The Bombers come in next on the list, and while it would be incredibly disappointing if they were to get anywhere near the bottom of the ladder, this is a team which has developed a habit for disappointment. It’s officially been 20 years since Essendon last won a final, and never really in that time have they got close. Last year, a few weeks out from the end of the home and away season they looked well poised to play in September, but they instead fell in a heap over the last month of the year and ended up finishing 11th. Theirs is a list with too many similar players and too few with much of an X-Factor, and it’s hard to see the team as it's currently assembled developing into a Premiership threat. Equally, however, they have enough going for them that they should be a mid-tier team this year, not a bottom one. Brad Scott has overseen a couple of off-field changes which have been a long time in the making, and with a few good young players who should show some improvement they will be expecting to compete for finals once again. That has been a consistent theme for this team for a number of years now; in five of the last seven years they have won at least 11 games, but never have they won more than 12. The Bombers aren’t really top of the list to display huge improvement this year, but equally, it’s hard to imagine them finishing right down the bottom.
- What brings them here? The Bombers have simply failed to develop enough high end talent to take them past the middle of the AFL ladder over recent years, and have found themselves stuck in purgatory for a number of seasons as a result.
- What has changed? The Bombers have at least enjoyed some nice acquisitions over the off-season. Ben McKay comes across from North to cover the loss of Brandon Zerk-Thatcher, while they also picked up Xavier Duursma, Jade Gresham and Todd Goldstein, and number ten pick Nate Caddy looks like a good find capable of making an immediate impact. Massimo D’Ambrosio was traded to Hawthorn, while Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti retired for a second time.
- Injury update: Tex Wanganeen will miss the first month and a half of the season with a foot injury while Jordan Ridley is out for a month with a quad. That aside their best 22 looks reasonably healthy.
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