Essendon Bombers: 2019 fixtures, preview, list changes, every player and odds

Mick Stirling

Essendon Bombers: 2019 fixtures, preview, list changes, every player and odds image

After climbing back into finals in 2017 and adding Jake Stringer, Adam Saad and Devon Smith to its list, Essendon was expected to be back in September action in 2018 but a disastrous first eight rounds put paid to those aspirations.

There was no problem with the three recruits, especially Smith who had a stunning year that culminated in winning the club’s best and fairest award, but the rest of the team failed to click until it was too late.

Injuries weren’t to blame with Joe Daniher and Orazio Fantasia the only big names to miss sizable chunks of the season, and in Daniher’s case it was when they were winning that he was absent.

This post-season saw the Bombers being the quietest club in the AFL, with gun midfielder Dylan Shiel the only experienced player brought in. Presumably the belief is the players are there already, they just need to play!

List changes

In

Dylan Shiel (GWS Giants), Irving Mosquito (Gippsland Power, pictured), Noah Gown (Gippsland Power), Brayden Ham (Geelong Falcons)

Irving Mosquito

Rookies

Tom Jok (Collingwood VFL), Matt Dea (Essendon)

Out

Travis Colyer, Brendon Goddard, Josh Green, Jackson Merrett, Matthew Leuenberger

Best Brownlow chances

Dylan Shiel $26, Dyson Heppell $51, Zach Merrett $51, Devon Smith $101

New recruit Shiel may be the shortest-priced Bomber, but he hasn’t really threatened to take home the Brownlow in past years with a personal high of 11 votes in 2017. 

Dylan Shiel

Dyson Heppell has twice notched 14 votes (2014, 2017) and 13 in 2018, so as long as he keeps the hairdo, the skipper might be the man to put a few dollars down on.

Players to watch

Jake Stringer, Joe Daniher, Dylan Shiel

While his first year in red and black may not have been stunning, Jake Stringer is probably still the individual player with the most potential to have an influence on the Bombers’ fortunes. John Worsfold seemed determined to redesign the enigmatic Stringer into a midfielder, but eventually conceded the former Bulldog does his best work in front of goal, and will most likely keep him there for the majority of 2019.

Whether Stringer can become a forward force has a lot to do with whether he and Joe Daniher can work in tandem. Daniher was expected to stake a claim as the league’s best key forward in 2018, but even before he was injured in round seven things were not going well, with just eight goals to his name. The only time the pair each kicked multiple goals was in the round four win over Port Adelaide, suggesting that Joey and Jake need to learn to work together to get this team higher.

Being the one big recruit in the off-season will have a lot of eyes on Dylan Shiel. The 25-year-old was given plenty of time on the ball at GWS, but sat behind Josh Kelly and Stephen Coniglio in the star ratings, and was then overtaken by Lachie Whitfield. Shiel doesn’t mind being the centre of attention and will thrive in front of much bigger crowds than he has been used to with the Giants.

A last chance to watch?

Jake Long, Aaron Francis

Being the son of a club legend can make life hard at times, but it could also be the only reason Jake Long is still on the Essendon list. Recruited as a rookie in 2015 Long played three games the next year before being elevated to the senior list, but went gameless in 2017 and added just two matches in the season just gone. Coming out of contract at the end of 2019, he will need to spend a lot more time on the field if he’s to get another contract.

No one questions Aaron Francis’ football ability, but his body and mind have had their moments in his short career to date. The way he finished the 2018 season, dominating in the air across half-back through the last five rounds, leaves no doubt he can forge a long and successful AFL career, but the biggest worry for Essendon fans is he may choose to do it back in his home state of South Australia. His deal at Tullamarine finishes in 12 months and his re-signing will be a priority.

Essendon Bombers’ 2019 list

Number Name Games Date of birth Height, weight Position
29 Ambrose, Patrick  67  1 Sep 1991  193cm 95kg Defender
12 Baguley, Mark  124  21 May 1987  178cm 81kg Defender
16 Begley, Joshua  23 Jul 1998  188cm 89kg Forward
2 Bellchambers, Tom  113  9 Jul 1989  201cm 108kg Ruck
28 Brown, Mitchell  54  28 Aug 1990  196cm 95kg Defender
37 Clarke, Dylan  6 Sep 1998  186cm 85kg Midfield
30 Clarke, Zachary  101  28 Mar 1990  203cm 96kg Ruck
6 Daniher, Joe  100  4 Mar 1994  200cm 95kg Forward
49 Dea, Matthew  70  13 Oct 1991  186cm 85kg Defender
38 Draper, Sam (R)  28 Sep 1998  203cm 105kg Ruck
13 Fantasia, Orazio  60  14 Sep 1995  177cm 79kg Forward
10 Francis, Aaron  10  10 Aug 1997  193cm 92kg Defender
8 Gleeson, Martin  69  25 Aug 1994  191cm 86kg Defender
  Gown, Noah    194cm 91kg Forward
35 Guelfi, Matt  15  14 Aug 1997  183cm 79kg Midfield
  Brayden Ham 0      
36 Hartley, Michael  41  7 Jun 1993  198cm 104kg Defender
21 Heppell, Dyson  151  14 May 1992  189cm 82kg Midfield
26 Hooker, Cale  175  13 Oct 1988  197cm 101kg Defender
24 Houlahan, Jordan  19 Feb 1999  185cm 76kg Forward
18 Hurley, Michael  160 1 Jun 1990  193cm 92kg Defender
  Jok, Tom (R) 0      
4 Langford, Kyle  47  1 Dec 1996  191cm 90kg Midfield
40 Lavender, Luke (R)  8 Jul 1996  200cm 92kg Ruck
33 Laverde, Jayden  30  12 Apr 1996  191cm 90kg Forward
34 Long, Jake (R)  3 Feb 1996  185cm 81kg Midfield
43 McDonald-Tipungwuti, Anthony  66  22 Apr 1993  171cm 79kg Forward
1 McGrath, Andrew  41  2 Jun 1998  178cm 80kg Midfield
45 McKenna, Conor  51  28 Mar 1996  184cm 84kg Defender
44 McKernan, Shaun (R)  62  1 Sep 1990  196cm 100kg Forward
41 McNiece, Ben (R)  10  22 Mar 1992  178cm 80kg Defender
7 Merrett, Zach  103  3 Oct 1995  180cm 80kg Midfield
  Mosquito, Irving    176cm 72kg Forward
19 Mutch, Kobe  18 Mar 1998  187cm 83kg Midfield
23 Myers, David  116  30 Jun 1989  191cm 88kg Midfield
39 Mynott, Trent (R)  4 Oct 1999  185cm 75kg Midfield
3 Parish, Darcy 55  25 Jul 1997  180cm 80kg Midfield
27 Redman, Mason  26 Aug 1997  187cm 87kg Defender
14 Ridley, Jordan  20 Oct 1998  192cm 84kg Defender
42 Saad, Adam  70  23 Jul 1994  178cm 75kg Defender
  Shiel, Dylan  135  9 Mar 1993  182cm 82kg Midfield
5 Smith, Devon  131  20 May 1993  176cm 77kg Midfield
17 Stewart, James  45  4 Mar 1994  198cm 94kg Forward
25 Stringer, Jake  109  25 Apr 1994  192cm 92kg Forward
11 Zaharakis, David  187  21 Feb 1990  180cm 79kg Midfield
30 Zerk-Thatcher, Brandon  25 Aug 1998  195cm 78kg Defender


 


Essendon Bombers’ 2019 Fixture 

Round Date Opponent Venue
1 Sunday 24 March 3:20pm  GWS Giants  Showground Stadium
2 Saturday 30 March 4:35pm  St Kilda Marvel Stadium
3 Friday 5 April 7:50pm Melbourne MCG
4 Saturday 13 April 2:10pm Brisbane MCG
5 Friday 19 April 4:20pm  North Melbourne Marvel Stadium
6 Thursday 25 April 3:20pm Collingwood MCG
7 Sunday 5 May 3:20pm Geelong MCG
8 Friday 10 May 7:50pm  Sydney   SCG
9 Saturday 18 May 7:25pm Fremantle Marvel Stadium
10 Saturday 25 May 7:25pm Richmond MCG
11 Sunday 2 June 3:20pm Carlton MCG
12 BYE    
13 Friday 14 June 7:50pm Hawthorn Marvel Stadium
14 Thursday 20 June 6:10pm  West Coast  Optus Stadium
15 Thursday 27 June 7:20pm  GWS Giants Marvel Stadium
16 Saturday 6 July 1:45pm Sydney MCG
17 Saturday 13 July 4:35pm  North Melbourne Marvel Stadium
18 Friday 19 July 7:20pm  Adelaide  Adelaide Oval
19 Sunday 28 July 4:40pm    Gold Coast  Metricon Stadium
20 Saturday 3 August 1:45pm  Port Adelaide Marvel Stadium
21 Saturday 10 August 7:25pm  Western Bulldogs Marvel Stadium
22 Saturday 17 August 6:10pm  Fremantle  Optus Stadium
23 TBC Collingwood MCG

Games played on

Thursday: 3
Friday: 5
Saturday: 9
Sunday: 5

Teams played twice

Fremantle, Collingwood, North Melbourne, GWS Giants, Sydney

Devon Smith

2019 Preview and premiership odds

A strong finish to 2018 has seen the faith in Essendon reinstalled, with the Bombers starting equal fifth favourite for the 2019 flag at $12.

It’s hard to see exactly what went wrong with their most recent campaign, which in turn makes it hard to know what to fix.

Will a better understanding between Daniher and Stringer lead to an unstoppable offence, or are their showmen’s personalities not made for sharing the big stage?

Is overconfidence an issue throughout the list and will the addition of a cocksure character like Shiel only add to concerns, or is it time for the group to throw away the worries of recent years, puff out their collective chests and start strutting about as only Essendon teams can?

The talent is certainly there and well spread around the ground, with Shiel adding to a midfield that should be bolstered by the maturing Andy McGrath and Darcy Parish, while the forward and back halves are as qualified as any in the competition.

It’s just a matter of whether the 2019 Bombers are more the ‘blitzing’ or ‘suicide’ kind.
 

Mick Stirling