Star Swan Luke Parker mocked Dylan Shiel and the Bombers when the sides last met and it hasn’t been forgotten at Tullamarine.
Marc McGowan
West Coast have made a sloppy start in their quest for a first home win in almost 12 months — and it was a pair of WA products who did the early damage for Essendon.
Jackson Barrett
Essendon icon Kevin Sheedy has positioned Friday’s clash with long-time rivals West Coast at Optus Stadium as an eye to the future for the two struggling clubs.
Steve Butler
West Coast have made a call on whether star ruckman Nic Naitanui will return to the 22 - and have decided who will replace Jeremy McGovern. SEE THE TEAMS
Samantha Rogers
In a different world, Nic Martin could be running around in blue and gold, following in the footsteps of a pair of midfield bulls whose path to the AFL mirrored his.
Ben Smith
Mark ‘Bomber’ Thompson’s struggles over the past decade have been well documented but, as he told Mark Robinson, he is content being back at the footy club where it all began.
Mark Robinson
Essendon great Mark Thompson says he hopes James Hird gets another opportunity as a senior coach and that the Bombers should be open to having their favourite son return.
Essendon is not giving up on making finals as it prepares to travel to South Australia to take on resurgent Port Adelaide.
Essendon star Anthony McDonald-Tipingwuti has called an end to his AFL career, with the forward no longer having the passion to play at the top level.
Jay Clark
Essendon cult hero Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti has retired from the AFL, saying he is ready for a life beyond football.
Oliver Caffrey
Former Olympian Nova Peris says she quit an organisation which advocates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people due to its ties to Essendon and “disrespect” from the Bombers CEO.
Sam Landsberger
James Hird is moving back into the coaches box at GWS and one AFL legend believes it’s a first step back to a head coaching role.
The AFL is a lonely existence when it isn’t going your way and Essendon have been exposed to this after an unsavoury 2-7 start to the season.
Michael Barlow
Essendon and Richmond will play their Dreamtime at the ‘G match at the MCG on Saturday night for the first time since 2020.
Essendon won nine games after round 8 to charge to the finals in 2021 and need to do exactly the same this year.
Russell Gould
Pre-match chaos last week made Essendon’s win over Hawthorn a miracle and now all the late outs are available.
Boom Peel Thunder signing Wade Derksen is hopeful of getting an exemption for next month’s AFL Mid-Season Draft after a ruling prevented him from getting a train-on stint at Fremantle during the pre-season.
Jordan McArdle
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir warned the Dockers’ fitness was becoming a weapon and urged his young side to keep rolling after they jumped to second on the back of their best start to a season since 2015.
Braden Quartermaine
If you could sum up Fremantle’s efforts in three words, what would you choose? Read our thoughts and leave your own below.
The Bombers are hoping to notch their second win of the season when they meet Fremantle, but they’ll have to do it without Jake Stringer.
Marco Monteverde
Essendon’s hopes of finally getting a win this season have taken a hit with news coach Ben Rutten won’t be at Marvel Stadium on game day.
Jasper Bruce
Devon Smith used to be a one-man tackling machine. This year he has barely laid any, and he’s not the only Bomber with numbers a stats guru says are ‘not AFL standard’.
News Corp Australia
Matthew Lloyd was just 31 when he retired and it didn’t take long for phone calls regarding a comeback to start. See who tried to get the legend out of retirement.
Sam Landsberger and Nick Smart
Zach Merret’s ankle injury received against Brisbane is far worse than first thought.
Chris Cavanagh
© West Australian Newspapers Limited 2022
