Coach: Matthew Egan (first year)
Captain: Daniel Coghlan (first year)
2015 finish: 4th
2015 best and fairest placings: 1. James Polkinghorne / 2. Dan Coghlan / 3. Ariel Steinberg
Last premiership: -
Alignment: AFL standalone
Essendon’s 2016 VFL team will be almost unrecognisable from the one that knocked reigning premier Footscray out of last year’s finals in straight sets before losing to Williamstown in an epic preliminary final battle by 12 points.
The 2015 captain (Marcus Marigliani), best and fairest winner (James Polkinghorne) and leading goalkicker (Kyle Hardingham) are all off the list. Polkinghorne is still with the Bombers as a top-up player for the AFL team, and like many AFL-listed youngsters who would otherwise be playing in the VFL, he’ll likely be required for regular senior duties following the suspension of 12 players due to the club’s supplements saga.
Some important AFL-listed regulars of recent seasons have been delisted and will also be missing from action, including Alex Browne, Lauchlan Dalgleish, Elliott Kavanagh, Nick O’Brien and Ariel Steinberg. Three talented TAC Cup graduates join the list though, with Bruno Laguda, James El Moussalli and Nash Holmes likely to see early game time. Holmes was an AFL Academy member who averaged 25 disposals and seven tackles per game last year.
Essendon was the VFL’s second-ranked team for disposals, kicks and marks per game in 2015, but the slow, deliberate style of ball movement may change under the direction of John Worsfold and Matthew Egan, the club’s new AFL and VFL senior coaches respectively.
The recommitment of tough midfielders Dan Coghlan and Jordan Schroder for 2016 will help the Bombers attempt to maintain their top-five competition rankings for contested possessions and clearances per game, also strengths of the famed West Coast midfields of the mid-2000s under Worsfold’s coaching.
Ins: Victor Carboni (Aberfeldie), Bruno Laguda (Calder Cannons), Nash Holmes (Gippsland Power), James El Moussalli (Northern Knights), Alex Boyse (St Bernards), Matt Darby (Avondale Heights), Ben Dobson (St Marys), Matthew Dornauf (Whittlesea), Alex Marklew (Doutta Stars), Chris Peart (St Bernards), Hayden Walters (Eastpoint)
Outs: Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti (Essendon AFL), James Polkinghorne (Essendon AFL top-up player), Alex Hickey (Geelong), Marcus Marigliani (Heidelberg), Liam Byrne, Kyle Hardingham, Charles Lill, Sam Tagliabue