The Bomberland website - the official website of the Essendon Football Club - will provide Bombers fans with a second-to-none coverage of all things red and black in season 2002. The club opted out of the AFL / Telstra deal for two major reasons. Essendon Football Club wanted to maintain 100% control over the development of its website and Essendon Football Club wanted to maintain 100% control over the content on its website.

These reasons have seen the club make a decision that it believes will be in the long-term best interests of Essendon Football Club. ""For commercial and branding purposes we believe it was the right move to opt out of the AFL / Telstra deal,"" Essendon chief executive Peter Jackson said. ""Financially, websites are one of the few revenue streams that are yet to be fully explored. In terms of branding we want points of difference - by retaining control over our own development and content we believe we are better equipped to ensure this is the case.""

The Essendon website will offer users many features that can't be offered by pirate websites.

Users can speak exclusively to Essendon coaches and players in our Live Chat sessions.

Users will get the Essendon team for each weekend's match before anyone else.

Users will get the breaking news before anyone else.

Users can access behind the scenes video and audio footage.

Users can read Matthew Lloyd's ""Insider"" column.

Robert Shaw will write exclusively for our Engine Room members.

Users can enter competitions that could see you travel interstate with the side or you and five friends have kick-to-kick for half an hour with Matthew Lloyd. You could train with the Bombers under the watchful eye of Kevin Sheedy and fitness coach John Quinn.

James Hird's Give Us The Tip is a fantastic new tipping competition that will soon be launched and there will be two other brand new competitions for Engine Room members.

Users can work through the Bombers' pre-season with John Quinn

Users can become Bomberland reporters for season 2002 in our In The Outer competition.

Users can buy a membership on-line or shop at our merchandise store.

Users will also get a full VFL match report and statistics.

On top of all this users will get the regular features including statistics and ladders, a kids section, a complete history of the club, interstate supporter group news and loads more.

""I think what we offer is unique and as you can see there is much that only the official Essendon Football Club website can offer supporters,"" Jackson said.

Jackson re-iterated that the club's relationship with i7 was simply a sponsorship of the club's website. ""It seems to have confused a lot of people but i7 sponsor the website and have nothing to do with the development or provision of content,"" he said.