2018 Essendon Football Club season
The 2018 Essendon Football Club season will be the Essendon Football Club's 120th season in the Australian Football League. They will also field a reserves team in the Victorian Football League.
AFL
[edit]| 2018 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Lindsay Tanner | ||
| Coach | John Worsfold | ||
| Captain(s) | Dyson Heppell | ||
| Home ground | Etihad Stadium (Capacity: 56,347) | ||
| |||
List changes
[edit]Three veteran Essendon players decided to retire at the end of the 2017 season: two-time All-Australian Jobe Watson,[1] former Geelong three-time premiership player James Kelly[2] and 255-game player Brent Stanton.[3] After the season Essendon also announced that they had delisted Heath Hocking.[4]
During trade period three different players requested trades to Essendon. The first trade to be completed was that of Greater Western Sydney player Devon Smith, who Essendon acquired with their first round pick for the 2017 draft.[5] Later they also secured Adam Saad from Gold Coast with their 2018 second round pick,[6] before getting forward Jake Stringer from the Western Bulldogs in exchange for two second-round draft picks on the last day of the trade period.[7]
Retirements and delistings
[edit]| Player | Date | Reason | Games | Goals | Ref. |
| Yestin Eades | 15 February 2017 | Delisted | 0 | 0 | [8] |
| Jobe Watson | 9 August 2017 | Retired, effective at end of season | 220 | 113 | [1] |
| James Kelly | 16 August 2017 | Retired, effective at end of season | 313 | 90 | [2] |
| Brent Stanton | 24 August 2017 | Retired, effective at end of season | 255 | 158 | [3] |
| Heath Hocking | 15 September 2017 | Delisted | 126 | 45 | [4] |
Trades
[edit]| Date | Gained | From | Lost | Ref. |
| 12 October 2017 | Devon Smith Pick 24 2018 second round pick (Greater Western Sydney) |
Greater Western Sydney | Pick 11 2018 third round pick (Essendon) |
[5] |
| 16 October 2017 | Adam Saad | Gold Coast | 2018 second round pick (Essendon) | [6] |
| 19 October 2017 | Jake Stringer | Western Bulldogs | Pick 25 Pick 30 |
[7] |
Squad
[edit]
Ladder
[edit]| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | D | PF | PA | PP | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Richmond | 22 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 2143 | 1574 | 136.1 | 72 | 2018 finals |
| 2 | West Coast (P) | 22 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 2012 | 1657 | 121.4 | 64 | |
| 3 | Collingwood | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 2046 | 1699 | 120.4 | 60 | |
| 4 | Hawthorn | 22 | 15 | 7 | 0 | 1972 | 1642 | 120.1 | 60 | |
| 5 | Melbourne | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 2299 | 1749 | 131.4 | 56 | |
| 6 | Sydney | 22 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 1822 | 1664 | 109.5 | 56 | |
| 7 | Greater Western Sydney | 22 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 1898 | 1661 | 114.3 | 54 | |
| 8 | Geelong | 22 | 13 | 9 | 0 | 2045 | 1554 | 131.6 | 52 | |
| 9 | North Melbourne | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 1950 | 1790 | 108.9 | 48 | |
| 10 | Port Adelaide | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 1780 | 1654 | 107.6 | 48 | |
| 11 | Essendon | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 1932 | 1838 | 105.1 | 48 | |
| 12 | Adelaide | 22 | 12 | 10 | 0 | 1941 | 1865 | 104.1 | 48 | |
| 13 | Western Bulldogs | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 1575 | 2037 | 77.3 | 32 | |
| 14 | Fremantle | 22 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 1556 | 2041 | 76.2 | 32 | |
| 15 | Brisbane Lions | 22 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 1825 | 2049 | 89.1 | 20 | |
| 16 | St Kilda | 22 | 4 | 17 | 1 | 1606 | 2125 | 75.6 | 18 | |
| 17 | Gold Coast | 22 | 4 | 18 | 0 | 1308 | 2182 | 59.9 | 16 | |
| 18 | Carlton | 22 | 2 | 20 | 0 | 1353 | 2282 | 59.3 | 8 |
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Jobe Watson: Former Essendon skipper to retire at season's end". ABC Online. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
- ^ a b Twomey, Callum (16 August 2017). "'Pops' calls stop: Kelly retires for second time". AFL.com.au. Telstra. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- ^ a b Schmook, Nathan (24 August 2017). "Veteran Bomber set to join the farewell crowd". AFL.com.au. Telstra. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
- ^ a b "Essendon Veteran Delisted". Triple M. 15 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
- ^ a b Niall, Jake (12 October 2017). "Bomber bound: Essendon and GWS have agreed to a deal regarding Devon Smith". Fox Sports (Australia). News Corp Australia. Retrieved 12 October 2017.
- ^ a b Landsberger, Sam (16 October 2017). "Adam Saad joins Essendon for future second-round pick in a boost for Andy McGrath". Herald Sun. News Corp Australia. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
- ^ a b "Jake Stringer to Essendon as Bulldogs relent to deal". The Age. Fairfax Media. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
- ^ Cherny, Daniel (15 February 2017). "Yestin Eades parts ways with Essendon Bombers by mutual agreement". The Age. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 15 February 2017.