Essendon has a history of producing tough, uncompromising small defenders.

In the 2000 premiership side it was Mark Johnson, Damien Hardwick and Dean Solomon that provided the grunt.

Seven years earlier when the ‘Baby Bombers’ tasted success, it was the brilliance and courage of Gavin Wanganeen.

Today it’s Mark Baguley who fills the vital role.

Baguley came in to the AFL the hard way.  He played local football with Langwarrin before joining Frankston in the VFL at the age of 21.

He spent three seasons there before being picked up by the Bombers with the 47^th pick in the 2012 Rookie Draft.

He made his debut in round 16 that year, aged 25, and has rarely missed a match since.

“What I love about him is you know what you’re going to get every week,” Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd said. 

“The effort is there – it’s a ten out of ten every week.”

And it needs to be with most sides boasting at least one dangerous small forward capable of having a big impact, from minimal possessions.

“You’ve just got to be on your game all the time and try not to let them beat you out the back,” Baguley said.

The former Frankston Dolphin has formed an important combination with fellow defenders Michael Hurley, Cale Hooker and Michael Hibberd.

“Hurls just week in, week out he wins his one on one contests and gives effort and we love it,” Baguley said.

“We’ve got a really good group down there with some young guys coming through like Marty Gleeson and Ariel Steinberg.

“All we ask is just give a contest and effort.”

Baguley was crucial in the Bombers win over Melbourne, restricting Jeff Garlett to just one goal. 

He has also spent time in the midfield this season playing on the likes of Marc Murphy and David Armitage.

He could line up against Brent Harvey this Friday night, after playing on the Kangaroos veteran when the sides met earlier in the season.

Whoever he is opposed to, you can be certain Baguley will provide maximum effort, with a minimum of fuss. 

“We can’t get too caught up with the win against Melbourne,” Baguley said.

“We’ve just got to make sure we maintain the pressure and drive the standards at training and hopefully produce another good performance.”