Essendon Football Club's membership today cracked the 34,000 for only the second time in the club's history. At 2.00pm today the club had 34,013 members - with the season just one week old there is a very real possibility the club could crash through the 35,000 barrier for the first time. The club created an all-time record last season when it attracted 34,556 members and that will be the immediate aim of the club's membership department. Just 10 years ago the club had less than 10,000 members.

""We have been really pleased with the response this season. The processing of memberships has run very smoothly and everything is in place for a great season,"" Essendon membership manager Bernadette Dargan said. ""We are still hoping to attract more members in the next couple of weeks. Those who saw the team play against the Kangaroos last weekend will know that Essendon members are going to get great value for money in 2001.""