2026 Essendon Football Club season

2026 AFL season
PresidentDave Barham
CoachBrad Scott
(4th season)
CaptainsZach Merrett
(5th season)
Home ground

The 2026 Essendon Football Club season is the 127th season of the Essendon Football Club playing in the Australian Football League (AFL) and the club's 152nd season overall. Following a difficult 2025 campaign where the team finished 15th with only six wins,[1] the Bombers entered 2026 looking to rebuild under fourth-year coach Brad Scott and new captain Andrew McGrath.[2] The club bolstered its list at the 2025 Draft by securing top-10 prospects Sullivan Robey and Jacob Farrow, alongside trading for veteran midfielder Brayden Fiorini.[3] The club is also fielding reserves teams in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and VFL Women's (VFLW), and will field a team in the AFL Women's (AFLW).

AFL

The 2026 season has proven challenging for the club. Scott was removed as senior coach after Essendon's round 11 loss to Richmond, their 10th loss of the season, having only won one game of the past 24. Dean Solomon was appointed as the caretaker coach. A mid-season highlight saw the Bombers break a 13-match losing streak by defeating Greater Western Sydney in Round 19, marking their first win in Victoria since the previous year.[4]

Practice matches

Date and local time Opponent Scores (Essendon's scores indicated in bold) Venue Attendance Ref.
Home Away Result
Friday, 20 February (10:00 am) Richmond 18.10 (118) 10.8 (68) Won by 50 points NEC Hangar ? [5]
Friday, 27 February (3:10 pm) St Kilda 17.13 (115) 10.12 (72) Lost by 43 points Mars Stadium ? [6]

Home-and-away season

Rd Date and local time Opponent Scores (Essendon's scores indicated in bold) Venue Attendance Position Ref.
Home Away Result
1 Friday, 13 March (7:40 pm) Hawthorn 13.5 (83) 21.19 (145) Lost by 62 points Melbourne Cricket Ground 71,384 17th [7]
2 Sunday, 22 March (2:45 pm) Port Adelaide 20.13 (133) 10.10 (70) Lost by 63 points Adelaide Oval 36,049 18th [8]
3 Saturday, 28 March (7:35 pm) North Melbourne 9.15 (69) 12.9 (81) Lost by 12 points Marvel Stadium 40,154 17th [9]
4 Sunday, 5 April (7:20 pm) Western Bulldogs 14.15 (99) 9.11 (65) Lost by 34 points Marvel Stadium 38,786 17th [10]
5 Saturday, 11 April (12:45 pm) Melbourne 17.11 (113) 10.8 (68) Won by 45 points Adelaide Oval 38,006 17th [11]
6 Saturday, 18 April (1:15 pm) Gold Coast 17.17 (119) 17.8 (110) Lost by 9 points People First Stadium 19,039 17th [12]
7 Saturday, 25 April (3:20 pm) Collingwood 9.6 (60) 20.17 (137) Lost by 77 points Melbourne Cricket Ground 92,231 17th [13]
8 Saturday, 2 May (12:35 pm) Brisbane Lions 11.13 (79) 22.11 (143) Lost by 64 points Marvel Stadium 31,595 17th [14]
9 Saturday, 9 May (4:15 pm) Greater Western Sydney 16.7 (103) 13.11 (89) Lost by 14 points Engie Stadium 9,416 17th [15]
10 Sunday, 17 May (1:10 pm) Fremantle 8.13 (61) 16.8 (104) Lost by 43 points Melbourne Cricket Ground 25,100 17th [16]
11 Friday, 22 May (7:45 pm) Richmond 10.14 (74) 7.14 (56) Lost by 18 points Melbourne Cricket Ground 78,815 18th [17]
12 Sunday, 31 May (5:20 pm) West Coast 12.13 (85) 8.7 (55) Lost by 30 points Optus Stadium 37,623 18th [18]
13 Sunday, 7 June (7:20 pm) Carlton 10.7 (67) 10.12 (72) Lost by 5 points Melbourne Cricket Ground 76,745 18th [19]
14 Saturday, 13 June (1:15 pm) Melbourne 13.17 (95) 6.14 (50) Lost by 45 points Melbourne Cricket Ground 41,438 18th [20]
15 BYE
16 Sunday, 28 June (3:15 pm) North Melbourne 10.19 (79) 9.11 (65) Lost by 14 points Marvel Stadium 37,054 18th [21]
17 Sunday, 5 July (3:15 pm) St Kilda 7.8 (50) 17.15 (117) Lost by 67 points Marvel Stadium 34,713 18th [22]
18 Sunday, 12 July (4:40 pm) Brisbane Lions 22.17 (149) 8.11 (59) Lost by 90 points The Gabba 30,505 18th [23]
19 Sunday, 19 July (4:40 pm) Greater Western Sydney 10.7 (67) 8.16 (64) Won by 3 points Marvel Stadium 14,601 17th [24]
20 Saturday, 25 July (4:15 pm) Hawthorn 19.18 (132) 5.9 (39) Lost by 93 points Melbourne Cricket Ground 42,509 17th —
21 Sunday, 2 August (4:40 pm) Adelaide 11.7 (73) 23.7 (145) Lost by 72 points Marvel Stadium 20,518 18th —
22 Saturday, 8 August (4:35 pm) Geelong — — — GMHBA Stadium — — —
23 TBC (August 13–16) Sydney — — — Melbourne Cricket Ground — — —
24 TBC (August 20–23) Port Adelaide — — — Marvel Stadium — — —

Ladder

Pos Team Pld W L D PF PA PP Pts Qualification
1 Fremantle 23 19 4 0 2286 1666 137.2 76 Finals series
2 Sydney 23 18 5 0 2543 1869 136.1 72
3 Brisbane Lions 23 16 7 0 2499 2054 121.7 64
4 Hawthorn 23 15 6 2 2260 1881 120.1 64
5 Geelong 23 15 8 0 2355 1925 122.3 60
6 Adelaide 23 15 8 0 2169 1849 117.3 60
7 Melbourne 23 15 8 0 2301 2099 109.6 60
8 Western Bulldogs 23 13 9 1 1901 1992 95.4 54
9 Collingwood 23 12 9 2 2021 1974 102.4 52
10 Carlton 23 12 10 1 2007 1978 101.5 50
11 St Kilda 23 10 13 0 2030 1974 102.8 40
12 Greater Western Sydney 23 10 13 0 2073 2095 98.9 40
13 Gold Coast 23 9 14 0 2011 2128 94.5 36
14 North Melbourne 23 9 14 0 1932 2175 88.8 36
15 Port Adelaide 23 7 16 0 1804 2048 88.1 28
16 West Coast 23 4 19 0 1615 2333 69.2 16
17 Richmond 23 3 20 0 1483 2373 62.5 12
18 Essendon 23 2 21 0 1601 2478 64.6 8
Source: afl.com.au
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for


AFLW

List changes

Arrivals

Player Former club League Type Ref.
—————

Departures

Player New club League Type Ref.
—————

Playing list

No. Player AFLW debut Recruited from Ref
—————

Home-and-away season

Rd Date and local time Opponent Scores (Essendon's scores indicated in bold) Venue Attendance Ref.
Home Away Result
—————————

Ladder

Updated to the end of round 2.

Pos Team Pld W L D PF PA PP Pts Qualification
1 North Melbourne 2 2 0 0 144 60 240.0 8 Finals series
2 Melbourne 2 2 0 0 120 53 226.4 8
3 Carlton 2 2 0 0 116 63 184.1 8
4 Western Bulldogs 2 2 0 0 88 51 172.5 8
5 Sydney 2 2 0 0 127 95 133.7 8
6 Brisbane 2 1 1 0 118 81 145.7 4
7 Hawthorn 2 1 1 0 106 93 114.0 4
8 Gold Coast 2 1 1 0 83 74 112.2 4
9 Geelong 2 1 1 0 127 115 110.4 4
10 Richmond 2 1 1 0 83 76 109.2 4
11 Fremantle 2 1 1 0 70 71 98.6 4
12 Port Adelaide 2 1 1 0 74 85 87.1 4
13 Greater Western Sydney 2 1 1 0 66 102 64.7 4
14 Adelaide 2 0 2 0 76 111 68.5 0
15 West Coast 2 0 2 0 76 123 61.8 0
16 Collingwood 2 0 2 0 58 96 60.4 0
17 Essendon 2 0 2 0 79 151 52.3 0
18 St Kilda 2 0 2 0 55 166 33.1 0
Source: afl.com.au
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for

VFL

2026 VFL season
CoachCameron Joyce
CaptainXavier O'Neill
Home ground

Cameron Joyce continued as Essendon's VFL senior coach for his second season in 2026.[25]

Practice matches

Date and local time Opponent Scores (Essendon's scores indicated in bold) Venue Attendance Ref.
Home Away Result
Friday, 20 February (1:05pm) Richmond 18.13 (121) 8.7 (55) Won by 66 points NEC Hangar — [26]
Sunday, 1 March (11:00am) St Kilda 10.6 (66) 16.11 (107) Lost by 41 points NEC Hangar — [27]
Saturday, 14 March (2:00pm) North Melbourne 14.11 (95) 11.15 (81) Lost by 14 points Arden Street Oval — [28]

Home-and-away season

Rd Date and local time Opponent Scores (Essendon's scores indicated in bold) Venue Attendance Ref.
Home Away Result
1 Friday, 20 March (7:05pm) Geelong 24.19 (163) 12.6 (78) Lost by 85 points GMHBA Stadium — [29]
2 Saturday, 28 March (12:35pm) North Melbourne 15.8 (98) 12.7 (79) Won by 19 points NEC Hangar — [30]
3 Sunday, 5 April (3:20pm) Footscray 18.10 (118) 10.11 (71) Lost by 47 points Marvel Stadium — [31]
4 Saturday, 18 April (9:30am) Gold Coast 16.21 (117) 19.9 (123) Won by 6 points People First Stadium — [32]
5 Friday, 24 April (2:05pm) Collingwood 17.12 (114) 15.13 (103) Lost by 11 points KGM Centre — [33]
6 Saturday, 2 May (2:05pm) Williamstown 11.9 (75) 12.16 (88) Lost by 13 points Windy Hill — —
7 Sunday, 10 May (11:05am) Greater Western Sydney 8.15 (63) 17.12 (114) Won by 51 points Tom Wills Oval — [34]
8 BYE
9 Saturday, 23 May (10:00am) Richmond 14.5 (89) 15.17 (107) Won by 18 points Windy Hill — [35]
10 Sunday, 31 May (12:05pm) Werribee 18.6 (114) 27.12 (174) Lost by 60 points Windy Hill — [36]
11 Sunday, 7 June (2:05pm) Carlton 14.9 (93) 11.19 (85) Won by 8 points Windy Hill — [37]
12 Sunday, 14 June (2:05pm) Casey 16.11 (107) 11.9 (75) Lost by 32 points Casey Fields — [38]
13 BYE
14 Sunday, 28 June (12:05pm) North Melbourne 14.8 (92) 13.11 (89) Lost by 3 points Arden Street Oval — [39]
15 Sunday, 5 July (12:00pm) St Kilda 18.8 (116) 13.13 (91) Won by 25 points Windy Hill — [40]
16 Sunday, 12 July (10:00am) Brisbane 10.13 (73) 15.13 (103) Won by 30 points Brighton Homes Arena — [41]
17 Sunday, 19 July (10:00am) Coburg 17.11 (113) 8.12 (60) Won by 53 points Windy Hill — [42]
18 Saturday, 25 July (10:00am) Box Hill — — — Box Hill City Oval — —
19 BYE
20 Saturday, 8 August (12:05pm) Collingwood — — — Windy Hill — —
21 TBC Sydney — — — TBC — —

Ladder

Pos Team Pld W L D PF PA PP Pts Qualification
1 Geelong (R) 15 14 1 0 1628 903 180.3 56 Finals series
2 Werribee 15 11 3 1 1363 1145 119.0 46
3 Box Hill 15 10 5 0 1396 1250 111.7 40
4 Sydney (R) 15 9 5 1 1498 1179 127.1 38
5 Greater Western Sydney (R) 14 9 5 0 1357 1223 111.0 36
6 Frankston 15 9 6 0 1334 1265 105.5 36
7 Port Melbourne 15 9 6 0 1245 1296 96.1 36
8 Tasmania 15 8 6 1 1504 1366 110.1 34
9 Williamstown 15 8 6 1 1342 1318 101.8 34
10 Coburg 15 8 7 0 1306 1285 101.6 32
11 Essendon (R) 15 8 7 0 1472 1513 97.3 32
12 Carlton (R) 14 7 7 0 1299 1224 106.1 28
13 St Kilda (R) 15 6 8 1 1286 1297 99.2 26
14 North Melbourne (R) 14 6 7 1 1271 1285 98.9 26
15 Southport 14 6 7 1 1269 1316 96.4 26
16 Footscray (R) 14 6 8 0 1221 1202 101.6 24
17 Casey 15 6 9 0 1241 1476 84.1 24
18 Collingwood (R) 14 5 9 0 1225 1286 95.3 20
19 Sandringham 15 4 10 1 1113 1467 75.9 18
20 Brisbane (R) 14 3 11 0 1133 1362 83.2 12
21 Richmond (R) 15 3 12 0 1045 1403 74.5 12
22 Gold Coast (R) 14 2 12 0 1006 1493 67.4 8
Updated to match(es) played on 19 July 2026. Source: AFL.com.au
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for
(R) Club is the reserves team of a senior club of the Australian Football League

VFLW

Home-and-away season

Rd Date and local time Opponent Scores (Essendon's scores indicated in bold) Venue Ref.
Home Away Result
1 Saturday, 16 May (12:05pm) Sandringham 6.5 (41) 5.8 (38) Lost by 3 points Trevor Barker Beach Oval [43]
2 Saturday, 23 May (12:05pm) Geelong Cats 0.12 (12) 4.8 (32) Lost by 20 points Windy Hill [44]
3 Saturday, 30 May (11:05am) Williamstown 2.4 (16) 9.15 (69) Lost by 53 points Windy Hill [45]
4 Sunday, 7 June (11:05am) Carlton 10.3 (63) 4.7 (31) Won by 32 points Windy Hill [46]
5 Sunday, 14 June (11:05am) Casey 4.2 (26) 10.2 (62) Won by 36 points Casey Fields [47]
6 Saturday, 20 June (11:05am) Collingwood 2.2 (14) 10.7 (67) Lost by 53 points Windy Hill [48]
7 Saturday, 27 June (3:05pm) North Melbourne Werribee 11.8 (74) 7.2 (44) Lost by 30 points Arden Street Oval [49]
8 BYE
9 Friday, 10 July (7:35pm) Western Bulldogs 5.2 (32) 3.4 (22) Lost by 10 points Mission Whitten Oval [50]
10 Saturday, 18 July (11:05am) Port Melbourne 2.6 (18) 6.12 (48) Lost by 30 points Windy Hill [51]
11 Saturday, 25 July (3:35pm) Box Hill — — — Box Hill City Oval —
12 Saturday, 1 August (1:05pm) Tasmania — — — Windy Hill —
13 Sunday, 9 August (10:35am) Williamstown — — — DSV Stadium —
14 Week of Monday, 10 August (TBC) Sandringham — — — TBC —
15 BYE
16 Week of Monday, 24 August (TBC) Darebin — — — TBC —

Ladder

Pos Team Pld W L D PF PA PP Pts Qualification
1 North Melbourne Werribee 9 9 0 0 656 244 268.9 36 Finals series
2 Williamstown 9 8 1 0 422 150 281.3 32
3 Collingwood 9 8 1 0 498 193 258.0 32
4 Port Melbourne 9 6 3 0 353 309 114.2 24
5 Carlton 9 5 4 0 441 338 130.5 20
6 Western Bulldogs 8 5 3 0 238 275 86.5 20
7 Sandringham 9 3 6 0 269 318 84.6 12
8 Darebin 9 3 6 0 202 323 62.5 12
9 Tasmania 9 3 6 0 261 383 68.1 12
10 Geelong Cats 9 3 6 0 191 343 55.7 12
11 Essendon 9 2 7 0 289 420 68.8 8
12 Box Hill 9 2 7 0 278 462 60.2 8
13 Casey 9 1 8 0 176 516 34.1 4
Updated to match(es) played on 18 July 2026. Source: AFL.com.au
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) percentage; 3) number of points for.


References

  1. ↑ "Essendon 2026 Season Preview". One Percenters. 20 February 2026. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  2. ↑ "McGrath named Essendon captain for 2026". Essendon Football Club. 10 February 2026. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  3. ↑ "Bombers land Robey, Farrow in Draft haul". AFL.com.au. 25 November 2025. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  4. ↑ "Bombers break drought against Giants". AFL.com.au. 18 July 2026. Retrieved 20 July 2026.
  5. ↑ "Match simulation notes: Dons continue to ramp up pre-season". Essendon Football Club. 20 February 2026. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  6. ↑ "St Kilda Saints expect hurt co-captain Callum Wilkie to face Collingwood Magpies, praise for young Essendon Bombers". 27 February 2026.
  7. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  8. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  9. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  10. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  11. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  12. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  13. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  14. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  15. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  16. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  17. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  18. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  19. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  20. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  21. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  22. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  23. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  24. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  25. ↑ "Joyce continues as VFL coach". Essendon Football Club. 15 January 2026. Retrieved 1 March 2026.
  26. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  27. ↑ "Scores". 2026.
  28. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  29. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  30. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  31. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  32. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  33. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  34. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  35. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  36. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  37. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  38. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  39. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  40. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  41. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  42. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  43. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  44. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  45. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  46. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  47. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  48. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  49. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  50. ↑ "Report". 2026.
  51. ↑ "Report". 2026.
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