Dear Members,
As our players prepare for Sunday’s King’s Birthday Eve clash against traditional rivals, Carlton, our club is set to welcome 90,000+ members, supporters and footy fans to the MCG. The match is a sell-out, and we have a good chance of beating our home-and-away attendance record against Carlton (91,571 in Round 20, 2000), so members in particular, make sure you join us at the ‘G this Sunday at 7.20pm.
This will be the 253rd time the Bombers and the Blues have met, and this is the first time in quite a while that the stakes have been as high. The last time Essendon and Carlton played each other in a top eight clash was Round 11, 2013. Our AFL performances so far this year has been very positive and the encouraging position we find ourselves in reflect the hard work of our players, Brad and the wider football department to date.
As Brad has observed, we are aiming to build a consistent style that will hold up against strong opposition on a regular basis. Whilst last Sunday night’s result against the Suns was disappointing, we had our opportunities and the effort of the boys was unquestionable. The learnings from the game will no doubt help us as we continue to build in what is a marathon AFL season.
This Sunday’s game has deeper significance to the wider Essendon community. On Wednesday, Neale Daniher came to the club with his brother and former Premiership Captain, Terry, to announce the Freeze the ‘G as part of the build-up to Sunday night’s game. Neale is an incredible person and an inspiration to all Australians. I have never met a person as brave and stoic as Neale and his impact on raising awareness and funds to fight MND is truly extraordinary. He left our players and wider staff with some words of wisdom as we build into the Carlton game, and of course, some cheeky ‘Daniher’ wit.
Make sure you get to the ground early on Sunday evening to enjoy the pre-game celebration and acknowledgement of the MND cause. We will celebrate the rivalry between these two great clubs and the pre-match spectacle with all four Daniher brothers from 6.45pm.
Our 2024 AFLW Fixture was released last week with many exciting clashes throughout our AFLW season headlined by our Dreamtime match in Darwin. The Tiwi Islands and Darwin regions are extremely special to Essendon, and this is a significant step in us continuing to help strengthen and support football in the Territory, which has a flow-on effect throughout all areas of the community, from health and welfare to school attendance and social issues.
We were delighted to welcome Saad El-Hawli and his family to the Bombers through the 2024 AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft last week. Saad truly earnt his spot on our AFL List after many years of hard work and an outstanding 2024 VFL season to date. He's a versatile and exciting player to watch and we look forward to supporting Saad to continue to develop and achieve his potential at our club.
Never more so in our proud history than this season, have our members and supporters been the lifeblood of this football club. We are incredibly grateful for the level of support we receive every week, wherever we play throughout the country. Footy is better when the Bombers are up and about. Be proud of your club and be proud to wear your colours. When we come together - to cheer barrack and support - there is no stronger force in the AFL.
We hope to see you on Sunday at the ‘G as we take on a highly talented Carlton. Stand loud and proud for our Bombers, wave your scarves with gusto as we build towards the bounce, and we hope we can all proudly sing our song together after the siren.
Go Bombers,
Craig
