Since their formation as a senior club in 1873, the Essendon Bombers stand alongside Carlton as the AFL’s most successful club with 16 Premierships, with their last flag coming in 2000. The battle for outright AFL premiership supremacy has allowed Essendon to form a formidable rivalry with the Blues, with both teams desperate for that record breaking 17th AFL flag.
See the 2010 Essendon Bombers fixtures.
With a number of second-year players, including Nick Naitanui, retaining their eligibility, the race for this year’s Rising Star award is already looking like it will be the one of the most hotly-contested since the award began.
Contesting the award alongside the second-year players will be a number of 2009 draftees that look set to make [...] Read article
Essendon’s new-look attack showed promise as the Bombers cruised to a 74-point win in their AFL practice match against Richmond.
Essendon coach Matthew Knights said the forward strategy had worked reasonably well during their 23.9 (147) to 11.6 (72) thrashing, with 13 different Bombers goalkickers at Morwell in country Victoria.
Following the retirements of Matthew Lloyd and [...] Read article
Essendon ruckman David Hille has defended the AFL club’s caution in handing down a penalty to rising star Michael Hurley.
The Bombers have suspended Hurley for the opening three games of the regular season after the 19-year-old assaulted a taxi driver last September.
They had previously banned Hurley for their pre-season matches.
Essendon announced the three-match ban last [...] Read article
The Essendon rollercoaster of 2009 was enough to make you giddy. At times the Bombers soared, but ultimately there were more downs than ups, and it’s little wonder coach Matthew Knights would prefer to fly at a steadier altitude in 2010.
“At times we performed really well against teams that were above us on the ladder [...] Read article
Emerging ruckman Nic Naitanui led West Coast into the second round of the NAB Cup after a dominant performance in his side’s 35-point win over Essendon in Perth on Friday night.
The Bombers kicked just three goals after half time as the Eagles ran out winners, 1.16.12 (117) to 0.12.10 (82), in front of a crowd [...] Read article
Essendon will get a taste of life after Matthew Lloyd and Scott Lucas when they tackle West Coast in Friday night’s NAB Cup clash at Subiaco Oval.
Lloyd and Lucas, who combined for 1397 goals over their stellar careers, retired at the end of last season, leaving a massive void in Essendon’s forward line.
Bombers midfielder Heath [...] Read article
Essendon veteran Andrew Welsh says the Bombers must develop more consistency if they are to secure another AFL finals berth. The Dons reached the finals for the first time in five seasons in 2009, but did so after losing more games than they won and were thrashed by Adelaide in the elimination final.
Welsh, one of [...] Read article
Comparisons between Jobe Watson and his father, Tim, are inevitable. And they are likely to continue after the Jobe followed his famous father and was named as Essendon’s new captain on Monday.
The Bombers always communicated the message that their captaincy race was wide-open.
Watson, though, was always the front-runner. His work-rate is first-class and his attack [...] Read article
With a number of second-year players, including Nick Naitanui, retaining their eligibility, the race for this year’s Rising Star award is already looking like it will be the one of the most hotly-contested since the award began.
Contesting the award alongside the second-year players will be a number of 2009 draftees that look set to make [...]
A Malaysian billionaire is apparently in the mix to bid as a partner for the next round of the AFL TV rights for 2012-2016.
As reported in this article in The Age:
“T. Ananda Krishnan, who has extensive satellite television interests in Asia through his Astro network Fetch, has put the idea of a joint bid for [...]
AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou has warned that the league will not take a back step to soccer if Australia hosts the World Cup.
In a speech at Thursday night’s official season launch, Demetriou has made it clear that the AFL will not let soccer dictate terms if the bid to host the cup is successful.
Earlier [...]
Geelong’s aura is fading, with rival captains rating St Kilda and the Western Bulldogs as more likely AFL grand finalists than the reigning premiers.
The Cats have won two of the past three flags, with a grand final loss in between.
But in the league’s annual pre-season poll, they received only three of a possible 15 votes [...]
The Western Bulldogs will head into their 2010 campaign expected to be in contention for their first premiership in 56 years.
Rightly or wrongly, there has been much hype surrounding the Western Bulldogs. For the first time, the club will find themselves in an unfamiliar position.
Unlike previous years, they aren’t the underdog.
A lot of the [...]
Michael Tuck medallist Barry Hall couldn’t have started life at the Western Bulldogs any better, prompting many pundits to believe the Dogs have solved their ‘power forward’ problem and are now 2010 Premiership favourites. But some maintain it’s a matter of time before ‘Big Bad Barry’ has another brain-snap.
The 33-year-old, who controversially ended his time [...]
Well there has been plenty of debate over what chance a World Cup bid has if the NRL and AFL will be left out of pocket. Is this the case though?
An ideal situation for the rugby league and AFL during a World Cup would be as follows.
Host 4 NRL rounds over 5 or 6 weeks [...]
AFL administrators face a crucial few months as they work to a tight deadline on their ambitious Greater Western Sydney expansion project.
The league want the Kevin Sheedy-coached “GWS” team to join the competition in 2012, a year after Gold Coast make their AFL debut, but first the 18th team needs a home stadium.
The AFL Commission [...]
Former AFL player Chris Bryan has joined one of the United States’ most famous sporting clubs, NFL’s Green Bay Packers, as a punter. Bryan had auditions lined up with scouts from several NFL clubs.
But after working out with the Packers, the first of those clubs, he has been snapped up on a three-year, non-guaranteed contract.
He [...]
AFL chairman Mike Fitzpatrick says chief executive Andrew Demetriou deserves the $1.8 million he earned last year after delivering some major gains for the sport.
Demetriou’s salary – including superannuation and performance bonuses – was made public as part of a report into the league’s key achievements over the past year, released on Wednesday.
The other 10 [...]
