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Sport Nation
The aspect of Essendon's game that could result in September football
Jaiden Sciberras • May 1st, 2025 6:11 pm
Through six games in 2025, the Bombers have displayed signs of a strong, developing list.
Albeit infrequent, Essendon’s best football has weighed up against the best teams in the competition, most recently bettering league-leaders Collingwood to lead the contest in the third term before falling late.
Although the club is yet to play their best football consistently enough to be considered a threat, the signs from the young list are beginning to reflect that of a team loaded with talent despite results leaving a lot to be desired.
Champion Data’s Daniel Hoyne has confirmed the observation, identifying a key aspect of the game that the young Bombers are getting completely right through the early stages of the season.
“Essendon are the number one post clearance team in the competition,” Hoyne told SEN Sportsday.
“Just to give Essendon supporters a little bit of love and a bit of excitement for where this young group could potentially get to.
“To be the number one post clearance team, 65 per cent of the game is outside of stoppage area, which is where these contested possessions come into play.
“Over the last 10 years, if you have been number one in the post clearance contest game, eight times you’ve gone on to make a preliminary final.
“Eight out of 10, and all 10 have gone on to make at least a semi final by being the number one post clearance team in the competition.
“The beauty about this if you’re an Essendon supporter is who is getting the job done in this aspect of the game.
“Your youngsters. It’s not Zach Merrett.
“Number one is Nate Caddy, at 19 years of age. Number two is Archie Roberts, 19 years of age.
“Number three, probably no surprise, Sam Durham, 23 years of age. They are your top three in one of the more important aspects of the game for how you win contests.
“You win these, it’s going to create a greater chance of generating strong offensive looks, otherwise its going to deny the opposition their offensive returns as well.
“Just a bit of praise there for Essendon, and what they are doing in a really important aspect of the game.”
The Bombers take on North Melbourne in a highly winnable contest that could see Essendon pushing the top eight through seven games.
