The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed the Bombers, is a professional Australian rules football club that plays in the Australian Football League (AFL), the game's premier competition. The club was formed by the McCracken family in their Ascot Vale home "Alisa" adopting the name of the local borough. While the exact date is unknown, it is generally accepted to have been in 1872. The club's first recorded game took place on 7 June 1873 against a Carlton seconds team. From 1878 until 1896, the club played in the Victorian Football Association (VFA), then joined seven other clubs in October 1896 to form the breakaway Victorian Football League. Headquartered at the Essendon Recreation Ground, known as Windy Hill, from 1922 to 2013, the club moved to The Hangar in Tullamarine in late 2013 on land owned by the Melbourne Airport corporation. The club shares its home games between Docklands Stadium and the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Zach Merrett is the current club captain.
Gavin Adrian Wanganeen is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), and also for the Port Adelaide Magpies in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL).
Hayden Skipworth is a former Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL) with the Adelaide Football Club and the Essendon Football Club. Skipworth returned to the Essendon Football Club, where he served as the midfield coach until the conclusion of the 2019 Season. In the 2020 Season, Skipworth served as the Collingwood Football Club's Head of Academy before moving into a Line Coach position at the club in October 2020.
Jobe Watson is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Watson, the son of three-time Essendon premiership champion Tim Watson, was drafted by Essendon under the father–son rule in the 2002 national draft, and went on to become one of the best midfielders of the modern era. A dual All-Australian and three-time Crichton Medallist, he captained Essendon from 2010 to early 2016, and was the face of the Essendon playing group during the most turbulent period in the club's history.
Matthew Kreuzer is a retired professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was selected first overall pick in the 2007 AFL Draft. He announced his retirement in September 2020.
Jack Ziebell is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the North Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Ziebell is currently playing for Avondale Heights in the EDFL Ziebell received a nomination for the 2009 AFL Rising Star award in round 7 of the 2009 season. He was North Melbourne captain from 2017 to 2022.
Dyson Heppell is an Australian rules footballer who currently plays for the Port Melbourne Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL). He previously played professionally with Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Heppell won the AFL Rising Star award in his first season in 2011, and won a Crichton Medal and All-Australian selection in 2014. He served as Essendon captain from the 2017 season, and relinquished the captaincy before the 2023 season proper having led the side 107 times.
Brandon Ellis is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Richmond Tigers Football Club and the Gold Coast Suns]] in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played 176 matches over eight seasons at Richmond, including in the 2017 and 2019 premierships.
Jake Stringer is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Greater Western Sydney Giants in the Australian Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Western Bulldogs from 2013 to 2017 and for the Essendon Football Club from 2018 to 2024. Stringer was selected in the All-Australian team in 2015 and won an AFL premiership with the Bulldogs in 2016, the club's first in 62 years. He has also led his clubs' goalkicking on six occasions.
Zachary Merrett is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Merrett is a three-time All-Australian and five-time Crichton Medallist; he also won the Yiooken Award in 2023 and the Anzac Medal in 2024. Merrett has served as Essendon captain since 2023.
The 22 Under 22 team is an honorary representative Australian rules football team created by the AFL Players' Association that seeks to recognise the best young talent in the Australian Football League (AFL) and AFL Women's (AFLW) competitions each year. To be eligible for selection, players must be aged 22 or under for the entire season. An initial squad of 40 is selected by the AFL Players' Board, before fans select a final team of 22 by voting via social media.
Adam Saad is an Australian rules footballer currently playing for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League. He previously played for the Gold Coast Suns and the Essendon Football Club.
Anthony William Watson McDonald-Tipungwuti is a former professional Australian rules football player for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was drafted by Essendon with their second selection in the 2015 rookie draft.
AFL Women's (AFLW) is Australia's national semi-professional Australian rules football league for female players. The first season of the league in February and March 2017 had eight teams; the league expanded to 10 teams in the 2019 season, 14 teams in 2020 and 18 teams in 2022. The league is run by the Australian Football League (AFL) and is contested by each of the clubs from that competition. The reigning premiers are the Brisbane Lions.
Mason Redman is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Callum Moore is a professional Australian rules footballer who played in the Australian Football League (AFL), including eight matches over a four-year tenure with Richmond and two matches over one season with Carlton. While at Richmond in 2019, he won a VFL premiership while playing reserves grade football.
Andrew McGrath is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by the Essendon Football Club with the first overall selection in the 2016 national draft.
Josh Battle is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was originally drafted by St Kilda Football Club with their second selection and thirty-ninth overall in the 2016 national draft. He made his debut in the sixty-one point loss to Essendon at Etihad Stadium in round seventeen of the 2017 season. Battle joined Hawthorn as an unrestricted free agent following the 2024 AFL season.
Jack Graham is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). Graham was a two-time premiership player for Richmond, having featured in grand final wins in both 2017 and 2020. As a junior he captained South Australia at the 2016 AFL Under 18 Championships and won the Larke Medal as the competition's best player. After being drafted by Richmond in the third round of the 2016 draft, he made his debut in round 22 of the 2017 season, before becoming a premiership player in just his fifth career AFL game.
VFL Women's (VFLW) is the major state-level women's Australian rules football league in Victoria. The league initially comprised the six premier division clubs and the top four division 1 clubs from the now-defunct Victorian Women's Football League (VWFL), and has since evolved into what is also the second primary competition for AFL Women's (AFLW) clubs in Victoria.
