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<\/p>\nFew Essendon supporters would have thought, as their AFL team struggled through a torrid 2026, that come the second week of September they\u2019d still be lining up to watch their team play.<\/p>\n
But on Saturday morning, football\u2019s most long-suffering supporter base will head en masse to Box Hill City Oval to watch the VFL Bombers face the affiliates of long-time arch rivals Hawthorn in a preliminary final blockbuster.<\/p>\n
Up for grabs is the club\u2019s first grand final at any major level since 2001.<\/p>\n
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The team\u2019s stirring end to the season has been a shining light in a dark time for the Bombers, with a two-win AFL season and mid-year sacking of coach Brad Scott capturing unwanted headlines with depressing regularity.<\/p>\n
Watch every match of the 2026 Toyota AFL Finals Series before the Grand Final LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n And coach Cameron Joyce, in his second year at the helm, has certainly felt the love from Bombers fans desperate for success.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been a lot of support for the VFL program across the course of the year,\u201d Joyce told foxfooty.com.au. <\/p>\n \u201cWith the home (elimination) final that we had at Windy Hill, you could certainly see so many supporters coming out and watching us, and I think enjoying seeing some of the younger players on the AFL list performing really well and getting some really good experiences. <\/p>\n \u201cEveryone that\u2019s involved with a football club wants success. It doesn\u2019t matter what team it is or what program it is \u2013 everyone wants to see their team win.\u201d<\/p>\n Joyce\u2019s time at the Bombers began in tragic circumstances at the start of 2025.<\/p>\n Predecessor Dale Tapping had been appointed as the club\u2019s VFL coach in October 2024.<\/p>\n But only four months later, he passed away after a two-year battle with an aggressive blood cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n On the field, the job was a brutal one: with the Bombers\u2019 AFL stocks decimated by an extraordinary run of injury, the VFL squad was likewise stretched to its limits, winning just four games \u2013 including just one of its last 12 \u2013 to finish 19th of 21 teams.<\/p>\n While 2026 was trending in the right direction, the results weren\u2019t: at Round 15, the team sat 15th with a 5-7 record, having heartbreakingly lost to North Melbourne in the final minute.<\/p>\n But it was that defeat, which came despite leading by 15 points at the 21-minute mark of the final quarter and a missed chance to win the game with a kick after the siren from youngster Solomon McKay, that Joyce believes was the catalyst for the team\u2019s remarkable resurrection.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were in front with 8-10 minutes to go, and then a D50 stoppage with a minute or two to go, Zac Banch kicked a goal against us,\u201d Joyce recalled. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was just a poor set up and poor defence.<\/p>\n \u201cI think off the back of that and the chat after the game with the players, it was a little bit of a turning point in terms of what\u2019s happened from that game to now. <\/p>\n \u201cAnd clearly there was also a bit of a realisation about what\u2019s required to consistently win games of footy.<\/p>\n \u201cThe players have really bought into that.\u201d<\/p>\n That Kangaroos clash in June remains, nearly three months on, the last time the Bombers have tasted VFL defeat.<\/p>\n Despite fielding more than 60 players this season and averaging six changes per week, the team stormed home to not just make the finals, but finish fifth, winning six games on the bounce to end the regular season as the form team of the competition.<\/p>\n Among the scalps included an emphatic 25-point win over preliminary final opponents Box Hill, having restricted the Hawks to just six goals.<\/p>\n Williamstown were swept aside in front of a packed pro-Essendon crowd at Windy Hill, before the most impressive win of all.<\/p>\n In last week\u2019s semi-final, the Dons stormed North Hobart Oval, and in front of more than 8,000 local diehards, ended Tasmania\u2019s first VFL season with a famous 27-point win.<\/p>\n Essendon\u2019s semi final win over Tasmania was their eighth in a row. (Photo by Linda Higginson\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n It was the sort of performance, Joyce believes, that could prove a shot in the arm for the whole club, as a rebuild begins under new AFL coach Mark McVeigh.<\/p>\n \u201cWhilst they\u2019re not AFL games and they\u2019re not AFL finals, they\u2019re still VFL finals and finals of significance,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n \u201cThe pressure associated with that, and playing away from home in Tasmania last week, I thought all those players acquitted themselves really well. <\/p>\n \u201cThese experiences of not only a little bit more high stakes and high pressure, but also being able to show that they can win finals, that\u2019s only going to hold them in really good stead coming into next year. <\/p>\n \u201cWe were up against it in terms of the crowd, the atmosphere, the conditions \u2013 and to Tassie\u2019s credit, we just couldn\u2019t land a knockout blow for a majority of the game. <\/p>\n \u201cThe maturity of being able to work through that, not panic and stay calm and be able to execute, and then finish off at the end to win by almost five goals away from home, that was really pleasing.\u201d<\/p>\n Essendon players (L-R) Max Kondogiannis, Xavier O\u2019Neill, Ty Kitchell, Tyler Sellers and Deacon Kalpakis sing the song after the Bombers\u2019 VFL semi final win. (Photo by Linda Higginson\/AFL Photos via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n Adding to the sense of excitement around the club is the presence of McVeigh, who in the first month of his tenure as AFL coach is watching the VFL team\u2019s exploits with interest \u2013 even sitting in on the team\u2019s preliminary final planning during the week.<\/p>\n With young players keen to make an impression, and several senior heads coming out of contract desperate to remain on the list, the stakes this weekend are higher than just a grand final berth.<\/p>\n \u201cEven though he\u2019s only been there for a very short time, Mark\u2019s been terrific in terms of his support for the team,\u201d Joyce said.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s asked us as coaches where he can support, and is obviously supporting the boys as well … he was in our review (on Tuesday night).<\/p>\n \u201cThe boys clearly also want to impress a new coach. I think there\u2019s a lot of our boys who want to put their best foot forward to perform in these games, and also show Mark that they\u2019re a part of the future with him.\u201d<\/p>\n The names on show in Box Hill on Saturday will be familiar to Bombers fans.<\/p>\n 18 of the 23 selected to face the Hawks are on the club\u2019s AFL list, a group that includes several who played regularly at senior level throughout the year \u2013 and, encouragingly, others who look set to take the next step.<\/p>\n Two seasons and 16 games into his AFL career, Zak Johnson has been a ball magnet at VFL level, averaging more than 26 disposals a match across the half-back line \u2013 including 32 in the semi-final win over Tasmania.<\/p>\n Zak Johnson is tackled during Essendon\u2019s semi final win. (Picture: Steve Bell)Source: News Corp AustraliaJohnson has impressed at AFL level across 16 games in 2025 and 2026. (Photo by Robert Cianflone\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n Young winger Angus Clarke, small forwards Hussien El Achkar and Max Kondogiannis, running defender Saad El-Hawli and mid-season recruit Jaxon Artemis are among those keen to bed down a regular AFL spot in 2027.<\/p>\n Out-of-contract midfielder Elijah Tsatas has more cause than anyone to impress McVeigh on Sunday.<\/p>\n While question marks remain over his ball use at AFL level, his average of 33.2 disposals per VFL match is second-most of anyone to have played ten or more games at the level this season.<\/p>\n Nothing would please Joyce more than to see his charges make their mark in the seniors in coming seasons.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s a big part of my role: to make sure that these players have got a really good grounding in the way that we want to play, and when they do go up to the AFL level that they\u2019re equipped,\u201d he told foxfooty.com.au. <\/p>\n \u201cWe want them to hold and to stick and make the most of their opportunities and stay up there.<\/p>\n \u201cJohnson, Artemis, Clarke, Kondogiannis have all played a good couple of games for us. (Jayden) Nguyen, (Rhys) Unwin and El Achkar\u2019s pressure has been really important.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce we were able to actually make the finals, because we played so many players, the benefit was that we had a lot of AFL-listed players that were available, just purely by the chance that a lot of them have played with us throughout the year.\u201d<\/p>\n Ruckman Vigo Visentini is the most intriguing case of all.<\/p>\n Recruited in the 2023 rookie draft, the project tall had played just two AFL matches when recalled to face Geelong in Round 22.<\/p>\n In a comfortable loss, his 18-disposal, 33-hitout effort was a bright spot, keeping him in the team for the rest of the season \u2013 and giving Bombers fans hopes he and Nick Bryan can shoulder the ruck load for the next decade and beyond.<\/p>\n Vigo Visentini took it up to Sydney star Brodie Grundy in a captivating AFL ruck duel. (Photo by Daniel Pockett\/Getty Images)Source: Getty ImagesVisentini has gone on to play a key role in the Bombers\u2019 VFL finals run. (Picture: Pamela Marriott)Source: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n In the short term, Joyce believes matching it with some of the AFL\u2019s best big men, including a strong battle with Sydney star Brodie Grundy that the 21-year old arguably shaded with 19 disposals, nine marks and a goal, has done Visentini\u2019s confidence the world of good.<\/p>\n The proof has been readily apparent: he dominated the Bombers\u2019 elimination final win over the Seagulls with 36 hitouts to give silver service to the likes of Tsatas and captain Xavier O\u2019Neill.<\/p>\n \u201cThat (Sydney AFL) game is the best one that he\u2019s played, which certainly gives him confidence for this sort of VFL finals series,\u201d Joyce said. <\/p>\n \u201cEven the pre-season going into next year for him, this gives him confidence that he can compete against some of the better ruckmen in the competition and compete at that level. <\/p>\n \u201cI think it gives him confidence coming back to the VFL knowing that he\u2019s been able to do that. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s going to be really important this week against a pretty good Box Hill team.\u201d<\/p>\n Even more crucial to the team\u2019s VFL success in the back half of the season has been its senior players, many of whom have been AFL staples in years gone by.<\/p>\n A slashing second half of the AFL season might keep Will Setterfield in McVeigh\u2019s calculations for 2027, having averaged 23 disposals a game to become a senior regular again.<\/p>\n