became the first metropolitan club to visit Geelong on the first "football special" train, as well as being the first side to record ten goals in a single senior match. One of its players, Charlie Pearson, was the first to bring the skill of "overhead" [marking] to the game and would also be named "Champion of the Colony".

From the formation of the VFL until the first world war (1897 - 1915)

Essendon started playing in the VFL in 1897 and their first game was against Geelong at Corio oval in Geelong. They were too strong for Geelong, winning by 23 points. In that year, there was no grand final but a round robin series to decide the premiers. Essendon won the premiership that year, after finishing at the top of the ladder after the round robin series. Essendon outplayed Collingwood in the 1901 grand final at Lake oval but they were beaten by Collingwood by 33 points in the next year's grand final.

They won back to back premierships in 1911 and 1912 over Collingwood and South Melbourne respectively.

The "Same Olds"

Essendon were known as the "Same Olds" (as in "the same old Essendon") in order to distinguish the Essendon VFL side (that played at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground), to which this article refers, from the separate and unconnected Essendon VFA side (that played at what was then the Essendon Cricket Ground), which existed from 1900 to 1921.

Havin already moved from it ground at Kent Street, Ascot Vale ("McCracken's Paddock") to Flemington Hill, the club was agin forced to move in 1881; and, because the Essendon mayor of the day, James Taylor, considered the Essendon Cricket Ground "to be suitable only for the gentlemen's game of cricket", Essendon moved to East Melbourne.

This move away from Essendon, at a time when fans would walk to their local ground, did not go over 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 the Victorian Football Association. It was known firstly as Essendon Town and, after 1905, as Essendon "A" ("A" for Association). Known as the "Dreadnoughts" [sic], the team continued to play at the Essendon Cricket Ground until the expansion of the Jolimont Railway Yards into the East Melbourne Cricket Ground 1n 1922 meant that the "Same Olds" were looking for a new home.

The Essendon City Council, offered the (VFL) team the Essendon Cricket Ground, announcing that it would be prepared to spend over ₤12,000 on improvements, including a new grandstand, scoreboard and re-fencing of the oval. The Essendon VFL club returned to Essendon, and the Essendon VFA club disbanded, with most of its players moving over to (then VFA club) North Melbourne.

The years between the wars (1919 - 1938)

Fred Baring during the 1920s

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, (1912) whilst there, Essendon were looking for a new home, and were offered grounds at the current Royal Melbourne Showgrounds, at Victoria Park, at Arden St, North Melbourne, and the Essendon Cricket Ground. Given the Essendon Council’s willingness to spend over £12,000 to bring the facilities of the Cricket Ground up to League standard, they chose the ground that became known as "Windy Hill".

In the absence of the VFA team, there was no need for the "Same Olds" distinction and, by 1922, the other nicknames "Sash Wearers" and "Essendonians" that had been variously used fron time to time were also abandoned. The team became universally known as "The Dons" (from EssenDON); it was not until much later, during the war years of the early 1940s, that they became known as "The Bombers" — due to Windy Hill’s proximity to the Essendon Aerodrome.

In the 1922 season, back at Essendon at last, they reached the final four for the first time since 1912, eventually ending up in third place.

In the 1923 season the Dons topped the ladder with 13 wins from 16 games. They survived a 17 point second semi final loss to South Melbourne to overcome Fitzroy (who had beaten South Melbourne) in the challenge final: Essendon 8.15 (63) to Fitzroy 6.10 (46). Amongst Essendon’s best players were half forward flanker George "Tich" Shorten, centre half forward Justin McCarthy, centre half back Tom Fitzmaurice, rover Frank Maher and wingman Jack 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 were 5'6" (167 cm) or less: Charlie Hardy, 5'3" (160cm), George Shorten 5'5" (165cm), Jack Garden 5'5" (165cm), Frank Maher 5'6" (167.5cm), Vince Irwin 5'6" (167.5cm), and Jimmy Sullivan 5'6" (167.5cm).

The 1924 season proved to be arguably the strangest year in Essendon's entire history. For the first time since 1897 there was no ultimate match — either “challenge final” or “grand final” — to determine the premiers. Instead, the top 4 clubs after the home and away season played a round-robin to determine the premiers. The result was an anti-climax of the highest order: 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. Ultimately, Essendon again managed to win back-to-back premierships. But the low crowds 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.

Prominent contributors to Essendon's 1924 premiership success included back pocket Clyde Donaldson, follower Norm Beckton, half back flanker Roy Laing, centreman Charlie May and rover Charlie Hardy.

The 1924 season was not without controversy, 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.

There was worse to follow, with various Essendon players publicly blaming each other for the poor performance against Richmond, and then, with dissension still rife in the ranks, the side plummeted to an embarrassing 28 point loss to VFA premiers Footscray in a special charity match played a week later, purportedly (but not officially) for the championship of Victoria.

While it is always difficult to assess the damage caused by events such as these, it is undeniable that the club's fortunes dipped alarmingly, and persistently, in the wake of these events. Indeed, after finishing third in the 1926 season, it was to be 14 years before Essendon would even contest a finals series. This is all the more surprising when you consider that, during these years, Essendon had players of the calibre of Dick Reynolds, Keith Forbes, Jack Vosti, Rowley Watt, Howard Okey, Len Webster, Edward 'Nipper' Freyer and Tom Clarke.

The 1933 season, was probably the start of the Essendon revival, seeing the debut of the player widely regarded as Essendon's, if not the league's, greatest: Dick Reynolds. His impact was immediate. He won the Brownlow Medal three times; remarkably, his first came in his second season, aged only 19. He would later repeat that feat in 1938 and 1939. His record of three Brownlow victories (1934, 1937, 1938), whilst equalled — by Haydn Bunton, Sr (1931 (his first season), 1932, 1935), Bob Skilton (1959, 1963, 1968), and Ian Stewart (1965, 1966, 1971) — has never been beaten (as of 2007).

The Dick Reynolds years (1939 - 1960)

Statue of Essendon's greatest, Dick Reynolds at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

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.

1941 brought Essendon's first grand final appearance since 1923, but the side again lowered its colours to Melbourne. A year later war broke out and the competition was considerably weakened, with Geelong being forced to pull out of the competition due to travel restrictions as a result of 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 Australian Wally 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, and although there were some who suggested that the achievement was devalued because of Geelong's absence from the competition owing to war time travelling restrictions, needless to say this was not an opinion subscribed to at Essendon and which had generally good years during the war.

In any case, there could be no such reservations about Essendon's next premiership, which came just four years later. Prior to that the Same Old lost a hard fought grand final to Richmond in 1943 by 5 points, finished 3rd in 1944, and dropped to 8th in 1945.

The continual changes which were required as players became available or unavailable made the task of winning all the more difficult. In 1946, however, Essendon were clearly the VFL's supreme force, topping the ladder after the roster games and surviving a drawn second semi final against Collingwood to win through to the grand final a week later with a 10.16 (76) to 8.9 (57) triumph. Then, in the grand final against Melbourne, the Same Old put in a vintage all round performance to overhaul the Fuchsias' seven year old grand final record score by 2 points, and, of much greater significance, win the premiership at a canter. Final scores were Essendon 22.18 (150) to Melbourne 13.9 (87), with 7 goal centre half forward Gordon Lane, livewire rover Bill Hutchinson, and defenders Wally Buttsworth, Cec Ruddell and Harold Lambert among the linchpins of the red and blacks' success.

The 1947 grand final has to go down in the ledger as 'one of the ones that got away', 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 (of which full forward Bill Brittingham contributed 2.12) to tie with Melbourne (who managed 10.9) in the 1948 grand final. A week later the Same Old 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.

The 1949 season heralded the arrival on the VFL scene of John Coleman, arguably the greatest player in Essendon's history, and, in the view of some, the finest player the game has known. In his first ever appearance for the Dons, against Hawthorn in round 1 1949, he booted 12 of his side's 18 goals to create an opening round 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 top the ton since Richmond's Jack Titus in 1940.

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.

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 the North 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 the Same Old 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 flanker Norm McDonald, ruckman Bob McLure, and rovers Bill Hutchinson and Ron McEwin. John Coleman also did well, registering 6 majors.

A year later Essendon were if anything even more dominant, defeating the North 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 the grand final in what was officially his swansong as a player was captain-coach Dick Reynolds, who received sterling support from the likes of Norm McDonald, ruckman/back pocket Wally May, back pocket Les Gardiner, and big Bob McLure.

With 'King Dick' 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 put paid to their chances. Coleman was reported for retaliation after twice being struck by his Carlton opponent, Harry Caspar, and without him the Dons were rated a 4 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 second semi final and Collingwood by 2 points in the preliminary final.

The Dons sustained numerous injuries in the preliminary final and the selectors sprang a surprise on grand final day by naming the officially retired Dick Reynolds as 20th man. 'King Dick' was powerless to prevent the inevitable, however, as Geelong kept their noses in front all day to notch victory by 11 points.

From 1946 to 1951 Essendon were in six grand finals in succession, winning three (1946, 1949, & 1950). The return of many fine players from war service was partially responsible, but there was the emergence of others such as Jack Jones, George Hassell, Bob McClure and of course, John Coleman.

Essendon slumped to 8th in 1952 but John Coleman was in irrepressible form managing 103 goals for the year. Hugh Buggy noted in 'The 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 goalkicking.

Two seasons later Coleman's career was tragically ended after he dislocated a knee during the round 8 clash with the North Melbourne Football Club at Essendon. Aged just twenty five, 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.

According to Alf Brown, football writer for 'The Herald':

(Coleman) had all football's gifts. He was courageous, a long, straight kick, he had a shrewd football brain and, above all, he was a spectacular, thrilling mark.

Somewhat more colourfully, R.S. Whittington suggested,

"Had he been a trapeze artist in a strolling circus, Coleman could have dispensed with the trapeze."

Without Coleman, Essendon's fortunes plummeted, and there were to be no further premierships in the 1950s. The nearest miss came in 1957 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 succumb by over 10 goals against the same side a fortnight later.

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.

The Post Coleman era and the 'Slugging' Seventies. (1961 - 1979)

John Coleman started his coaching career at Essendon in 1961, thus ending the Dick 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 in this year, 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 the 1962 premiership. This was a remarkable result for Coleman who in his second season of coaching pulled off 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 in 1965 (won from 4th position on the ladder), was also unexpected due to periods of poor form during the 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 of Brian Sampson and Ted 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 .

After Coleman's retirement, the club hit tough times both on the field and off. Finals appearances were rare for the side, which was more often in contention for the wooden spoon (last place) than the premiership.

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. However the team made the finals in 1972 and 1973 under the direction of Des Tuddenham (Collingwood) but he only saw them exit both elimination finals. The 70's Essendon sides were involved in many rough and tough encounters, with the likes of Ron Andrews along side talented players such as Barry Davis, Ken Fletcher, Geoff Blethyn, Neville Fields and the highly paid Graham Moss. The controversial 1974 half time all-in-brawl with Richmond at Windy Hill and the 1975 encounter with Carlton were testimony of the era. For example, The'Herald Sun' 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 ocurred in 1980 with new recruit Phil 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 70's who would emerge as club greats to produce a powerful mid 80's team that would challenge its top rivals. Three of those young players were Simon Madden, Tim Watson and Paul Van Der Haar. Terry Daniher and Roger Merrett joined the club in the late 70's to solidfy the formidable Essendon side of the mid 80's.

1976 the highlight for Essendon supporters during this time was ruckman Graham Moss's Brownlow medal win.

The Kevin Sheedy years (1981 - 2007)

In 1981 Essendon again switched coaches,(Barry Davis) this time to Kevin Sheedy, a former Richmond player who had only recently retired and had no senior coaching experience. Although he got off to a bad start, with the side on the bottom of the ladder early in the season, the team recorded 15 successive victories up until the end of the season, to make the finals in Sheedy's first year as coach.

Essendon 1980s shield logo

Making the finals proved to be a habit of Sheedy's, with the side again making the finals in 1982, and then taking the next step and reaching the 1983 grand final. Although they were beaten by Hawthorn by a then record margin, the 1984 result proved to be different. With Hawthorn leading by four goals at three-quarter time, it appeared certain that Hawthorn would win back-to-back premierships. Sheedy pulled some of his now famous positional moves, and the Essendon side that had appeared to have no hope suddenly looked the better of the two sides, eventually winning by four goals. The 1985 side repeated the result, this time soundly beating the Hawthorn side.

These results had many media commentators talking about an Essendon dynasty, especially since the side had some of Essendon's greatest ever players in Tim Watson, Simon Madden and Terry Daniher in the prime of their careers. This failed to eventuate for a number of reasons, injury and the retirements of some of the supporting players amongst them.

Despite this, by 1990 Essendon again made the grand final, losing heavily to Collingwood. By this stage most of the more experienced players were nearing retirement, and with few obvious replacements, 1991 and 1992 were not great years by the standards previously set during Sheedy's time in charge.

For that reason it was of great surprise to most in the footballing world when in one of the most even seasons ever, Essendon defeated Carlton in a landslide to win the 1993 premiership. The side became known as the "baby bombers", as the core of the side was made up of young, inexperienced players just starting their careers. One of them, Gavin Wanganeen, won the Brownlow medal that year.

Around this time period saw a transition of the club off the field. Moving from its traditional home ground, Windy Hill, to the larger and more modern MCG saw the side massively expand the crowds at its home games. This move, combined with shrewd marketing, particularly from coach Kevin Sheedy, and continued on field success has seen Essendon become one of the financial powerhouses of the competition. Although many Victorian clubs struggle, requiring AFL assistance to make ends meet, Essendon has consistently made a sizeable profit year after year.

After the success of 1993, many fans were disappointed in the performances in the following years, despite making the finals most years. In 1996, the side missed the grand final by a point, but received some compensation when James Hird won the Brownlow medal. By 1998, there were many calling for Kevin Sheedy to be replaced, and eventually this resulted in the coaching panel being expanded, with Sheedy's assistant coaches taking on a greater role. This appeared to work, with Essendon finishing on top of the ladder in 1999, only to again miss out on the grand final by one point. This was the fourth final lost by a point under Sheedy, which some used as evidence to support the view that the side had underachieved under his coaching. Other supporters, however, saw his record of finals appearances and Grand Final victories as amongst the most remarkable and laudatory in the history of the game.

The 2000 season proved to be the best Essendon, or indeed any side in the league, has ever produced. Essendon lost only one game (which was the round 21 match against the Western Bulldogs) during the home-and-away season, went unbeaten through the finals to win a record equalling 16th premiership, and secured the Norm Smith and Coleman medals (to James Hird and Matthew Lloyd respectively). The side looked set to repeat this success the following year, but late season injuries took their toll, and an in-form Brisbane side defeated them in the grand final.

In the three years from 2002 to 2004, Essendon finished sixth each year. That many fans view finishing sixth in a sixteen team competition to be a failure exemplifies the expectations the side's continued success under Sheedy has brought. During 2004, Sheedy signed a new three year contract, by the end of which he will be second on the list of most VFL/AFL games coached behind Collingwood's Jock McHale. James Hird played his 200th game against Richmond in round 15, but suffered a mysterious injury in the match. At season's end, the curtain had fallen on the careers of Mark Mercuri, Sean Wellman and Joe Misiti. Their season ended with a 10-point defeat to Geelong in the second semi-final on September 11, 2004.

Kevin Sheedy is known for his unorthadox recruiting, in particular his preference for the best young aboriginal players in the country. He recruited many brothers including Dean Rioli, Alwyn Davey, Nathan Lovett-Murray, Michael Long, Derek Kickett, Richard Cole and many more.

Essendon, that had been a consistent side over a long period of time, sufferred from lack of quality draft picks and injuries, and this finally started to catch up with them. The 2005 season saw Essendon miss the finals for the first time since 1997, as well as producing their worst season to that time under Sheedy's coaching. Their finish in 13th position with 8 wins and 14 losses began a slide that would continue to worsen. With the Bombers looking towards a new era, it was announced on September 27 that Matthew Lloyd would replace James Hird as Essendon captain for the 2006 season, marking the end of Hird's reign since he took over the captaincy in 1998. Even with the failure of 2005, Essendon have played finals in 19 out of 25 seasons under Sheedy, with six top of the ladder finishes, seven Grand Final appearances and four premierships. Despite this, Lloyd notched up his 200th game in round 13 against St Kilda, winning by 15 points to keep their season alive.

2006 was the worst season seen for Essendon with injuries to big names and players dropping out of form. Matthew Lloyd's hamstring injury during the game against the Bulldogs was so severe that he was ruled out for the entire season, therefore requiring a stand-in captain, David Hille, to be appointed. James Hird also suffered a minor injury in the game against the Kangaroos, but returned in Round 17 to give the Bombers a rare win over their 2001 Grand Final nemesis, the Brisbane Lions. Essendon had 3 wins in the season, against the Sydney Swans on April Fools' Day in Round 1, the Brisbane Lions in Round 17, and against rivals the Magpies in Round 19. The win over Collingwood ruined the Pies' hopes of making the top four. A string of 14 straight losses occurred before breaking this losing streak with a draw against the Carlton Blues in Round 16. The Bombers finished in 15th place above Carlton with a superior percentage. (81.86% to Carlton's 74.16%)

Essendon started season 2007 on a positive note, with three wins in their first four rounds, before falling away. They defeated Adelaide, Fremantle and St Kilda in rounds one, two and four respectively, before a string of losses to Collingwood, Hawthorn and the Kangaroos had them sitting at 3-4 after round seven. However, they got back on track thrashing recent triple premiers Brisbane in round eight, followed by narrow wins over Richmond, last year's runners-up Sydney and last year's premiers West Coast. Following a disappointing loss to Port Adelaide in round 12, they defeated Melbourne in round 13, where Matthew Lloyd kicked his 800th goal and Demons coach and former Bombers player Neale Daniher resigned as Melbourne coach. James Hird played his 250th game and Adam Ramanauskas played his first match in more than one and a half years in the match against Geelong, but the Dons were thrashed by 50 points after sustaining multiple injuries. Matthew Lloyd was suspended for this match. After three disappointing losses, it was announced on July 25, 2007, that Kevin Sheedy's contract would not be renewed. This shocked the Essendon Football Club, as he had coached the club for 27 years. They responded by defeating Adelaide for the second time this season in what was to be Sheedy and Hird's final match at Telstra Dome. After two straight 63-point defeats at the hands of Hawthorn and Fremantle, Essendon defeated fellow rivals Carlton, the match notable for Lloyd kicking the goal of the year, with his inventive backheel. James Hird and Kevin Sheedy were farewelled by the Melbourne faithful at the Melbourne Cricket Ground a week later against Richmond, but unfortunately their Melbourne farewell was spoiled by the Tigers, who, at that stage, were still a real chance of winning the wooden spoon. Their official farewell match was against West Coast in round 22, and despite a thrilling comeback (including seven last-quarter goals to Scott Lucas), they were defeated by eight points. There was a huge applause from the Subiaco Oval crowd following this match (interestingly, they also waved their scarves and jackets), where Hird and Sheedy were officially farewelled.

Post Sheedy/Hird years (2008 -)

Essendon will begin their 2008 season against the Kangaroos on March 24, 2008. This will be the first match played without Sheedy since 1980 and the first without Hird as on official player since 1991. This will be followed by matches against defending premiers Geelong in round 2, rivals Carlton in round 3, the Western Bulldogs in round four, St Kilda in round five, the traditional ANZAC Day match against Collingwood in round six, Port Adelaide in a twilight match in round seven and then a trip to Telstra Stadium to meet the Sydney Swans in round eight. Essendon added four new faces to the squad for the 2008 season, through the 2007 NAB AFL Draft, these players were David Myers, Tayte Pears, Cale Hooker and Darcy Daniher who was selected previously as a father-son selection[1].

Major rivals

• Carlton - With the teams sharing the record of 16 premierships, both sides are keen to become outright leader, or if out of the finals race, at least ensure the other doesn't. In recent years, the rivalry has thickened with Carlton beating the 1999 premiership favourites by 1 point in the preliminary final. However, it almost seems it was that loss that instantly ensured Essendon the premiership the following year. It was the driving force behind the Bombers winning 24 out of 25 games in the 2000 season to claim the flag and in doing so, match Carlton's premiership tally. In 2006, both teams fought out a wooden spoon battle, better known as the "Bryce Gibbs Cup", as he was the No.1 pick that year. This match ended in a draw, and Essendon sent Carlton to last following their drought-breaking win the following week. Carlton finished with the wooden spoon. In 2007, with Essendon coming off consecutive wins for the first time in almost three years, the two clubs met in 2007's 'Rivalry Round'. Essendon, the heavy favourites, flew out of the blocks, thrashing Carlton for the first half, and led by 48 points just before half time. However, Carlton managed to kick a couple of goals before the break, and in the third quarter overtook Essendon with a flurry of goals. A gripping final quarter saw goal for goal action, with Essendon falling short by 3 points. It was Carlton's best comeback ever, one no-one saw coming. As a result, many have deemed Carlton to be Essendon's 'bogey side'.
• Collingwood - The match that has been played on Anzac Day between these two sides since 1995 is described as the second biggest match of the season, behind only the Grand Final. Being the two biggest football clubs in Australia, regardless of their position on the ladder this game always attracts a huge crowd. In 2006, the Magpies were the only Victorian team to drop a match against Essendon (Round 19, 2006). In doing so Essendon avoided the wooden spoon and Collingwood's top-four hopes (and premiership hopes) were dashed.
• Hawthorn - The two sides had a number of physical encounters in the mid-1980s when they were the top two sides of the competition. The rivalry was exacerbated when Dermott Brereton ran through Essendon's three-quarter time huddle during a match in 1988 and again by an all in brawl during a match in 2004 allegedly instigated by Brereton (Now known as the 'line in the sand' match after the direction allegedly given by Brereton for the Hawthorn players to make a physical stand). This was reminiscent of a similar brawl in the 1985 grand final.
• West Coast Eagles - Since Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy famously waved his jacket over his head following a close victory over the Eagles in 1993, it has become a tradition for the winning side's supporters to do the same after a match between the two sides. If one team is winning by a considerable margin, the coat waving has been known to begin well before the match ends. Essendon's games against West Coast always sell out the 43,000 seat Subiaco Oval.

Minor Rivals

• Brisbane Lions - Since Essendon and Brisbane fought out the 2001 Grand Final, matches between them have been entertaining and close games.
• Sydney Swans - In 1996, the Swans beat Essendon by a point in the preliminary final at the SCG. This ended Essendon's season and got the Swans through to their first grand final in 51 years. Matches between them are usually close. The most recent clash was decided by a point in a controversial match and another close match was at Telstra Stadium in early 2005. After Essendon led for most of the game, the Swans overcame Essendon to win by 6 points.
• Geelong - Geelong and Essendon have a minor rivalry which is spawned from many Essendon supporters living in Geelong.
• North Melbourne - A rivalry that first began over supporter boundaries, and then over Essendon's thwarting North Melbourne's final hopes in the 1950s, this would spill over again in the 1990s. Many Essendon supporters believed the outcome of North Melbourne's 1996 and 1999 Premierships would have been much different had the Bombers managed to win the Preliminary Finals in each of those years. The failure to overcome Carlton in finals proved to be a deciding factor in Essendon not reaching the Grand Final in 1999. Coach Kevin Sheedy's famous 'Marshmallow War' jibe only served to strengthen the rivalry. The Bombers managed to get the upper hand in the rivalry for a while with their famous comeback in Round 16 of the 2001 season where, trailing by 69 points halfway through the second quarter, the Bombers came back hard, scoring a flurry of goals to eventually win by 12 points, but they have not won a game against the Kangaroos since.
• Richmond - Essendon and Richmond play in the annual 'Dreamtime At The 'G' match. In the last one, Essendon came from 18 points down mid-way through the final quarter to deny the Tigers their first win of the season. In 1974 this rivalry resulted in a famous half time brawl which involved trainers, officials and players at Windy Hill.

Supporter base

A strong North West suburban club, Essendon over the last 20 years has become one of the most supported in Australia, rivalling Collingwood and arguably overtaking Carlton as the major Victorian power of the AFL. It is estimated that the Essendon football club has a following of around one million people Australia wide, and regularly tops polls as the most supported Victorian football club. In fact, in a more recent time Morgan poll that was done nationally, Essendon came in as the second most supported AFL club behind Sydney. This can only be put down to a number of significant changes made during the last two decades, as Essendon had always boasted a big following, but not until the club moved to the Melbourne Cricket Ground from Windy Hill in 1992 did they began to utilize their huge latent supporter base. Combined with immediate success at the new venue, things began to dramatically change off field. Instantly crowd figures grew, and each year saw attendances at Essendon games annually become the highest of any club in the competition. So much so, that if a comparison was made between the average attendance of home games during the last year at Windy Hill (17,537), to that of one just seven seasons later at the MCG (58,905), attendances had tripled. In fact, the Bombers now holds the all time record for match attendances in a season with 1,169,551 patrons set in 1998.

Another reason for this growth has to be due to the long-time coach Kevin Sheedy. Sheedy became coach of Essendon in 1981, but one of the qualities he brought to the club besides the instant success, was his marketing ability. Sheedy became one of the first coaches to use his position to promote the club, which he did Australia wide and continues to do today. Almost every club in the AFL now has a coach following Sheedy's lead. Interestingly enough, during 2005, Essendon was the third most supported team in Western Australia (behind the West Coast Eagles and the Fremantle Dockers respectively).

Famous fans include the deceased Steve Irwin, former Victorian Premier,Joan Kirner, former Federal treasurer Peter Costello, Seven News Melbourne weekend newsreader Jennifer Keyte and singer Anthony Callea.

Year	Members	Finishing position[2]
1998	27,099	8th
1999	29,858	3rd
2000	34,278	1st
2001	36,227	2nd
2002	35,219	5th
2003	31,970	6th
2004	37,042	6th
2005	35,398	13th
2006	32,511	15th
2007	34,219	12th

^ Following finals matches

Affiliates

The Essendon Football Club have affiliated football clubs from around Australia and one in England.

Club	League
Bendigo Bombers	Victorian Football League
North Shore Bombers	Sydney AFL Premier Division
Redland Bombers	Queensland State League
Lauderdale Bombers	Southern Football League (Tasmania)
Manchester United F.C.	FA Premier League
Tiwi Bombers	Northern Territory Football League

Club jumper

Home

Clash

• This is the club's 2007 jumper design. The club's current major sponsors are 3 Mobile and Puma

While it is recorded that Essendon has always had black and red in its strip, it is understood that the black and red stripes mentioned as the official colours refer only to the socks. When the club was formed in 1873 uniforms were not available, and most players wore Navy Blue work guernseys. To avoid clashing with other teams, Essendon adopted a Red sash in 1875, and is recorded in magazines of the day as wearing Blue with Red sash up until about 1889. At this time, uniforms were ordered in the club colours, Black with a Red sash, and in every game from 1890 to today. However, the AFL has requested all clubs provide a clash jumper design for use for games in 2007 and beyond. According to the AFL, Essendon would be required to wear this alternate jumper in designated away games against Richmond, Melbourne and St Kilda. While many can understand this request of the AFL, there are others that are bemused by this demand, namely Essendon supporters and traditionalists of the game. They argue that the clubs that supposedly clash with the Essendon jumper have had many different guernseys with many variations, consequently moving them closer to the Essendon design. They also argue that in some cases, these clubs had a completely different jumper with different colours. Two designs suggested for the Clash Jumper was a Red Jumper with black EFC writing and a jumper with an extra thick sash. Essendon have agreed on this second option as their "clash jumper"[3], however the club has stated it intends to do whatever possible to avoid ever wearing the alternate design, to widespread support from the majority of club members. However, the club wore the design coupled with red shorts for their Round 4 clash with St Kilda in 2007. They wore it again in the Round 9 clash against Richmond but that time, they did not wear red shorts. They wore black shorts.

The club will wear a one off variation to their normal colours of red and black, with a yellow strip on the left sleeve on June 29, 2007. [4] This decision was taken in response to the AFL not allowing the club's players wear yellow armbands to promote cancer awareness and being fined $20,000 in 2006 for ignoring an AFL directive not to do so. [5]

Premierships

VFA Premierships

1891, 1892, 1893, 1894.

VFL/AFL Premierships

1897, 1901, 1911, 1912, 1923, 1924, 1942, 1946, 1949, 1950, 1962, 1965, 1984, 1985, 1993, 2000.

Significant club achievements

VFL/AFL Runner-Up

1898, 1902, 1908, 1941, 1943, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1957, 1959, 1968, 1983, 1990, 2001

VFL/AFL Night Series/Pre-Season Premierships

1981, 1984, 1990, 1993, 1994, 2000.

VFL/AFL Minor Premierships

1898, 1911, 1923, 1924, 1942, 1946, 1948, 1950, 1962, 1968, 1984, 1985, 1990, 1993, 1999, 2000, 2001.

McClelland Trophies

Awarded to Minor Premiers since 1991

1951, 1953, 1957, 1968, 1990, 1993, 1999, 2000, 2001.

VFL/AFL Reserve Premierships

1921, 1950, 1952, 1968, 1983, 1992, 1999.

Under 19's Premierships

1950, 1952, 1959, 1961, 1966.

Individual awards

Best and Fairest

Main article: W. S. Crichton Medal

Brownlow Medal winners

• Dick Reynolds (1934, 1937 & 1938)
• Bill Hutchison (1952 & 1953)
• Graham Moss (1976)
• Gavin Wanganeen (1993)
• James Hird (1996)

Leigh Matthews Trophy winners

• Terry Daniher (1983)
• Tim Watson (1989)

Coleman Medal winners

• Ron Evans (1959, 1960)
• Ted Fordham (1966)
• Matthew Lloyd (2000, 2001, 2003)

Norm Smith Medal winners

• Billy Duckworth (1984)
• Simon Madden (1985)
• Michael Long (1993)
• James Hird (2000)

Michael Tuck Medal winners

• Gavin Wanganeen (1993)
• Gary O'Donnell (1994)
• Mark Mercuri (2000)

Mark of the Year winners

• Gary Moorcroft (2001)

Goal of the Year winners

• Matthew Lloyd (2007)

Army Award winners

• Alwyn Davey (2007)

National team representatives

• Justin Blumfield (2000)
• Chris Heffernan (2000)
• James Hird (2000, 2004)
• Jason Johnson (2001)
• Matthew Lloyd (2001)
• Adam Ramanauskas (2001)
• Adam McPhee (2004)
• Mark McVeigh (2004)
• Kepler Bradley (2005)
• Dustin Fletcher (2005, 2006)
• Andrew Lovett (2005)
• Brent Stanton (2006)

Team of the Century

To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the club, as well as 110 years of the VFL/AFL, Essendon announced its "Team of the Century" in 1997.

Essendon Team of the Century

B:	Gavin Wanganeen	Fred Baring	Tom Fitzmaurice
HB:	Barry Davis	Wally Buttsworth	Harold Lambert
C:	Reg Burgess	Jack Clarke	Michael Long
HF:	James Hird	David Kennedy	Terry Daniher
F:	Bill Hutchison	John Coleman	Matthew Lloyd
Foll:	Simon Madden	Tim Watson	Dick Reynolds (Captain)
Int:	Mark Thompson	Keith Forbes	Frank Maher
	William Griffith	Albert Thurgood	Dustin Fletcher
Coach:	Kevin Sheedy

Champions of Essendon

In 2002, a club panel chose and ranked the 25 greatest players to have played for Essendon.[6]

1. Dick Reynolds
2. John Coleman
3. James Hird
4. Bill Hutchison
5. Simon Madden
6. Tim Watson
7. Ken Fraser
8. Jack Clarke
9. Albert Thurgood
10. Tom Fitzmaurice
11. Terry Daniher
12. Wally Buttsworth
13. Reg Burgess
14. Bill Busbridge
15. Barry Davis
16. Keith Forbes
17. Graham Moss
18. Mark Harvey
19. Gavin Wanganeen
20. Mark Thompson
21. John Birt
22. Matthew Lloyd
23. Michael Long
24. Fred Baring
25. Harold Lambert

Current squad

As of November, 2007:

Essendon Football Club

Senior list						Rookie list		Coaching staff
1 Andrew McGrath (vc)  2 Sam Draper  3 Darcy Parish  4 Kyle Langford  5 Elijah Tsatas  6 Jye Caldwell  7 Zach Merrett (c)  8 Ben Hobbs  9 Dylan Shiel 10 Sam Weideman 11 Jade Gresham 12 Will Setterfield 13 Nik Cox 14 Jordan Ridley 15 Jayden Laverde 16 Archie Perkins 17 Todd Goldstein 18 Lewis Hayes 20 Peter Wright		22 Sam Durham 23 Harrison Jones 24 Nick Bryan 27 Mason Redman 28 Xavier Duursma 30 Nate Caddy 31 Zach Reid 32 Ben McKay 33 Alwyn Davey Jr. 34 Luamon Lual 35 Matt Guelfi 36 Jayden Davey 37 Nic Martin 38 Archie Roberts				39 Vigo Visentini 41 Saad El-Hawli 47 Jye Menzie		Head coach Brad Scott Assistant coaches David Rath (coaching innovation/game strategy) Daniel Giansiracusa (midfield) Dale Tapping (forward line) Ben Jacobs (back line) Cam Roberts (head of development) Brent Stanton (development) Michael Hurley (development) Travis Cloke (development) Natalie Wood (development) Legend: (c) Captain(s) (vc) Vice-captain(s) (B) Category B rookie Updated: 17 February 2008 Source(s): Players, coaches

...

Mascot

Essendon's mascot is named Skeeta Reynolds named after Dick Reynolds. He appears as a red mosquito in an Essendon jumper, and wearing a red and black scarf. He is the mascot for Essendon in AFL mascot manor. His backstory is that he was a bomber pilot and one day he landed in Windy Hill in 1922. He liked it so much that he never left.

Club honours

See Essendon Football Club honours.

Corporate

Presidents

Current president: Ray Horsburgh

See also

• Wikipedia listing of Essendon Football Club players
• Wikipedia listing of Essendon Football Club coaches

External links

• Official website of the Essendon Football Club
• "Around the Grounds" - Web Documentary - Windy Hill

Australian Football League clubs