Essendon have become the AFL's second-chance saloon - and it's paying off big time

The idea that everyone deserves another chance may just change Essendon’s fortunes going forward.

The Bombers have started off the season well: comfortable wins against Hawthorn and Gold Coast have immediately appreciated their stocks, and fixtures against St Kilda and GWS to round out the opening month of the season can be approached with confidence.

Even if this happens to be the ‘new coach rub’, picking up some early wins before falling away into a bottom-six finish, there’s a sense of resurgence at the Bombers.

We know how poorly things were handled last season by the club. Between the CEO debacle, issues with the board and the almost comically bad handling of Ben Rutten’s sacking, the Bombers invited criticism and the subsequent trolling that was always going to ensue after, let’s face it, a decade’s worth of blunders.

As is always the case in the AFL world, everything tends to happen fast, then people move on even more quickly. The Bombers are undefeated through the first fortnight of the season, and all seems okay in their corner.

There’s a bit of a different vibe about Essendon at the moment. The way they flexed their muscles in the opening two games was impressive. Overall, it’s still quite a young playing group, one which many had high hopes for not even two years ago.

More than the results though – because truly, they don’t matter in 2023 – is the fact there’s finally a sense of togetherness and understanding within the group. It feels like everyone is on the same page, and perhaps the biggest underlying factor in all of it is opportunity.

Every club has its stories of bargain picks or cheap trades for players that turn into stars, but Essendon seems to have prioritised the mantra that everyone deserves another chance, something that stakeholders have preached for nigh on a decade.

Maybe picking players off the scrap heap is too harsh a statement, but if it weren’t for old Carlton connections, even Visy would be proud of the recycling the Bombers have undertaken.

If we go through the list, there are so many stories of first, second and even third chances at the Bombers who have performed.

Will Setterfield is at his third club after being discarded by Carlton – yes, being traded for a fourth-round pick is as good as being let go. He’s averaging 27 disposals, eight tackles and seven marks in the opening fortnight.

Essendon’s Will Setterfield celebrates kicking a goal. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

Peter Wright was discarded by Gold Coast, and kicked 53 goals last season despite the team winning just seven games. Nic Martin and Sam Durham were both overlooked in multiple drafts and became strong contributors in their respective state leagues. Essendon gave them both the chances they’d sought after being shunned and have established themselves as strong contributors through the middle.

Will Snelling’s story is similar after his short tenure at Port Adelaide.

Matt Guelfi is into his sixth season and has played regular senior footy in different positions having been overlooked in drafts himself. Jye Menzie and Massimo D’Ambrosio look like long-term prospects, having been overlooked themselves and subsequently selected in, for lack of a better term, second-chance drafts, much like Martin and Durham.

Nick Hind is on the outer at the moment, but after being discarded by the Saints, he has revitalised his own career off half-back.

Sam Weideman’s Round 1 Bombers debut of 11 disposals, four tackles and two goals was a pleasing sign for a player that has been desperate for more opportunity for years after being in and out of the senior team at Melbourne.

Not one of these recruits upon signing for Essendon was seen as a game-changer, or a lock to be in the best 22.

But when some players go undrafted for a variety of reasons, or become surplus to requirements at clubs who don’t see a future for them at senior level, the Bombers have been hugely successful at pouncing on these opportunities.

Then, of course, there are internal second chances, that offer more shared experiences between a playing group that can relate to each other’s struggles.

Until 2021, Jayden Laverde was a high draft pick persisted with for six seasons as a forward, much to the frustration of supporters. Since then, he has rebranded himself as a rock-solid defender to bolster a region that was crying out for support.

Perhaps the Bombers can afford to be more self-reflective with their own players – Melbourne’s success and great overall depth meant that it was easier for them to dump Weideman rather than trial him in different positions, for instance.

This ethos at Essendon worked well for Laverde, who is still part of the best 22 while defenders continue to develop.

James Stewart underwent a similar transformation, having already been a discard from GWS, filling in a defensive role as was necessary.

Young talent Kaine Baldwin has made the move to defence in 2023, too, with the club looking to maximise the talent on hand, preferring to give chances internally before making final decisions on players’ futures.

These are more than just standard positional moves done throughout the season and games, but rather career-extending and perhaps saving opportunities given to players that are mutually beneficial to both parties.

Perhaps most pertinent in this case, and the reason why the feeling is a little different around the Bombers this season, is Brad Scott, the new coach who now has another chance to create something after a long, mixed stint at North Melbourne.

Say what you want about Scott’s coaching, but the will to fight for another chance is shared among half this playing group and their senior coach. That can lead to something tangible in the near future for Essendon.

Newly appointed Essendon coach Brad Scott. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

There, ultimately, is where the path to success will be built for the Bombers.

Yes, they haven’t won a final since 2004. And yes, the last decade has ultimately brought plenty of disappointment for the club and its supporters.

But that can all be in the past now for the Bombers, as greener pastures are sure to come sooner rather than later.

Successful groups have great top-end talent and elite youth coming through; but more than anything, depth and the commitment to the cause from these fringe players is what wins premierships.

The Bombers have a few high-level players and more than a handful of elite youngsters that could take the competition by storm, but this isn’t about them. If you don’t believe in them, you soon will.

The depth is now coming together – and with over a dozen players having fought hard for new opportunities and a coach that knows all about just that, there’s common ground that can galvanise this group to improve and commit together.

Essendon may well tail away after a strong start to the season, but encouraging signs are already in place.

The results don’t matter so much in 2023, but the improving depth in the squad brought forward by the likes of Setterfield, Martin, D’Ambrosio and many more being long-term players has this group on the right track.

An active willingness to give players a chance has been Essendon’s modus operandi for a while – and it has them on the path to success in the near future.