{"id":158334,"date":"2025-09-21T07:27:17","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T07:27:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/158334\/"},"modified":"2025-09-21T07:27:17","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T07:27:17","slug":"todd-goldstein-keen-to-play-on-as-345-game-afl-veteran-as-jayden-laverde-delisted-by-essendon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/158334\/","title":{"rendered":"Todd Goldstein keen to play on as 345-game AFL veteran as Jayden Laverde delisted by Essendon"},"content":{"rendered":"

AFL<\/a> veteran Todd Goldstein wants to continue playing after being told he will not be offered a contact from Essendon<\/a> for 2026.<\/p>\n

The Bombers announced on Sunday that the 37-year-old ruck and experienced defender Jayden Laverade would not be required for 2026.<\/p>\n

Goldstein has played 345 games for North Melbourne and Essendon, while Laverde notched up 145 for the Bombers.<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today \"Download<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cEssendon has informed Jayden Laverde and Todd Goldstein they won\u2019t be offered playing contracts for the 2026 season,\u201d the Bombers said in a statement on their website.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonest, reliable and tough contributors for the Dons in their respective tenures, the club and fanbase are thankful for their efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Laverde is only 29 and has had interest from GWS, while Goldstein, remarkably, remains keen to extend his career into an unlikely 20th year.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth players have signalled their intent to continue their playing careers elsewhere next season following the club\u2019s decision,\u201d Essendon added.<\/p>\n

\u201cLaverde was one of Essendon\u2019s longest tenured active players, first joining the club with pick No.20 in the 2014 National Draft.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough initially spending his early years as a mobile forward and navigating through battles with injuries, it was a move to defence in 2021 which saw the best from the 29-year-old\u2019s career with the Dons.<\/p>\n

\"JaydenJayden Laverde has been delisted by Essendon. Credit: JAMES ROSS\/AAPIMAGE<\/p>\n

\u201cGoldstein joined the Dons ahead of 2024 after a stellar career with North Melbourne, quick to establish himself as a fan favourite in red and black.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 37-year-old often battled manfully against younger direct opponents over 30 games in Bombers colours, especially during a 2025 campaign ravaged by injuries to his fellow rucks.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoldstein departs the Dons with 345 total games under his belt \u2014 having been an All-Australian and Syd Barker Medallist over his career, he is certified as one of the modern game\u2019s premier rucks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Essendon head of footy Daniel McPherson thanked both players for their efforts in red and black.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very grateful for both Jayden and Todd\u2019s contributions in their time at the Football Club,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese decisions are always really difficult, especially in the cases of two players who\u2019ve been incredibly serviceable.<\/p>\n

\u201cJayden\u2019s fight, leadership and courage down back were always highlights of his game and he was dependable whenever called upon.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor Todd to come in and be as great a mentor as he has for our young players \u2014 and especially our rucks \u2014 in addition to contributing on-field speaks volumes of his impact.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wish both players and their families all the best for the next chapter in their careers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Essendon have already parted ways with Dylan Shiel, Alwyn Davey Jr and Jye Menzie, while Sam Draper is set to join Brisbane as a free agent, and skipper Zach Merrett is exploring a trade to Hawthorn.<\/a><\/p>\n

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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AFL veteran Todd Goldstein wants to continue playing after being told he will not be offered a contact…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":158335,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,11231,588,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-158334","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australian-football-league","12":"tag-australianfootballleague","13":"tag-essendon-bombers","14":"tag-sport","15":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158334","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=158334"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/158334\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/158335"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=158334"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=158334"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=158334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}