{"id":340284,"date":"2025-12-10T21:44:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T21:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/340284\/"},"modified":"2025-12-10T21:44:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-10T21:44:11","slug":"massive-signing-delisted-essendon-youngster-finds-new-club-afl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/340284\/","title":{"rendered":"“Massive signing”: Delisted Essendon youngster finds new club – AFL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

Recently departed Essendon midfielder Ben Hobbs<\/a> has signed with VFL outfit Port Melbourne following his stint in the AFL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hobbs saw the end of his spell with the Bombers arise at the cessation of the 2025 season, ending a four-year run that saw the Horsham junior play 65 career games.<\/p>\n

It was an unfortunate conclusion for both parties, with Hobbs selected 13th overall in the 2021 AFL Draft<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old played at least 17 games in three of his four campaigns in the red and black, including an equal career-best 18 appearances this year.<\/p>\n

With Essendon home to a long list of inside midfield options, Hobbs was often required to play in the front half of the field, seeing his impact limited.<\/p>\n

The young ball winner is now set for the VFL to continue his career, having locked in a move to the Borough for 2026.<\/p>\n

“Ben Hobbs<\/a> joins Port Melbourne in 2026 in what is a massive signing for the club,” a club post read.<\/p>\n

“Arriving from the Essendon Football Club, Hobbs brings a powerful, big-bodied presence through the midfield and the versatility to push forward and make an impact on the scoreboard.<\/p>\n

\"ClubMELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 17: Ben Hobbs and Dyson Heppell of the Bombers look dejected after a loss during the 2022 AFL Round 05 match between the Essendon Bombers and the Fremantle Dockers at Marvel Stadium on April 17, 2022 In Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Dylan Burns\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

“His competitiveness, strength and proven ability at AFL<\/a> level will add a significant boost to the Borough’s engine room.”<\/p>\n

Hobbs joins a handful of ex-teammates at North Port Oval, with former Essendon names in Dyson Heppell<\/a>, Kaine Baldwin<\/a>, Tex Wanganeen<\/a>, Jayden Davey<\/a> and Tom Hird<\/a> all listed at Port Melbourne this year.<\/p>\n

The Borough have enjoyed a strong off-season of retention and recruitment, having added ex-AFL names in Oliver Sestan<\/a> and Connor Downie<\/a> to their list.<\/p>\n

Port Melbourne managed just the six wins during the 2025 season to finish 17th on the VFL ladder.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Recently departed Essendon midfielder Ben Hobbs has signed with VFL outfit Port Melbourne following his stint in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":340285,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":{"0":"post-340284","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-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340284","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=340284"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/340284\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/340285"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=340284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=340284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=340284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}