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With the retirements of Brent Stanton and Jobe Watson at the end of the 2017 football season it meant that no current players was listed in the Top 50 game players at the club.
That will change this weekend when David Zaharakis plays his 171st game for the club. This will take him past Patrick Ryder (now a champion player at Port Adelaide), and bring him level with Greg Sewell and Bill Sewart in equal 50th position in the club’s Top 100 game players.
Greg Sewell is a well known figure around the club. He started his career in 1952 and played until 1961 and then served the club for many years as assistant coach, committeeman and eventually President.
Bill Sewart’s career ended over 100 years ago in 1915. He was originally recruited from Castlemaine in 1905, and played in premierships in 1911 and 1912.
Bill was also an outstanding cricketer and played for Victoria in both cricket and football. he also played cricket for Queensland. he was a member of the team that played an exhibition game in London and later coached Footscray who at that stage were in the VFA.
Another player who will move up the ‘ladder’ in Round 1 is Carl Hooker who will pass Damien Hardwick and draw level with Fred Baring, a teammate of Sewart.
Hardwick, of course, is now more famous as the coach of the 2017 Premiership side Richmond, but in his playing days (1994-2001) was recognised as a tough, uncompromising defender always not far from trouble.
Originally from Upwey-Tecoma he made his way to Essendon via North Melbourne reserves and VFA club Springvale. and won Essendon’s Best and Fairest in 1998. He also played in a premiership in 2000 but Essendon failed to repay his loyalty and he finished the last three years of his career at Port Adelaide where he also appears in the club’s Top 100 game players.
Fred Baring, if it had not been for WW1 would have finished much higher up the Top 100 list.
He played from 1910 until 1915, returned to the club in 1918 and played until 1924.
A brilliant cricketer, he was described by Wisden as “Australia’s best batsman on bad wickets”. He was chosen to tour South Africa, but the tour was cancelled because of the war.
As a ruckman-defender he played in two Essendon premierships in 1911 and 1912, and is recorded as kicking the winning goal in 1912.
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