Essendon are conducting research with their fans to see whether they should change their iconic logo with concerns that the wartime image of a Bomber plane is passe.
As part of a planned rebrand, Essendon could change their logo although the Bombers nickname, which was adopted during World War II, will not go up in smoke.
Due to their proximity to the Essendon airport, the Bombers name has been part of the club’s identity for decades and one of their all-time greats, Matthew Lloyd, told Footy Classified that he hopes nothing changes.
“I’d be very disappointed if the Bomber was gone,” Lloyd said on Footy Classified.
“Have we got to that point that such a great logo, a tradition of the Essendon Football Club (might go) because it might upset the odd person or two that we would (potentially) lose something so special with our football club.
“I hope it stays.”
Bombers officials have been conducting research with stakeholder groups but any changes to the logo have not been put to the wider membership.
Gun Western Bulldogs recruit Liam Jones’ AFL season is on the brink after the defender was ruled out for up to 10 weeks following surgery on a broken arm.
Jones suffered a fractured radius in the opening stages of Sunday’s win over North Melbourne when he received an accidental kick from Kangaroo Paul Curtis while trying to gather a loose ball.
The 32-year-old had been in stellar form and crucial to the seventh-placed Bulldogs’ undermanned defence, with his absence a major blow to their finals hopes.
“Liam received a kick to his forearm – this trauma has caused two separate breaks in the radius bone,” Bulldogs’ sports medicine boss Chris Bell said.
“He had surgery yesterday to insert a large plate along his forearm to stabilise both fractures.
“We will confirm his return to play timeline over the coming weeks, but expect him to miss the next eight to 10 games.”
Liam Jones at Bulldogs training. (Photo by Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images)
Jones’ absence has been compounded by serious hamstring injuries to fellow backs Tim O’Brien and Hayden Crozier, who will miss up to nine and 10 games respectively.
Dashing flanker Jason Johannisen (hamstring) is still four or five weeks away, while fellow hamstrung defender Ed Richards won’t return for at least three weeks.
The seventh-placed Bulldogs have the bye then nine games ahead of finals, with Jones unlikely to return until late in the home-and-away season at best.
Jones was at Carlton when he retired in November 2021 because of the AFL’s COVID-19 vaccination policy.
He missed last season but came out of retirement to join the Bulldogs when the league’s policy was relaxed.
He has slotted into the Bulldogs’ defence seamlessly, pulling off shutdown roles while remaining a dangerous interceptor.
“It is time for All-Australian nominations at the moment … Liam is having an incredible year. He is starting to get the recognition he deserves,” coach Luke Beveridge said earlier this month.
“In the past we haven’t had a dominant key back.
“To have a player making the impression on the game that Jonesy has been having has been really important for us. It was what we hoped for and more.”
Young gun Sam Darcy could return after the bye and face Fremantle on July 1.
Now relaxed and happy within himself, Collingwood star Jordan De Goey is eager to earn the respect of the AFL world as he seeks to shed his bad-boy image and taste the ultimate team success.
De Goey has courted plenty of controversy throughout his nine-year career, most notably over his “disrespectful” behaviour while partying in Bali during last year’s mid-season break.
The 27-year-old midfielder is currently serving a three-match suspension for rough conduct over the high bump that flattened West Coast youngster Elijah Hewett.
But De Goey has otherwise kept out of trouble in 2023 and let his explosive brand of football do the talking in a career-best season to date.
“Over time the perception of me hasn’t been great and that’s been a lot to do with my wrongdoing, I guess,” De Goey told Fox Footy.
“For me moving forward it’s just trying to create a new path for myself and the people around me.
Jordan De Goey. (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
“I’m just enjoying my footy and I’m just trying to be the best person I can be. As long as I keep that up, hopefully we’ll get there one day.”
De Goey went close to leaving Collingwood as a free agent last year, almost joining St Kilda before staying in black and white.
He played in the Magpies’ losing 2018 grand final side and is desperate for premiership success.
But he also insists he is focused on personal growth, working regularly with Collingwood’s full-time sports psychologist.
“Hopefully I’ve got a few premierships to my name (when I retire), that’s the main goal, and then I just want to be respected and a person that people can look up to,” De Goey said.
“People say when you’re happy you’re playing your best footy and that’s what I’m doing at the moment.
“But there’s still plenty of room for growth. I’m still learning as a person and I’ve got great people around me at the moment that are really helping me.”
De Goey has averaged a career-best 24.9 disposals and 5.8 clearances this season, kicking 10 goals across 11 games.
He has produced the best and most consistent performances of his 148-game career to date while spending most of his time in the midfield.
“I’ve showed glimpses in the past but I’ve never been able to string together a full season,” De Goey said.
“That’s on the back of preparation, taking my game to the next level in terms of recovery and all these little things that you hear about.
“Until you start living those actions daily, it takes a while to happen.
“I would’ve liked to have learnt a lot of lessons I did learn early, but I’m here now and I’m focused on my footy now.”
De Goey is set to return from suspension when Collingwood take on the Western Bulldogs in round 17.
AFL players are risking injury by flopping for free kicks in an “unintended consequence” of the dangerous tackles crackdown, Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew says.
And four-time premiership player Isaac Smith wants a roundtable discussion on the clampdown which has resulted in 23 instances of players being suspended for dangerous tackles this season.
Umpires are often paying free kicks for dangerous tackles and Dew says some players are trying to draw the whistle by letting opponents take them to ground easily.
“I saw one maybe three or four weeks ago nearly knock themselves out by flopping down to try and draw a free kick,” Dew told Fox Footy.
“We’re making it really hard both for the tackler and for the umpires because players are no longer fighting the tackle as much as they used to.
“They know that if they do go to ground and it looks semi-dangerous, they’re going to get a free kick.
“One unintended consequence of this (crackdown) is players are pretty smart and they’ll try and milk free kicks in this way now.”
Dew said the new tactic is creating even more confusion for spectators around dangerous tackles and Geelong wingman Smith believed it may take two years to sort out.
“We probably just need to sit down as an AFL community … and understand exactly what we want, other than we all know we don’t want the head to be hurt,” Smith told RSN radio on Tuesday.
“But how we are going to get there? That is a discussion that probably needs to be had.
” … It will evolve over 12 to 24 months but, like the bump, I don’t think we’re going to get there for a little bit.”
Smith also said players were overemphasising contact in tackles.
“As players do, they’re finding little tricks to maybe exaggerate certain things that are happening now which I think is disappointing and something we certainly don’t want in our game,” he said.
“The quicker we can come to a conclusion, the quicker everyone knows what is going on, then hopefully we can get that out of the game.
“But players are very adept at being able to draw free kicks and maximise certain situations to their advantage.”
On Monday, Hawthorn captain James Sicily failed in his appeal against a three-match ban for the dangerous tackle that concussed Brisbane Lions star Hugh McCluggage in round 13.
GWS line-breaker Lachie Whitfield accepted his one-match ban for a dangerous tackle on Fremantle’s Jordan Clark.
Carlton forward Matthew Cottrell opted not to challenge his one-match suspension for a dangerous tackle on Gold Coast’s Ben Long.
Sydney’s Sam Wicks accepted a two-match ban for his reckless strike on Brisbane veteran Ryan Lester.
with AAP
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