I BELIEVE ETHAN DREVER WILL BE ESSENDON’S PICK 1 in the open draft! 👀❤️🖤 I’m calling it now. Ethan Drever to the Bombers! 188cm. Powerful. Tough. Clean. Explosive. Can win it inside, burst from congestion and then take the game on. And that speed is real. Drever ran a 2.905-second 20m sprint at the Draft Combine, showing exactly the sort of burst you want in a modern midfielder! 🚀 He also fits beautifully with the direction Mark McVeigh is bringing to Essendon. Speed. Attack. Flair. Aggression. Moving the ball forward. Drever has the tools to play exactly that way. Pick 1. Ethan Drever. That’s my call. 👊 Biggest off-season in our history. We MUST nail this draft! #godons @essendonfc #ethandrever 👊❤️🖤

Essendon Versus North Melbourne at Norwood on the Sunday of Gather Round. ❤️🖤👊 #godons @essendonfc

Marc McGowan’s latest article in The Age makes some really interesting comparisons between Ethan Drever and Brisbane star Hugh McCluggage, who came through the same GWV Rebels program. Essendon overlooked McCluggage for Andy McGrath in 2016. Now, with Pick 1 secured for Dougie Cochrane, the Bombers have the chance to land a player with some striking similarities to McCluggage. Rebels talent operations lead Brooke Brown, who worked with both players, said: “I worked with Hugh McCluggage when he was at the Rebels, and I see so many Hugh McCluggage traits [in Drever].” She also described Drever as an “A-plus type of character” who leads by example and by skill. On the field, Drever’s smooth movement and ability to impact games inside and outside the contest have drawn comparisons to GWS star Finn Callaghan. Drever honed in on Callaghan when comparisons started flooding in, but he also closely studied McCluggage, Hawk Will Day and Adelaide captain Jordan Dawson. As he said himself: “I want to be a powerful player,” Drever said. “I love running out the front of the stoppage and being attacking, but I’d also love to be [known as] a two-way runner and really good defensive midfielder.” What stands out is his ability to burst from stoppages, carry the ball forward and impact the game both ways. Drever has openly spoken about wanting to become a powerful attacking player while also being a strong defensive midfielder. That’s exactly the sort of profile Essendon needs alongside Sullivan Robey, Jacob Farrow and Dyson Sharp as we build our next on-ball brigade. And there’s another bonus. Drever comes from a family of passionate Essendon supporters. “My whole family’s excited about that because they’re all Essendon supporters.” For me, Drever ticks so many boxes. The speed, the explosiveness, the contested work and the ability to break games open are exactly what this midfield needs. ❤️🖤 👊 #godons @essendonfc @theage @ByMarcMcGowan theage.com.au/sport/afl/esse…

If you want to know why having John Longmire involved in Essendon's footy program is a big deal, just have a look at his record and what he built at Sydney. 🏆 333 games as senior coach 🏆 208 wins, 122 losses and 3 draws 🏆 62.9% winning record 🏆 1 AFL premiership in 2012 🏆 5 Grand Finals 🏆 12 finals campaigns 🏆 Two time AFLCA Coach of the Year Pretty impressive record, but it's what sits behind it that really matters. Longmire knows how to build a footy club. He helped create a program at Sydney that was consistently competitive and kept finding ways to play finals. That doesn't happen by accident. It takes hard work, good development, strong leadership and everyone buying into the same thing. His standards are bloody demanding. He expects players to compete, do the team things and be accountable. There's no hiding and no cutting corners! And one thing that's always stood out with Longmire is how much he values defence. You can't just rely on talent and expect everything to fall into place. You've got to pressure, win contests, defend as a team and be prepared to work your backside off for your teammates. Everyone has a job to do. That's an area Essendon really needs to get right! With McVeigh leading the coaching group and Longmire bringing his experience into the footy program, there's a real opportunity to build something solid. Better standards, better development, a clear game plan and everyone pulling in the same direction. Nobody's expecting one bloke to come in and fix everything overnight. But having someone with his experience and track record involved can certainly help set the program up the right way. We know there's talent on the list and there's more on the way. Now it's about getting the most out of it, sorting out our team defence, finding some consistency and making sure everyone knows what's expected when they pull on the jumper. Talent is one thing. Building a team that works hard for each other, defends together and competes every week is another. That's where the real work starts. 👊❤️🖤 #Godons @essendonfc #johnlongmire

🔴⚫ Daniel Pratt on joining Essendon, the 2027 game plan and rebuilding the Bombers’ culture On leaving the Western Bulldogs “Yeah, it was a tough decision to leave a place where there’s a really strong environment and some great people. They’re very close to having the ultimate success with some of the players they’ve brought in. But the opportunity arose at Essendon to continue my growth as a coach and as a person. It was something that suited me right now.” Pratt sees joining Essendon under Mark McVeigh as an opportunity for personal and professional growth, with established relationships and conversations with Spike McVeigh, Tim Roberts and CEO Craig Vozzo also playing a key role. On the 2027 game plan and learning from the premiers “What Brisbane have been able to do, they don’t get stuck in the back half. Their skill is to be able to get it from defensive 50 to their forward third and bring their talent into the game.” Pratt has identified Brisbane as a blueprint for Essendon, focusing on quicker ball movement, better transition from defence and getting the ball forward efficiently to maximise the club’s attacking talent. His experience managing West Coast’s 2018 premiership backline will be invaluable in developing Essendon’s team defence, structure and transition game. On rebuilding Essendon’s culture “I think building it from scratch sometimes is a real positive because you’ve got young guys who want to learn and are eager to get better.” Pratt sees Essendon’s young playing group as an opportunity, with their willingness to learn and improve providing a strong foundation for implementing a new system and building sustained success. The key takeaway? Pratt’s focus is on stronger team defence, faster transition football, maximising young talent and building a culture driven by improvement. There’s plenty of work ahead, but these are exactly the areas Essendon needs to address heading into 2027. 👊❤️🖤 #godons #Essendon via @1116sen @essendonfc