Bomber News



Fixture News

The Bombers will play their first game of the year interstate in 1997, meeting Brisbane at the Gabba in the first round of the Ansett Australia Cup. The match will be held on Monday 3 March, the final game of the first round for the series. Then when the home and away season starts, the Dons will meet long time rivals Carlton in round one at the MCG. This is sure to be a huge start to the year, with a big crowd expected.

October 1996 National Draft

The draft has come and gone, and some new faces have appeared on the Essendon player list. Here are the selections made by the club:

No. 2: Chris Heffernan (from Geelong Falcons)

A classy 17 year old who plays on the ball. He is quick, very skillful and ranked by many as one of the best players for his age.

No. 5. Daniel McAllister (from Tassie Mariners)

An 18 year old midfielder, who only took up footy two years ago, migrating from rugby league. Considered one of the best from the Mariners, and certain to play well in the future.

No. 21. Tim Williams (from East Perth)

A 21 year old who can play the key positions, having held down centre half forward for East Perth after a shoulder problem. Could be used to bolster the half back line at the Bombers.

No. 25. Andrew Bomford (from Sydney Supplementary List)

A 22 year old who had actually trained with the Dons two years ago before moving to Sydney. He is considered a strong and rugged player.

No. 28. Jason Johnson (from Calder Cannons)

An 18 year old who gained selection in the All Australian Under 18 team this year with very good ball handling skills.

No. 54. Matthew Watson (from Essendon Supplementary List)

Regular watchers of the Essendon reserves team this year would know of Matthew's work. He is 20 years old and stands at 196cm, playing in the ruck for most of this year in the seconds.

No. 66. Paul Hills

No introductions needed here. After being delisted last week the Dons decided to give Paul another chance at AFL footy.

Well that's it for another year. The Dons hit the training track on 6 November to begin pre-season training. I'll update the page as any news comes to hand from the club.

Delistings finalised in preparation for the National Draft

Essendon finalised it's player list ready for the 25 October National Draft. The final delistings saw Paul Hills, Shawn Lewfatt and Richard Peck added to the group of players leaving the Dons this year, the remainder being Scott Cummings and Gavin Wanganeen (both to Port Adelaide), Mark Thompson (retired), and Darren Wheildon. Essendon has seven selections in the draft, nos. 2, 5, 21, 25, 28, 54, and 66. There will be a full report on the draft after it has been conducted next week.

Mark Mercuri suspended for two matches

One of the Dons best players this year, Mark Mercuri, was suspended after being found guilty of striking Peter Matera with a right fist to the stomach during the last term of the round 18 clash. This is huge loss for the Dons as Mark's ability up forward this year has been vital to the success of the club. Hopefully his absence can be covered for the Adelaide and Collingwood games. Peter Sumich will appear later in the week charged with allegedly striking Damien Hardwick.

Dons fined $112,000 and penalised their second round draft pick

Essendon was fined this week for salary cap and other breaches of the AFL rules after an investigation by Michael Easy into allegations of draft tampering in 1993. That claim involved the drafting of Ben Doolan to the club, but was dismissed by the special investigations officer who uncovered these other breaches. The fine was the highest in AFL history, and Ross Oakley said that it relfected the AFL's new tough stance on salary cap breaches. And on top of the fine, and possibly the harshest part of the penalty, is the loss of the second round draft pick for the October 1996 National Draft. Currently the Essendon committee is considering an appeal against that part of the penalty, but is not contesting the fine imposed.

Michael Long to miss rest of the season

After playing only two games for the centenary season, Michael Long will not play again in 1996. Against Geelong he injured his patella tendon, and last Friday night he had it operated on. The surgery went very well, and it is hoped that he will be ready to complete a full pre-season with the Bombers come December. This is a tragic blow for Michael, after such a magnificent return from his reconstruction last year. Let's hope he is able to return as well next year.

Wheildon in car accident

Darren Wheildon will miss the next ten weeks at least after being hit by a taxi on the weekend. He received a fractured leg and a cut to the head when attempting to hail a taxi to head home after being out at King Street. This is extremely bad news for Darren who had been determined to regain form in the AFL this year with the Dons.

Alessio out for at least four weeks

Stephen Alessio was dealt a cruel blow when he found out his injured elbow would mean that he will miss at least four weeks of football. He didn't play in the second half of the match against Carlton on the weekend, and doctors confirmed during the week that the injury was serious. This is a big blow for Stephen, who missed months of football last year with a lacerated kidney.

Darren Wheildon suspended for 2, Ablett for 5

Unfortunately Doc's career at Essendon hasn't started very well, receiving a two week suspension for an incident occuring in last week's reserves game against Carlton. However, on a brighter note from the tribunal, Gary Ablett was suspended for five weeks, which sadly means he will miss the round seven clash against Essendon.

Scott Cummings and Damien Hardwick get 2 weeks

Scott Cummings received a two week suspension at the tribunal on Monday after pleady guilty to a charge of misconduct in that he struck Richmond's Chris Bond with an arm to the head. This is extremely untimely for Scott, who played very well on the weekend kicking six goals. The incident was unlucky in itself, in that Scott was attempting to apply a hip-and-shoulder to Bond, which got out of hand. More bad news followed on Wednesday as Damien Hardwick was suspended for two weeks also, for striking Chris Bond. This charge was laid after the video of the game was watched. Damien was in good form before this incident, and will be missed on the backline.

President's Dinner and Guernsey Presentation Night

On the final Sunday evening before the football starts, Essendon conducted its first official function for the season - the President's Dinner. The main reason for the event is to present each of the players with their guernseys for the 1996 season. It was held at Flemington Racecourse, with about five hundred of the Essendon "Family" present. After Alan Murphy began the night, David Shaw, the current club President, delivered his speech centred on the theme committment. If each player and member of the coaching staff showed committment this year, he said the premiership was ours for the taking. Then the new Chief Executive Officer of the club, Mr Peter Jackson, spoke officially for one of the first times in his new capacity at the club. Then after some comic relief the jumpers were presented. The format for the night was to split up the players into six categories and each group was presented by a different player, including past legends Simon Madden, Tim Watson, Paul Weston and Garry Foulds. This is how the night unfolded:

Golden Oldies: Presented by Simon Madden

  • David Grenvold
  • Gary O'Donnell
  • Mark Harvey
  • Mark Thompson
    • Simon played up the "oldie" idea, with these four players rather wishing they hadn't been picked for this category. David Grenvold had right of reply, saying he looked forward to a good year.

    Country Cousins: Presented by Tim Watson

  • Chris Daniher
  • Ben Doolan
  • Paul Hills
  • Danny Morgan
  • Peter Somerville
  • Dean Wallis
  • Barry Young
    • Tim Watson was quite blunt at times, and his line about Peter Somerville was one to remember: "Peter's from Moe, dairy country, and he's the sort of guy who, when he shakes your hand, still insists on shaking every finger individually." Chris Daniher was designated speaker for this group, and he brought forth all the footy cliches about taking it one game at a time, and that it was good to get the hands on the geurnsey again, and generally spoke in the true Daniher tradition.

    Interstate Brigade: Presented by Paul Weston

  • Darren Bewick
  • Che Cockatoo-Collins
  • Peter Cransberg
  • Scott Cummings
  • James Hird
  • Michael Long
  • Ryan O'Connor
  • Michael Prior
  • Michael Symons
  • Gavin Wanganeen
    • It was Michael Long's turn to speak for this group, saying that when he was drafted he expected to be arriving in a Bomber. He then said how tough it was for many interstate players to leave family and friends to make it in the AFL, and commended the guys around him.

    City Slickers: Presented by Garry Foulds

  • Stephen Alessio
  • David Calthorpe
  • Dustin Fletcher
  • Damien Hardwick
  • Mark Mercuri
  • Joe Misiti
  • Rick Olarenshaw
    • Garry was a local guy himself, so he was an obvious choice to present this group. He said he was given notes by Mark Harvey, mentioning that David Calthorpe had been seen a few times over summer coming out of Jenny Craig. So it was David who replied on behalf of the group in comic fashion, finishing with a plug for Steve Alessio's upcoming Player Auction, telling everyone to come along "so we can fill you full of piss and get some money out of you."

    Rising Stars: Presented by Mark Thompson

  • Justin Blumfield
  • Blake Caracella
  • Shawn Lewfatt
  • Matthew Lloyd
  • Scott Lucas
  • Robert Stevenson
    • Mark focused largely on Matthew Lloyd from this group, challenging him to take the next step up on the road to becoming a champion. He replied for the group saying that all the young guys were aiming to help the club along to a good year in 1996.

    New Recruits: Presented jointly by Gary O'Donnell and Kevin Sheedy

  • Paul Barnard
  • Peter Berbakov
  • Richard Peck
  • Andrew Ukovic
  • Sean Wellman
  • Darren Wheildon
    • The last group is traditionally presented by the captain and coach, and tonight was no exception. Gary O'Donnell spoke about the importance of the flag in the centenary year of the AFL, saying it was worth almost two flags. Then Kevin Sheedy said a few words about his hopes for the year, and concluded that there was no reason why Essendon could not win the flag in this Centenary Year of the AFL. It was a successful night, and the sheer numbers shows just how the Essendon "family" has blossomed in recent years, standing the club in good stead for years to come.

    Essendon win, but Barnard injured

    In the final practice match for the year Essendon accounted for Footscray, but the bad news was Paul Barnard, a new recruit for 1996 from Hawthorn, was carried off on a stretcher with knee damage. It appears that it is not as serious as most knee injuries, and he may miss between four and six weeks. In any case, the Dons won the match fairly easily, with James Hird again starring up forward and Gary O'Donnell leading from the front. Here are the details of the game:
    ESSENDON......4.0  7.4  10.6  11.13 (79)
FOOTSCRAY.....2.3  6.7   8.9   9.12 (66)

GOALS:
ESSENDON: Symons 3, Alessio, Cummings 2, Hird, Daniher, Calthorpe, Somerville 1.
FOOTSCRAY: Martin 3, Taylor 2, Grgic, Kolyniuk, Johnson, Darcy 1.

BEST:
ESSENDON: O'Donnell, Hird, Somerville, Symons, Calthorpe, Alessio, Wanganeen.
FOOTSCRAY: Kellett, Croft, Wallace, Martin, Grant, Wynd.

    Dons go down in Ballarat

    Geelong beat Essendon on Sunday 17th March at Ballarat, two weeks before the season begins. The Dons played well to lead by 23 points at half time, only to see Geelong kick nine goals in the third term to secure victory. A few of the big names were still missing from this practice match, but the good news was no injuries resulted from the game. James Hird starred with three goals for the Bombers. Here are the details of the game:
    ESSENDON......4.2  8.3  10.6  14.7  (91)
GEELONG.......3.1  4.4  13.6  18.7 (115)
GOALS:
ESSENDON:Hird 3, C. Daniher, Calthorpe, Lloyd, Alessio 2, Symons, Lucas Cummings 1.
GEELONG: Hall, Breuer 3, Ablett, McKinnon, Hocking 2, Barnes, Tudor, Riccardi, Brownless, Pickering, Mensch 1.
BEST:
ESSENDON: Hird, Misiti, Thompson, Barnard, Calthorpe.
GEELONG: McKinnon, Hall, Barnes, Tanner, Scholl, Riccardi.

    Dons defeat Demons

    Essendon defeated Mebourne at Mount Gambier on Sunday in a pre-season practice match. A number of stars returned for the Dons, including Mercuri, Wanganeen, Denham and Olarenshaw. Richard Peck also made his debut for the Dons. The only down side to the win was the unfortunate injury to Olarenshaw in his first game back, however, it is only a corked thigh and not expected to be too serious. Here are the details of the game:
    ESSENDON......6.2  6.4  12.8  13.11 (89)
MELBOURNE.....3.2  7.3   9.3   9.5  (59)

GOALS:
ESSENDON: Mercuri 3, O'Connor, Lloyd 2, Calthorpe, Misiti, Young, Peck, Olarenshaw, Denham 1.
MELBOURNE: Stynes 2, G Lovett, Turley, Neitz, Sampson, Ingerson, Farmer, Irving 1.

BEST:
ESSENDON: Wanganeen, O'Donnell, Calthorpe, Lloyd, Misiti, Olarenshaw.
MELBOURNE: Turley, Prymke, Farmer, Ingerson.

    O'Connor up to number 3

    Ryan O'Connor has been given the number three guernsey to wear this year. Most supporters would know that Paul Salmon wore that number with distinction throughout his career, and that the number was also worn by Essendon champion Dick Reynolds. Ryan is in top company with these former Essendon stars who donned the number three, and with his current form he is destined to fulfill all expectations.

    The Pre-Season Draft

    Essendon used its number 14 pick in the pre-season draft to recruit Richard Peck, a 20 year old Aboriginal player from Western Australia. Apparently he is a very fast player, mooted to be as fast as Michael Long, as well as having tonnes of courage. He is around 5' 10" tall, and played football for Claremont last year, including kicking 9 goals in a reserves final game.
    Earlier, Julian Kirzner was delisted from Essendon in preparation for the draft. It was originally speculated as to whether or not Essendon would participate in the draft. Julian will be remembered at Essendon for his spectacular high marking, as shown on numerous occasions in his reserves matches (with the mark in round 20 last year against St Kilda the highlight).

    Practice Matches

    After the success of winning the Lightning Premiership, the Dons tasted defeat over in Western Australia at the hands of Fremantle. Fremantle came closer to beating Essendon than the other three opponents in the Lightning Premiership, and proved that they will be a force in 1996. Here are the stats for the game:
    FREMANTLE.....4.6  8.10  9.14  13.16 (94)
ESSENDON......2.1  4.1   5.2    6.4  (40)

GOALS:
FREMANTLE: Gooch 3, Wills, Dhurkay 2, Waterhouse, Gale, Bandy, Mann, Parker, Koots 1.
ESSENDON: Cummings 2, Fraser, Lloyd, Armstrong, Milentis 1.

BEST:
FREMANTLE: Abraham, Hynes, Gooch, Clement.
ESSENDON: O'Donnell, Wellman, Prior, Cockatoo-Collins.

    Gary O'Donnell Announced as captain

    It was just officially announced that Gary will captain the Dons in the Centenary year of the AFL. Mark Thompson will most likely play on next year, depending on the success of his pre-season with the Bombers. The vice-captains will be Michael Long and James Hird. This is great news for Michael who had a superb season last year after his knee reconstruction, and showed great strength and character in standing up to racism in football. The appointment of James Hird comes as no surprise, as his leadership has been seen even at this early stage of his career. Congratulations go to Gary O'Donnell on this achievement.

    The December 1995 Draft

    The post 1995 season draft is over again, and these are the players that Essendon picked up with its three picks:

    Round 1: Darren Wheildon
    One of the surprises of the draft, Darren spent this season out of the AFL after playing previously with Fitzroy. He played 18 games with West Adelaide in the SANFL last season kicking 54 goals, and apparently had improved his on and off field attitude towards the game. The 25 year old should be a good boost for the forward line and could add around thirty goals to the team next year.

    Round 2: Andrew Ukovic
    This 17 year old from the Northern Knights played well in the Teal Cup on the half-forward line, and should develop into a well-sized forward.

    Round 3: Peter Berbakov
    One of Essendon's outstanding supplementary list last season, playing most of his football on the backline. He finished up third in the Reserves Best and Fairest, and at 22 he definitely has the potential to become an excellent defender for the Dons in years to come.

    Well that was the way the draft went for Essendon this time, and with a good group of younger players coming through, we can look forward to a great season in 96.


    There will be more news from the club as events unfold.
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