International Bomber News Report

No. 1 February 3, 1997

This is the first of a series of weekly news reports to bring fans of the Essendon Football Club up to date on their favourite football club.

Pre-Season Training Notes

The Bombers began pre-season training in November but the pace is now quickening with the Ansett Cup night series beginning in mid-February. Essendon is drawn to play the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on March 3. The Bears took over Fitzroy late last season and the deal included a name change for the Bears.

Pre-season training takes Essendon to both Hobart and Adelaide where we have commitments to play Sydney and Adelaide in mid to late February.

Our track spies report the team is training with exceptional zeal, hurting from the loss to Sydney in the 1996 Preliminary Final which denied Essendon another Grand Final appearance. The previous year we fell over in the semi final against Richmond. North Melbourne hurt badly from unlucky losses in the 1994 and 1995 finals but went to take the Cup last year. Hopefully we can do the same.

There are some fine recruits training with us. Shrewd player trading enabled Essendon to have early draft picks at number two and five. This was after Gavin Wanganeen accepted an offer to return to his old club Port Adelaide and full forward Scott Cummings was traded also to Port Adelaide. These are the only two losses from the 1996 list other than the retirement of Mark "Bomber" Thompson.

"Bomber" Thompson Retires

Thompson quietly retired from the game as you would expect. No emotional farewells. He slipped quietly from the scene after 202 games in the red and black. Bomber is loved by everyone at Windy Hill having played in three premiership sides, captain for five years, represented his State and won two Crichton Medals as the club’s best player.

When Reserves coach Mark Williams defected to Port Adelaide mid season last year, assistant coach David Wheadon took over briefly before Bomber was given the job. He has been reappointed as Reserves coach. Last year the twos reached the Grand Final but were thrashed by North Melbourne under a strange set of eligibility rules which prevented many senior players from being selected. We had beaten North Melbourne a fortnight earlier by 69 points yet two weeks later lost by 104.

The New Recruits

Of the new recruits the big wraps are on Chris Heffernan from Geelong Falcons and Daniel McAllister from the Tassie Mariners. Both played Commonwealth Cup (the former Teal Cup) football for their states. Both are widely tipped by those with the inside running to play senior football this year. Jason Johnson, another Commonwealth Cupper, joins us from the Calder Cannons. Johnson made the All-Australian side.

Our other recruits are Tim Williams from East Perth, that’s Michael Prior country; Andrew Bomford who won the reserves best player with Sydney in 1996 and Matthew Watson who was on our supplementary list last season.

The pre-season draft is on February 14 so watch for our news report to see if there are any further changes. Players must be dropped from the existing list if we are to select new players at the pre-season draft.

From the Dressing Rooms...

Four players went under the knife over summer. David Calthorpe, Joe Misiti, Sean Wellman and Darren Bewick had minor operations and are all training strongly in pre-season having fully recovered.

Gary O’Donnell is expected to be reappointed captain for the 1997 season.

International Supporters Club

We are launching our International Supporters Club so that Essendon supporters anywhere in the world can be part of our 1997 premiership campaign. We will send every member a T-Shirt with the inscription "Bombers International Supporters Club" and a 125th anniversary cap. (The club celebrates its 125th anniversary this year). We will also send a pre-season video showing summer training and interviews with the coaches and leading players. There will also be a fortnightly fax service updating you on all the news from Bomberland. We will treat you as a member with all the inside gossip of what is happening at Windy Hill, with access to the material you won’t pick up in the news media. As an international member you will have full voting rights during club elections.

We will also produce other videos during the season.

Full details of the International Supporters package can be found by clicking here. The contact at the Club is David Axup.

The cost is just $100 US. Why not join? It is a value package.

Financial Results for 1996 released

The Club has released its 1996 financial results. We report an operating profit of $494,335 for 1996. However significant once-off abnormal losses, including some which relate to the 1994 and 1995 years were expensed this year. The abnormal items totaled $1,226,000 resulting in an overall loss of $731,665.

Some of the abnormal expenses include a fine of $112,000 imposed by the AFL following their investigation into player and salary rules for the 1995 year; a provision of $250,000 for tax and penalties following our voluntary disclosure to the Australian Taxation Office of problems relating to previous years; and Fringe Benefits Tax of $175,000 relating to the 1995 year that was expensed in 1996.

The result was very disappointing. But we are encouraged by our trading profit of almost $500,000 which provides the foundation for a sound future. Our 1997 budget points to a healthy future.

Concern for Victorian Clubs' Welfare

The Club remains concerned with the absence of a level playing field for Victorian clubs in the national competition. We have asked the AFL administration to examine the difficulties facing Victorian clubs who are unable to prosper as interstate clubs do with large supporter bases and smaller stadiums which generate considerably larger revenue from membership and reserved seat sales.

The Club made a presentation to the AFL Commissioners in December and we are waiting for their official response. Hopefully they will remain positive about the need for major policy changes to make the distribution of income fairer in respect of Victorian clubs.



That’s all from Bomberland. Remember to check out the package to become an International Member. It’s a tremendous way to keep in touch.
Let us know what you think of our first report. Tell us what you would like to read about in future reports. We will be back with more news next week.

Alan Murphy
Communications Manager
Essendon Football Club
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