The 2025 Essendon Football Club season is the 127th season of the Essendon Football Club playing in the Australian Football League (AFL) and the club's 151st season overall. The club is also fielding reserves teams in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and VFL Women's (VFLW), and is fielding a team in the AFL Women's (AFLW).
AFL
Season summary The 2025 season saw the Essendon Football Club finish 15th on the AFL ladder, recording 6 wins and 17 losses. Under senior coach Brad Scott in his third season, the Bombers failed to qualify for the finals series. Despite a promising start, a string of defeats in the middle and latter parts of the season ultimately curtailed their campaign. Captain Zach Merrett continued to lead from the front, but the team struggled with consistency across all lines.
Essendon finished the 2025 AFL season in 15th place with a 6–17 record, missing the finals for the fourth consecutive year.
Playing List
Changes Arrivals Player Previous Club League via Ben McKay North Melbourne AFL Free Agency Todd Goldstein North Melbourne AFL Free Agency Jade Gresham St Kilda AFL Free Agency Xavier Duursma Port Adelaide AFL Trade Nate Caddy Northern Knights Coates Talent League AFL Draft, Pick 10 Luamon Lual Greater Western Victoria Rebels Coates Talent League AFL Draft, Pick 39 Archie Roberts Sandringham Dragons Coates Talent League AFL Draft, Pick 54 Vigo Visentini Sandringham Dragons Coates Talent League Rookie Draft, Pick 8
Departures Player New Club League via Brandon Zerk-Thatcher Port Adelaide AFL Trade Massimo D'Ambrosio Hawthorn AFL Trade Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti — — Retired Andrew Phillips — — Retired Will Snelling — — Delisted Patrick Voss Fremantle AFL Delisted Cian McBride — — Delisted Alastair Lord — — Delisted Rhett Montgomerie — — Delisted Anthony Munkara — — Delisted
+Essendon 2025 AFL Playing list and statisticsPlayer2025 AFL StatisticsGamesGoalsBehindsKicksHandballsDisposalsMarksTacklesHitoutsNic Martin37 16 11 6 224 165 389 111 42 0Zach Merrett7 22 9 11 335 276 611 82 96 0Andrew McGrath1 23 1 3 225 298 523 81 56 0Jye Caldwell6 11 5 3 137 148 285 44 74 0Sam Durham22 20 8 7 201 236 437 59 82 0Mason Redman27 19 4 6 324 111 435 100 35 0Jayden Laverde15 14 0 0 139 77 216 97 25 0Jade Gresham11 19 10 7 122 127 249 48 55 0Ben McKay32 10 0 0 51 37 88 44 14 0Darcy Parish3 3 0 1 31 57 88 7 7 0Jake Stringer25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Kyle Langford4 9 8 1 60 40 100 28 18 0Xavier Duursma28 22 10 6 219 209 428 114 67 0Archie Perkins16 21 17 6 154 141 295 59 48 0Nik Cox13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Harry Jones23 7 2 2 45 26 71 26 19 5Jordan Ridley14 10 0 2 121 49 170 55 6 0Dylan Shiel9 14 2 2 141 155 296 53 40 0Sam Draper2 5 7 2 36 31 67 18 14 103Nick Hind19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Peter Wright20 19 28 20 142 83 225 88 45 198Matt Guelfi35 12 9 6 55 55 110 21 35 0Ben Hobbs8 18 5 8 129 139 268 38 68 0Todd Goldstein17 16 1 0 60 132 192 42 19 427Jye Menzie47 10 9 7 48 27 75 32 15 0Nate Caddy30 17 20 20 130 56 186 67 17 2Will Setterfield12 13 1 3 148 134 282 54 96 0Archie Roberts38 23 2 3 304 259 563 122 52 0Elijah Tsatas5 5 1 1 40 44 84 5 6 0Nick Bryan24 4 0 1 30 9 39 7 7 76Alwyn Davey33 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Sam Weideman10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Zach Reid31 10 0 0 110 44 154 77 25 2Isaac Kako10 23 15 9 127 130 257 45 58 0Jaxon Prior25 23 0 1 254 108 362 113 35 0Kayle Gerreyn19 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0Luamon Lual39 12 4 0 50 53 103 35 26 0Vigo Visentini18 2 0 0 8 17 25 4 3 25
Practice matches Date and local time Opponent Scores (Essendon's scores indicated in bold) Venue Attendance Ref. Home Away Result Saturday, 15 February (2:00pm) 8.10 (58) 11.11 (77) Mission Whitten Oval — Tuesday, 24 February (7.10pm) 12.11 (83) 17.2 (104) GMHBA Stadium 11,626
Home-and-away season Rd Date and local time Opponent Scores (Essendon's scores indicated in bold) Venue Attendance Position Ref. Home Away Result OR Wednesday, 27 August () 23.15 (153) 8.10 (58) People First Stadium 16,768 15th Originally scheduled for Saturday, 8 March, but postponed to 27 August. 1 Friday, 14 March () 17.9 (111) 12.13 (85) Melbourne Cricket Ground 80,735 14th — 2 Friday, 14 March () 15.10 (100) 25.11 (161) Melbourne Cricket Ground 46,688 16th — 3 Thursday, 27 March () 9.18 (72) 8.12 (60) Marvel Stadium 25,114 14th — 4 Bye 14th — 5 Saturday, 12 April () 8.9 (57) 15.6 (96) Adelaide Oval 45,039 13th — 6 Friday, 18 April () 11.9 (75) 11.11 (77) Optus Stadium 46,080 11th — 7 Friday, 25 April () 16.11 (107) 10.6 (66) Melbourne Cricket Ground 92,044 12th — 8 Thursday, 1 May () 9.11 (65) 9.8 (62) Marvel Stadium 35,439 11th 9 Saturday, 10 May () 11.5 (71) 8.15 (63) Marvel Stadium 43,799 9th — 10 Saturday, 17 May () 18.19 (127) 5.6 (36) Marvel Stadium 47,266 10th — 11 Friday, 23 May () Richmond 11.15 (81) 8.10 (58) Melbourne Cricket Ground 76,051 10th — 12 Thursday, 29 May () Brisbane 13.12 (90) 11.6 (72) The Gabba 26,441 10th — 13 Sunday, 8 June () Carlton 11.12 (78) 11.4 (70) Melbourne Cricket Ground 74,280 12th — 14 Saturday, 14 June () 8.8 (56) 23.13 (151) Melbourne Cricket Ground 61,643 12th — 15 Thursday, 19 June () 16.8 (104) 9.9 (63) Optus Stadium 37,570 13th — 16 Bye 13th 17 Saturday, 5 July () 11.8 (74) 18.7 (115) Marvel Stadium 29,672 13th — 18 Saturday, 12 July () Richmond 6.10 (46) 4.13 (37) Melbourne Cricket Ground 52,125 14th — 19 Thursday, 17 July () 7.14 (56) 16.8 (104) Marvel Stadium 20,347 14th — 20 Friday, 25 July () 7.8 (50) 22.11 (143) Marvel Stadium 29,367 15th — 21 Saturday, 2 August () 9.14 (68) 7.12 (54) Sydney Cricket Ground 20,805 15th — 22 Friday, 8 August () Geelong 15.19 (109) 10.5 (65) Kardinia Park 30,289 15th — 23 Friday, 15 August () 11.9 (75) 11.11 (77) Marvel Stadium 31,107 15th — 24 Thursday, 21 August () Carlton 8.8 (56) 13.12 (90) Melbourne Cricket Ground 41,150 15th
Ladder
VFL
On 4 February 2025, Essendon VFL coach Dale Tapping died, two years after he was diagnosed with myeloma, an aggressive form of blood cancer. Essendon had appointed Tapping as its VFL coach for the 2025 season only several months prior on 11 October 2024. He had previously served as 's VFL coach from 2013 until the end of the 2016 season, and was named VFL Coach of the Year in 2016.
Cameron Joyce, who coached in the AFL Women's (AFLW) from 2022 season 6 until he was dismissed at the end of the 2024 season, was announced as Essendon's new VFL coach on 24 February 2025.
Essendon's round 5 match against was rescheduled from a 2:05pm start at Windy Hill to 7:10pm at ETU Stadium in order for it to be shown live on 7mate as part of a new broadcast rights deal with the Seven Network.
Playing squad No. Player VFL debut Community club Ref 50 Jackson Hately 2024 St Bernard's (VAFA) 51 Will Hoare 2022 Pascoe Vale (EDFL) 52 Ricky Monti 2022 Golden Square (BFNL) 53 Jack Peris 2022 Seymour (GVFNL) 54 Hamish Sinnott 2022 Camperdown (HFNL) 55 Xavier O'Neill 2024 Blackburn (EFNL) 56 Shane Clough 2025 Gisborne (BFNL) 57 Noah Scott — Pascoe Vale (EDFL) 58 Jared Eckersley 2022 Pascoe Vale (EDFL) 59 Dayten Uerata — Sandhurst (BFNL) 60 Ryan Brodie 2024 Strathmore (EDFL) 61 Riley Leedham — Greenvale (EDFL) 62 Mahmoud Taha 2023 Pascoe Vale (EDFL) 63 Oskar Smartt 2024 Colac (GFNL) 64 Domanic Akuei 2022 St Mary's (NFNL) 65 Cam Nyko 2024 Montmorency (NFNL)
Playing squad changes Departures Player Date Reason New club Ref Amin Naim 18 October 2024 Club change Charlie Bolmat 21 October 2024 Club change James Barrat 21 November 2024 AFL drafted (AFL) Ryan Eyre 2 December 2024 Club change Kane Loftus 6 February 2025 VFL departure University Blacks (VAFA) Noah Caracella 3 March 2025 VFL departure Newtown & Chilwell (GFNL) Luca Alessio 11 March 2025 VFL departure St Bernard's (VAFA) Oscar Duncan 11 March 2025 VFL departure — Malik Gordon 11 March 2025 VFL departure Strathfieldsaye (BFNL) Macca Hallows 11 March 2025 VFL departure Pascoe Vale (EDFL) Jack Jedwab 11 March 2025 VFL departure Romsey (RDFNL) Michael Kiraly 11 March 2025 Club change
Practice matches Date and local time Opponent Scores (Essendon's scores indicated in bold) Venue Attendance Ref Home Away Result Saturday, 15 February (5:00pm) 13.12 (90) 11.4 (70) Mission Whitten Oval — Tuesday, 24 February 9.13 (67) 12.12 (84) GMHBA Stadium — Saturday, 8 March 14.12 (96) 8.13 (61) NEC Hangar — Friday, 14 March 11.8 (74) 18.7 (115) NEC Hangar — Saturday, 12 April 8.6 (54) 8.7 (55) NEC Hangar —
Home-and-away season Rd Date and local time Opponent Scores (Essendon's scores indicated in bold) Venue Attendance Position Ref Home Away Result 1 Saturday, 22 March () 14.10 (94) 12.11 (83) NEC Hangar — 7th 2 Saturday, 29 March () 11.12 (78) 7.13 (55) NEC Hangar — 12th 3 Bye 14th 4 Saturday, 19 April () 7.13 (55) 9.17 (71) ETU Stadium 2,000 10th 5 Saturday, 26 April () 12.16 (88) 18.11 (119) ETU Stadium — 14th 6 Friday, 2 May () 10.13 (73) 12.11 (83) Windy Hill — 15th 7 Saturday, 10 May () 16.11 (107) 5.12 (42) Windy Hill — 11th 8 Bye 12th — 9 Saturday, 24 May () 10.14 (74) 7.10 (52) Kinetic Stadium — 15th — 10 Friday, 30 May () 18.11 (119) 15.9 (99) Brighton Homes Arena — 15th — 11 Sunday, 8 June () 8.6 (54) 10.12 (72) Windy Hill — 17th — 12 Saturday, 14 June () 17.10 (110) 12.11 (83) ETU Stadium — 17th — 13 Saturday, 21 June () 9.12 (66) 9.6 (60) Kinetic Stadium 1,442 17th — 14 Bye 18th — 15 Saturday, 5 July () 13.8 (86) 14.16 (100) NEC Hangar — 18th — 16 Saturday, 12 July () 20.14 (134) 9.11 (65) Box Hill City Oval 1,820 18th — 17 Friday, 18 July () 12.8 (80) 15.11 (101) Windy Hill — 18th — 18 Saturday, 26 July () 5.2 (32) 13.17 (95) NEC Hangar — 19th — 19 Saturday, 2 August () 15.10 (105) 9.11 (65) Tramway Oval — 20th — 20 Saturday, 9 August () 10.13 (73) 9.5 (59) GMHBA Stadium — 20th — 21 Saturday, 16 August () 7.12 (54) 17.13 (115) Trevor Barker Oval — 19th —
Ladder
AFLW
List changes Arrivals Player Previous Club League via Courtney Murphy Greater Western Sydney AFLW Trade Grace Belloni Eastern Ranges Coates Talent League AFLW Draft, Pick 8 Holly Ridewood Northern Knights Coates Talent League AFLW Draft, Pick 12 Taya Chambers East Fremantle WAFLW AFLW Draft, Pick 30 Sophie Strong — — AFLW Draft
Departures Player New Club League via Amber Clarke St Kilda AFLW Trade Ash Van Loon Sydney AFLW Trade Catherine Phillips — — Retired Lily-Rose Williamson — — Delisted Kodi Jacques — — Delisted Jacqui Vogt — — Delisted
Playing List
+Essendon 2025 AFLW Playing ListPlayer Emily Gough1 Georgia Gee2 Daria Bannister3 Madison Prespakis4 Georgia Nanscawen5 Maddison Gay6 Grace Belloni7 Bonnie Toogood8 Brooke Walker9 Holly Ridewood10 Brooke Sheridan11 Elizabeth Keaney12 Taya Chambers13 Ellyse Gamble14 Chloe Adams15 Matilda Dyke16 Georgia Clarke17 Sophie Strong18 Mia Van Dyke19 Stephanie Cain20 Maggie MacLachlan21 Amelia Radford22 Amy Gaylor23 Sophie Alexander24 Alexandra Morcom25 Amelie Gladman26 Sophie Van de Heuvel27 Mia Busch28 Jess Verbrugge29 Stephanie Wales30 Grace Brooker32 Courtney Murphy33 Brooke Brown36
Home & Away Rd Date and local time Opponent Scores (Essendon's scores indicated in bold) Venue Attendance Ladder Ref. Home Away Result 1 Saturday, 16 August () 3.11 (29) 13.7 (85) Manuka Oval 2,258 1st 2 Sunday, 24 August () 4.7 (31) 4.2 (26) Windy Hill 2,635 1st 3 Friday, 29 August () 3.10 (28) 6.7 (43) TIO Stadium 5,892 1st 4 Sunday, 7 September () 4.3 (27) 8.10 (58) Windy Hill 2,359 4th 5 Sunday, 14 September () 1.2 (8) 9.6 (60) Windy Hill 2,640 7th 6 Friday, 26 September () 6.5 (41) 10.11 (71) Windy Hill 3,184 8th 7 Friday, 3 October () 5.6 (36) 3.4 (22) Ikon Park 2,681 9th 8 Friday, 10 October () 10.7 (67) 1.4 (10) Mission Whitten Oval 4,234 12th 9 Sunday, 19 October () 2.4 (16) 7.12 (54) Windy Hill 1,801 14th 10 Saturday, 25 October () 3.8 (26) 7.14 (56) Windy Hill 2,652 15th 11 Saturday, 1 November () 1.5 (11) 2.2 (14) C.ex Coffs International Stadium 1,563 14th
Ladder
VFLW
Home-and-away season