By Jake Niall
Having decided to part with their head of high-performance following an injury pestilence, Essendon are ready for further significant change at the end of the season.
Next, the change will focus on the playing list, which will also be squeezed for spots, according to club insiders speaking on background. The expectation will be that the Bombers will make up to nine changes to their AFL list in the post-season.
Brad Scott’s Bombers have made some serious list changes after each of his seasons at the helm so far.Credit: Getty Images
It will be the fourth consecutive post-season in which there has been a large turnover of players at Tullamarine. The Bombers made 10 changes (10 left, eight arrived) at the end of 2022 when Brad Scott was hired, and had similar turnover after the subsequent two seasons.
The slow build, heavily reliant on the draft, has been intentional from the Bombers, who internally view Adelaide and the Brisbane Lions as recent models. The Crows have taken six years to rise to potential flag contention under Matthew Nicks, using a combination of the draft and high-end trades.
One of the reasons for the anticipated large number of players who will be squeezed out is that the injury crisis forced Essendon to add four players from the mid-season rookie draft, expanding their playing list to 47 (counting rookies).
On Thursday, all four of those mid-year recruits took the field against the Giants – a staggering outcome.
The Bombers will need to delist players to make room for those they select in the national draft, in which they will have two early first-round choices (unless they trade one or both) and two second-round picks. They are carrying a large group of injured players (17 were unavailable against GWS), which has enlarged the playing list and made delistings tricky.
Essendon have had an injury crisis in 2025, with the large number of injured players including (from left) Mason Redman, Kyle Langford and Sam Draper.Credit: Photos: AFL Photos. Artwork: Marija Ercegovac
Further, there is a chance they will lose primary ruckman Sam Draper as a free agent to either the Crows or Lions. Essendon have not budged from a four-year contract offer to Draper, who will have a longer offer on the table from one or both of his suitors.
If Draper, grounded for the remainder of 2025 with an Achilles injury, insists on a five-year commitment, he is more likely to leave. Should that happen, the Dons will earn another draft pick, potentially at the end of the first round (subject to the offer he accepts).
Dylan Shiel has struggled for senior game time this season.Credit: AFL Photos
Veteran Dylan Shiel, who crossed from GWS on a lucrative long-term deal in 2018, is out of contract at season’s end and given that he has spent weeks in the VFL, despite the injury carnage (albeit he was brought back for Thursday night’s game), it will not be surprising if he is moved on.
Todd Goldstein, 37, is another veteran who cannot be assured of being at Tullamarine next year, considering the club’s needs and ruck stocks. Nick Bryan, 23, is the other ruck on the list.
Essendon also have two next generation academy prospects they can claim in the national draft, Hussein El-Achkar and Adam Sweid, who was close to best afield for Victoria Metro (four goals, 10 score involvements) in the under-18 carnival game against the Allies. El-Achkar booted three goals in the same game.
It is conceivable that Sweid and El-Achkar will consume some or all of Essendon’s second-round choices, if they choose to match bids, though it is far from clear what level of bids either would attract.
The Bombers, thus, may well have to make room for four or five draftees, plus any mature recruits they acquire in the trading period. Archer May was given an 18-month contract when drafted, so his position on the list is assured, but the Bombers may also retain other mid-season draftees.
The path under Scott has been heavily youth-based, excepting the end of 2023 when they signed free agents Ben McKay, Jade Gresham and Goldstein, and traded in Xavier Duursma.
The Crows and Lions have been able to attract high-end talent from other clubs, the Crows gaining Izak Rankine and skipper Jordan Dawson – their two premier players – and also Isaac Cumming and James Peatling from GWS and Alex Neal-Bullen for this year.
The Bombers, if they follow the Crows, would need to snare some A-grade talent from trades, not simply the draft – a difficult task for any club that is some distance from contention, though Essendon are an easier sell, by dint of their huge fan base and marquee matches, than many rivals.
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