Staring down the barrel of a catastrophic season, Essendon have been able to find a silver lining in the development of its core group of young AFL players.
When the current list of 12 Essendon players, including skipper Jobe Watson, superstars Michael Hurley, Cale Hooker and Dyson Heppell were given a 12 month playing ban for their role in the infamous supplements saga, the AFL world questioned whether the Bombers would be able to recover from such a devastating blow.
Season 2016 has been a breath of fresh air, exempt from media speculation and on field pressure.
The Bombers have been given the freedom of developing its younger players at a quicker rate.
Bombers fans seem to have re-discovered their passion for their club, and would be buoyed by what they’re seeing in 2016.
The win-loss column is irrelevant for Essendon at the moment. What is important is re-establishing credibility within the competition and ridding itself from its painful saga.
They have brought in some ripping kids in 2016.
Rising Star Darcy Parish may be the most exciting of the bunch. This kid has stood up brilliantly and averaged 20 disposals in his first season.
Parish is going to be a wonderful player and will only benefit from the return of some key midfield partners such as Dyson Heppell, David Myers and Jobe Watson.
Then there is Zach Merrett, the player who has risen as much as any player in the competition.
Merrett is a genuine ball magnet. He is tough, makes good decisions and wins a great balance of inside and outside ball.
Other young talent such as Orazio Fantasia, Jayden Laverde, Martin Gleeson Patrick Ambrose, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti, Will Hams and Kyle Langford has been able to get in senior exposure, something the club will benefit from in the future.
Fantasia and McDonald-Tipungwuti in particular are such excitement machines who will one day be vital match winners for the Bombers.
What is impressive is how John Worsfold has been able to create competitiveness and resilience to team missing its best players.
There have also been some good feel good stories from the top ups the club recruited to field a squad for the season.
Former Tiger Matt Dea has relished the second chance and is starting to establish himself as a solid AFL player, and is a big chance of staying at the club if as expected, Michael Hibberd joins the Demons.
Former Cat James Kelly has been an outstanding role model for the young Dons and would be vying for a top 3 finish in the Best and Fairest. He is likely to retire and join the club as a development coach.
Others such as Ryan Crowley, Matt Stokes, Mark Jamar and Jonathon Simpkin have all provided some great depth and leadership.
Essendon have managed to make a difficult situation into a positive and have played with pride and freedom.
Worsfold has managed to rotate his youngsters, blend them in with top up recruits and find new players that will help take the club forward.
In a weird kind of way, without the banning of these players, Essendon would never be able to move on. It has been a blessing in disguise.
Whether the Dons retain all of their 12 banned players is another question.
Dyson Heppell and Cale Hooker have signed on long-term deals, whilst Travis Colyer, David Myers, Tom Bellchambers and Heath Hocking have all committed to returning to the club.
That leaves Jobe Watson, Michael Hurley, Michael Hibberd, Brent Stanton, Ben Howlett and Tayte Pears as the others who have yet to put pen to paper.
It is expected that Hurley and Hibberd are going to walk to rival clubs, and the Bombers would receive some decent draft picks in return; not the end of the world.
Watson and Stanton will either sign on for one more year or retire, the latter being the most likely scenario. Both have given their all for the club and the game may have passed them by.
Howlett will either be traded or sign for a short-term deal and Pears will leave the club and join the CFA.
The positive in this is that salary cap space won’t be an issue, and will provide the Bombers with several draft picks to possibly lure a star player to the club.
It will be interesting too see how Essendon’s side looks next season and how the banned players will respond to the rigours of AFL football after 12 months out.
The Bombers are well equipped with a solid coaching staff and will again add another young star to its list in the National Draft.
As difficult as the 2016 season has been the club is well placed for the future. Most importantly, the club is rebuilding it culture, turning away from the 2012-2015 saga that had stricken riddled the club. 2016 has been tough, but beneficial. 2017 will be far brighter.
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