Small steps and encouraging signs should be enough for Essendon fans to see 2025 as a success.
The extension of Brad Scott until 2027, an extra year on his existing deal, was met with extreme curiosity, but is a clear indication of a longer-term vision for the Bombers.
It’s probably not what supporters want to hear, barrelling towards potentially another year with a mid-table finish and an addition of at least 365 days to the ‘days since a finals win’ count, but there are positives that loom large this season.
A Round 1 loss to Hawthorn seemed to have garnered overreactions at both ends of the spectrum, when in reality, one of the best teams in the league, under the tutelage of the premier coach, simply outplayed them. The Bombers were fine – there was good mixed with bad, nothing warranting hyperbole in either direction.
The team the Bombers put out on the park was the second-youngest on average across the board in Round 1, and contained 17 players with less than 100 games of experience, the most of any club.
This was a team that had Todd Goldstein and Dyson Heppell play 14 and 18 games respectively last season, so this is a step in the right direction.
With ball in hand he struggled with the quickness of the game, but to see Zach Reid get through a full match for the first time in years at senior level was probably the biggest positive of the evening. His reach and reading of the play at that height, as well as his ball use generally, makes him clearly the defensive stalwart of the future if he can stay fit – maybe with Lewis Hayes if he gets a go.
Jye Caldwell starred, Isaac Kako and Nate Caddy had their moments throughout, and Archie Perkins delivered a much-needed and, indeed, much-improved second half, forgoing a bit of his responsibility on James Sicily to benefit himself. The other regular names were solid.
We’re not going to sit here and use a single game to indicate any statistical overhaul of any sort, but on the positive side, the Bombers were far more aggressive in attacking the man and the ball.
The contested side of the equation seemed plausibly functional as a consistent approach to the game. Granted, the Hawks concede the most tackles around the contest since the start of 2024, but it was the commitment around the ground from Essendon which should spark some passion in supporters – they finished with 18 tackles inside 50 against a Hawthorn team that controls possession in defence and, proportionally, concedes the fewest offensive tackles in the league typically.
Ben Hobbs is a maligned player by the red and black supporter base, but there simply isn’t a spot for him as an inside midfielder if Elijah Tsatas is to be the recipient of more opportunities.
While the kicking of the former (both, really) is untrustworthy, you cannot question his commitment on the defensive side of the game – Hobbs had five tackles inside 50 and contributed further with two goal assists.
The Bombers are struggling for quality small forwards in a time where the best teams rely heavily on them, hence having all the eggs in the basket of a 19-year-old in Kako, but this sort of contribution from Hobbs in the absence of Matt Guelfi is at the very least, tactically useful, while adding more strings to his bow.
Brad Scott wants his team to play offensively viable footy and controlling possession as they do. The end game is to get as many inside 50s as possible and hope it sticks.
It’s hopeful, but if ferocious tackling pressure can be maintained, it can provide results.
Another source of encouragement from the Hawks loss was Nick Bryan. The 23-year-old still isn’t fully trusted as a main ruckman – he played 63 per cent of game time with Sam Draper starting as the main ruck before going forward, and Bryan has only had 70 per cent time on ground on four occasions in 20 career games. But he competed hard and his ability to find space around the ground and create separation from his opponent became evident the longer the game went.
Perhaps part of the hesitancy from fans and coaching staff alike is a lack of physicality that he provides, especially compared to Draper; but as someone who hasn’t entered the beginning of prime rucking age, who tends to profile as the athletic, quality tap-ruck who can win the ball around the ground, if Bryan keeps sticking three to four tackles a game, that’s perfectly fine.
However, despite the optimism, there are still clear concerns at the Bombers. Draper is an excitement machine, a highlights-package darling and cult hero… who boosts the intangibles at times with some unfathomable passages in key moments of games.
He’s also a worse ruckman than Bryan, with poorer pressure around the ground, and is a below-average target offensively.
At 26, the financial commitment to him that almost seems a fait accompli for the Bombers, although it shouldn’t, is one that would indicate Draper is seen as a key cog in their future. The issue is that they really need to at least consider committing to Bryan as the main ruck, or risk losing him and being stuck with a limited player in Draper.
Whether or not Essendon’s coaching staff worked closely with Draper to improve his marking and forward craft will only be observable with increased time he should be spending forward, so there’s still time for that development to have a positive net effect on the group.
But Scott can’t be indecisive, which segues into the biggest elephant in the room.
As an experienced coach with September experience, the extension of the coach’s contract should get him more guaranteed time to shape the squad and the style that he wants over years, not just months.
We need tactical versatility and growth in current day AFL. What we don’t need to see is a team kick side to side eight times a quarter when the opposition gets back and defends space. We don’t need to see players that ultimately like to move it with pace when possible and use the handball with great effect to get stuck handcuffing themselves as soon as they’re faced with a modicum of pressure.
Scott needs not look any further than his brother Chris, who has developed a two-way style at the Cats that mixes positional versatility with a tactical fluidity that has Geelong controlling the ball whether they move it fast or slow.
Unlike the Cats, the Bombers’ squad isn’t quite at the level of a regular finals contender, although that should likely change within a year if the right trends in trusting younger players continue. The use of Mason Redman in the midfield at times against the Hawks was good – almost like how Tom Stewart gets used for the Cats, and opened up a spot in defence to get Archie Roberts more of a run.
We’ve seen in the pre-season the option of using Sam Durham as a marking target in attack, so ideally, there will be youngster like Angus Clarke and Zak Johnson who get similar chances around the ball to Roberts down back, with really strong skills to speed up ball movement and maximise its efficiency.
Xavier Duursma is the league’s most underrated outside midfielder and his commitment to the defensive aspects of the game will hold Essendon in great stead, possibly providing a standard for Harrison Jones to uphold on the other wing.
Without doubt, whether through drafting or player acquisition, the Dons need help offensively and that caps how much Scott can move magnets around truly. A personal favourite at draft time was Kayle Gerreyn as a big man, but he’ll take time; another option, the rookie-listed Archer Day-Wicks, showed some AFL-level traits in his draft year too.
While plenty of teams made big moves or significant adjustments in the off-season, the Bombers quietly got younger, bolstered their existing young talent, and committed to staying the course, something that hasn’t always been the case.
All this doesn’t guarantee anything going forward. Scott has got to adjust his style, the experienced players have to play better, the always elite Zach Merrett aside, and overall, the Bombers must mix their fundamentals with the realities of the speed of today’s game.
But they’ve made a good start towards brighter days, which, if the current trajectory holds true, should have them striving to be a top-six team in 2026.
It won’t be easy in the near future, particularly without Kyle Langford and Jordan Ridley, probably their two most important players structurally. This weekend against Adelaide, a team they’re on par with, is a great test no matter how depleted they are.
Yet it won’t be the results that indicate whether or not the Bombers have improved in 2025, nor will they be any sort of justification in either direction for the early extension of the coach, much to the chagrin of opposition fans.
Trust the process, Bombers fans: 2025 might be slower than hoped, but the grind will only serve to accelerate the process to being a contender in the years to come.
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