{"id":628750,"date":"2026-04-24T22:32:14","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T22:32:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/628750\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T22:32:14","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T22:32:14","slug":"why-james-hird-says-essendon-bombers-will-follow-young-star-sam-durham-ahead-of-afl-anzac-day-game-against-collingwood-magpies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/628750\/","title":{"rendered":"Why James Hird says Essendon Bombers will follow young star Sam Durham ahead of AFL Anzac Day game against Collingwood Magpies"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jon<\/p>\n

April 25, 2026 \u2014 5:00am<\/p>\n

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At a time Essendon are more resolute than ever to rekindle their glory days, star utility and emerging leader Sam Durham has been likened to one of their greatest figures.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is the modern-day Terry Daniher, isn\u2019t he?\u201d club great James Hird told this masthead.<\/p>\n

\"SamSam Durham at the Shrine ahead of the Anzac Day clash with Collingwood.Wayne Taylor<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople would follow Terry anywhere. When I got to the Essendon Football Club, Terry was this icon who [if he] said, \u2018Jump\u2019, it was how high. If he said, \u2018Walk over that cliff\u2019, you would do it. I feel that he is the modern-day version of that, which is a pretty high accolade to give someone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daniher is an Essendon and Australian Football Hall of Fame great, the 1984-85 premiership captain, and a three-time All-Australian who played 294 games for the Bombers.<\/p>\n

That Durham, who has a more modest 97 games to his credit and is yet to play in a winning final, drew such praise from two-time premiership icon Hird is a high accolade indeed. But it reinforces the impact Durham, 24, has had since he was selected with pick No.9 in the 2021 mid-season draft.<\/p>\n

It seems unfathomable he was overlooked in two national drafts because he was deemed to be a touch short (at 185 centimetres). But the hard nut from the Victorian country town of Seymour, who was a chippie before joining the arch-rivals of the Hawthorn he grew up supporting, has shown how inexact a science recruiting can be.<\/p>\n

\"ThoseThose were the days: 1985 premiership coach Kevin Sheedy and captain Terry Daniher. Young star Sam Durham has been likened to Daniher, a Bombers great.The Age<\/p>\n

He was given his break in the VFL by Richmond, but even the Tigers overlooked him \u2013 Durham famously adding to their lament when he kicked the winning goal in the 2023 Dreamtime at the \u2019G clash.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are a bit flat with that one, I think,\u201d Durham cheekily said this week of the Tigers\u2019 draft call.<\/p>\n

The Swans expressed interest in him, but it was the Bombers who swooped. And the results were quickly on show.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Hird remembers watching the Tigers and Bombers reserves at Punt Road during the 2021 pandemic-impacted campaign, when friends and family were not allowed into the venue and could only peer through the wiry fence.<\/p>\n

Hird was there to watch his son, Tom, but Durham quickly made an impression.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just saw Sam playing off half-back \u2026 [he] caught my eye, this dashing half-back flanker who was a bull at a gate, [and] obviously very courageous. [He] wasn\u2019t the complete player by any stretch of the imagination, but just the way he approached the game immediately caught my eye,\u201d Hird said.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"g\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI think that\u2019s what has caught everyone\u2019s eye at Essendon. As he has got better and better, and refined his game and became classier with the ball, and can see the game more, he has become an excellent footballer.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut what I think the essence of him is … he is that ultimate competitor who, as a supporter, you just love watching because you know no matter whether he is performing [as the] best on ground, or where he is performing, and wherever we are on the ladder, he is giving his all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heading into Saturday\u2019s Anzac Day clash against Collingwood, it\u2019s clear Durham has added the skills and game awareness required to prosper at the elite level.<\/p>\n

He has two podium finishes in the Crichton Medal count, and in February had his contract extended until the end of 2032, having already signed on until the end of 2028. It left him with the most lucrative deal in Bombers history, and it was a major show of faith by both club and player, although Durham and his manager Peter Lenton did weigh up all possibilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was definitely in conversation with my manager about all that sort of stuff, but I think he [Lenton] recognised that it was a great opportunity for me to sign on long-term, and how much faith the club had in me. So, I think it was a bit of a no-brainer,\u201d Durham said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Durham has popped into the Essendon Football Club museum many a time, where it\u2019s hard to ignore the tributes to the famed premiership teams of \u201984-85, and the \u201cBaby Bombers\u201d of 1993 \u2013 the latter featuring a young marvel in Hird.<\/p>\n

Under the guidance of coach Kevin Sheedy and captain Mark Thompson, that team delivered an earlier-than-expected uprising when they knocked over Carlton on the final Saturday of September.<\/p>\n

Durham is determined to emulate that success.<\/p>\n

\"Champion:Champion: James Hird played in Essendon\u2019s most recent winning final in 2004.Sebastian Costanzo<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s especially the reason why I signed on because I want to be part of that core group of guys that really turns the club around. And, especially, how much \u2026 the recognition those \u2018Baby Bombers\u2019 get, and so they should, but I want to be part of the next wave of the Essendon culture,\u201d Durham said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was definitely a big reason why I wanted to stay. If we are back in finals as a club, I think a lot of people would be happy with us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coach Brad Scott says Durham is the \u201cprototype\u201d modern midfielder, who has speed and endurance (his personal running coach Kelvin Lubeck encouraged game-specific burst work), and can shift to half-back, a wing or push forward.<\/p>\n

He has also joined the leadership group, with midfield mate Elijah Tsatas revealing a \u201cselfless\u201d Durham delivers a weekly rev-up before games.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is a great on-field leader \u2013 all the boys stand taller when he is playing,\u201d Tsatas said.<\/p>\n

\u2018I remember giving the advice to him \u2013 don\u2019t lose that competitive part of your game as you become better and better.\u2019<\/p>\n

James Hird on Sam Durham<\/p>\n

\u201cHe does a little spiel before we run out, which is cool, each week \u2026 it gets the boys going, which is good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tsatas wouldn\u2019t elaborate, except to add, \u201cIt\u2019s a bit of a pisstake, but it\u2019s good. It gets the boys up and about\u201d.<\/p>\n

Durham\u2019s bond with Seymour also remains strong. When he can, he still trains at Kings Park, the ground in the middle of the Goulburn Valley town where his single mother Jan runs a shoe shop.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Field<\/a><\/p>\n

Durham said Hird had been an influential figure in his early Essendon years \u2013 the pair having met through Tom.<\/p>\n

\u201cJames has been pretty cool for me, just the way he gives his time on different things, [and] different pointers. He has been awesome,\u201d Durham said.<\/p>\n

Hird\u2019s advice was simple.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just more about, as a utility, being able to play different positions,\u201d Hird explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to have an open mind and embrace every role that you have to play throughout a game, and the fact that you can impact more if you have more strings to your bow, and you can embrace the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember giving the advice to him \u2013 don\u2019t lose that competitive part of your game as you become better and better. The one thing that has made you who you are is that absolute competitive spirit. That\u2019s why the supporters love you.<\/p>\n

\u201cDon\u2019t become so risk-averse that you don\u2019t want to make mistakes … even if it does lead to mistakes, they are good mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hird is a three-time Anzac medallist. Durham could well earn his first on Saturday if he follows his advice.<\/p>\n

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"JonJon Pierik<\/a> is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"April 25, 2026 \u2014 5:00am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":628751,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-628750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628750","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=628750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/628750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/628751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=628750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=628750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=628750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}