Thousands of fans have braved a burst of winter to welcome Essendon’s full playing squad back to the Club.

The first round of the home and away season may be three months away, but this November pre-season session generated an atmosphere more akin to a finals run in September.

“Amazing support, they’ve been outstanding for us right throughout and they’re still sticking by us,” Essendon midfielder Dyson Heppell said.

“It has been a big factor in what has helped get us through this.  We’ve had amazing support from the Essendon fans, so I love days like this to give a bit back.”

Essendon’s membership numbers are making excellent progress with the Club set to reach the 10,000 mark by the end of the week.  

This will be the first time the Club has reached that milestone in November and it’s hopeful of edging past 40,000 by Christmas.

Exciting young star Darcy Parish says the passionate support of the Bombers members throughout the last few season hasn’t been lost on the players.

“It’s obviously great all of the support we had last year, there’s a lot of people here (tonight) despite the weather and we’re getting around them,” Parish said.

“They’ve obviously supported us throughout all of the disappointment and we’re really looking forward to the year and hopefully winning a fair few more games.”