Essendon coach Brad Scott has boldly declared that the club’s “hard work is done” when it comes to rebuilding their list.
The Bombers are in the midst of some significant struggles. In short, they haven’t won a game since May of 2025.
Scott is under significant pressure himself, given the team has started the season with thrashings at the hands of Hawthorn and Port Adelaide, and a loss to North Melbourne.
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Essendon coach Brad Scott at training. Getty
But despite all of that, he claims the club has put together the list that it wants to lead the club back up the ladder.
“You can put labels on all sorts of things, but when you turn your list over by 39 (players) in three years, I think the hard work’s done,” Scott told reporters.
“We made decisions to push draft picks into the future to be able to bring in opportunities to invest in the draft.
“If you look at the last three years, we’ve done that. It’s not (like) we need to strip the list back and rebuild it. That process started three years ago.”
Essendon brought in three first round draft picks in 2025 as part of that list turnover, and four players via the mid-season draft in 2024 due to a spate of long-term injuries.
They haven’t had a great success rate at the draft table in the 2020s, and club legend Matthew Lloyd believes that has been part of their wider issues.
Zach Merrett of the Bombers looks dejected after losing to the Hawks. Getty
“They’re just crying out for … I just wrote down what Isaac Heeney has done at Sydney, or what Kozzie Pickett is doing for Melbourne … the club is crying out for someone through that midfield to be it,” Lloyd told Nine’s Footy Classified on Monday.
“Since they drafted Zach Merrett, there’s just been no quality there.
“You’ve got Sam Durham and Jye Caldwell, but they’re coming from a fair way back, they’re not A-grade talent. They’ve missed out on some (in the draft). Elijah Tsatas is playing VFL. Nate Caddy is the one that’s worked out.
“Out of Dyson Sharp, Jacob Farrow and Sullivan Robey, I know it’s a lot of pressure on them, but the club is crying out.”
If the Bombers have been the team that has struggled the most so far in 2026, the Western Bulldogs are up the other end of the power rankings.
They have beaten the Lions in Queensland, the Crows in Adelaide and thumped GWS to start the season.
Now, they enter as unbackable favourites against Essendon on Sunday night.
Essendon coach Brad Scott. AFL Photos via Getty Images
But Scott isn’t in the business of trying to play it safe and protect the margin against the red-hot Doggies.
“I’ve never been a person, player or coach, whatever, that is interested in reducing a margin,” he said.
“You go out and you get on the front foot. In boxing parlance, you throw the first punch.
“They can’t control how well we pressure and our intent in the contest.
“They’re primarily where the focuses are. It’s pretty simple – pressure in the contest, win the ball, contested stuff, pressure when we haven’t got it, and then the execution with ball in hand.”
Essendon will be without rising young key forward Nate Caddy for the clash, after he suffered a delayed concussion in the loss to the Kangaroos.
As of Sunday night’s game, it will have been 317 days since the Dons won a game.