Forget winning a final, these Bombers have a more pressing record to avoid
When it comes to Essendon and losing streaks, the chat or jibe – depending on your allegiance – typically involves the last time the once-mighty Bombers won a final. For the record, that was a five-point win over Melbourne in the 2004 elimination final.
While that remains a great frustration for anyone associated with the red and black, the Bombers are closing in on something even worse – tying a club record 17-game losing streak.
Fall short against North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night, and they’ll be up to 16 straight defeats, meaning the Bombers would somehow have to conjure a miracle victory over the surging Western Bulldogs a week later to avoid one of the darkest days in their 154-year history. Then comes Melbourne at the Adelaide Oval in Gather Round.
After defeats of a combined 125 points to Hawthorn and Port Adelaide this season, fans (if talkback radio and social media comments are any guide) have little confidence the record will be avoided.
For his part, coach Brad Scott continues to maintain the faith.
“As I said, we have a high level of optimism that what we’ve produced in the first two weeks is nowhere near what this group is capable of, let alone what the potential is in this group,” he said.
“The last two weeks have been very disappointing, but we also understand we’ve got work to do. But we knew that six months ago.”
The Bombers have not won a game since the Dreamtime clash of round 11 last year, when they edged Richmond by 23 points to have a 6-4 win-loss record and sit outside the top eight only on percentage.
Ah, those were the days. The Bombers were daring to dream of September, petrol was as low as $1.55 per litre, Labor was basking in a fresh, landslide federal election win, and the chill of winter had yet to really kick in. Indeed, a dark winter was about to hit The Hangar with a bang (not to mention Zach Merrett’s trade bomb a few months later).
Since then, it’s been 15-straight defeats split over two seasons, two shy of the streak set between rounds three and 20 in 2016 when the club was decimated by season-long, mass suspensions as a result of the supplements’ saga, bans rubber-stamped by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. That team featured a raft of “top-up” players, including discards from other clubs and those returning from retirement, the Bombers collecting only the fifth wooden spoon in their history.
This team under Brad Scott, whether it be 2025 or 2026, should have, or be, pressing for finals, or at least remaining in contention until much later in the campaign. Instead, Scott has spoken of selfishness and his team being “demoralised” since the horror loss to the Power last Sunday.
“They are crystal-clear as to what I’m talking about. If you make a mistake and you get demoralised by it, and more importantly, if the rest of the team gets demoralised by it, you’re being selfish because you’re thinking about yourself and not the team,” Scott said.
“So, be disappointed, but get back into the contest. That’s part of the area of growth for us as a team. It’s really hard now, but character is revealed through adversity, and when you can fight through those situations, you become more resilient over time.”
The Bombers have made four changes at selection. They will have their fourth debutant in three games this season, No.10 draft pick Jacob Farrow joining fellow new boys Dyson Sharp, Max Kondogiannis and Hussien El Achkar. Speedy forward Jade Gresham, Saad El-Hawli and Archer Day-Wicks return.
Farrow, an elite left-foot kick, did not barrack for an AFL team growing up in Perth, but collected footy jumpers for all 18 clubs. When he was drafted he described himself as a “footy head”.
“When I’m not playing on the weekend, I put my feet up on the couch and watch the game that’s on,” he said after received his Bombers guernsey from Dyson Heppell.
Essendon have blooded 19 debutants since the beginning of last season.
Wingman Xavier Duursma said the players were aware of what was expected, and is confident of a strong showing against the Kangaroos, who had the gloss taken off their round-one win by the West Coast Eagles in Perth last weekend.
“There’s been some pretty direct feedback to us, which is a good thing because we need it. We have got some really good clarity around offence and defence. A lot of our stuff was getting from pressure to non-pressure situations better, and helping each other, just to be able to control the ball better,” Duursma said.
“We are really not that far away [from playing well]. It looks like that sometimes out there, but at the same time, it’s just about helping each other out and driving away from the pressure [in the contest], rather than going straight back towards it.”
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Jon Pierik is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X or email.