Essendon players swap partying in Ibiza for a training camp in Arizona as part of a new drive for higher standards

This time last year a large group of Essendon players were on a footy trip to Ibiza. This year they are trading the night-life for a sweat session. See their plans.

Essendon’s players have swapped the night-life of Ibiza for a two-week training camp in Phoenix, Arizona after taking to heart Brad Scott’s demand for an off-season of change.

Essendon vice-captain Andrew McGrath, full back Jordan Ridley and forward Kyle Langford decided to pay for the training camp, which has swelled from two Dons players to 15 within a matter of weeks.

They will be joined by a group of youngsters including Archie Perkins and Elijah Tsatas in a two-week program that sees them training together under the guidance of fitness professionals in the dry heat of Arizona ahead of their late-November return to The Hangar.

Essendon captain Zach Merrett has been given plaudits for his role at the club this year but vice-captain McGrath is also desperate to improve the club’s culture and standards.

He moved from the midfield to half back without complaint and along with Merrett is determined to open up a window of success at a club that has not won a final since 2004.

Last year dozens of Essendon players lived it up on a high-profile footy trip in Ibiza only weeks after a horror season that saw the club’s coach Ben Rutten sacked after a seven-win season.

Andrew McGrath is driving better standards at the Bombers. Picture: Getty Images

This year the club’s improvement under Brad Scott hit a wall in the final two weeks of the home-and-away season, culminating in a 70-point belting against Collingwood in round 24.

After that clash coach Brad Scott promised he would take “extraordinary measures” to continue driving improvement and said his players had to lift their standards.

“This is the first opportunity I’ve got to drive an off-season as to what that looks like and the expectations that we have,” Scott said.

“Because the observations of the last nine to 12 months is nowhere near where it needs to be. So we’ll get that right.”

Triple premiership forward Cam Mooney made clear what the players should expect after hearing Scott’s comments: “Good luck boys, have fun, you’re about to flogged. And you know what? You should be, you should get absolutely smashed. All I would say is go away and have a couple of weeks off,” he said.

Essendon’s football department report stated last year that training standards needed to lift, with football boss Josh Mahoney, now departed, demanding the players returned in elite shape.

But star Jake Stringer battled through the off-season with concussion and never found himself in elite shape in a 2023 season that saw him struggle for impact.

Jordan Ridley is one of the senior players also on the training trip. Picture: Getty Images

The Dons have secured young talls Nick Bryan and Harrison Jones but are still searching for the signature of full back Brandon Zerk-Thatcher.

He has been linked to Port Adelaide, with Essendon still in the race for North Melbourne free agent Ben McKay.

He will leave North Melbourne but the Dons do not value him as highly as rivals including Sydney, and might only offer him a $650,000-$700,000 contract.

That offer would likely see the Roos match any restricted free agency bid, so the Dons will have to up their offer or risk losing him to a rival club.

The Dons will likely make minimal change to their football department with assistant coach Daniel Giansiracusa still in the race to coach Richmond next year.

The club’s head of performance Daniel McPherson is a strong chance to win the head of football role vacated by Mahoney when he moved to the AFL.

The Bombers also parted ways with NGA product Anthony Munkara after the small forward was not offered a new contract.

Munkara was taken in the 2022 Rookie draft as a Category B rookie and played 15 matches in the VFL.

Originally published as Essendon players swap partying in Ibiza for a training camp in Arizona as part of a new drive for higher standards