Essendon has delisted former Pick 5 Elijah Tsatas after 22 games across four seasons for the club.
The 187cm midfielder played six games for the Bombers in 2026, averaging 24.3 disposals and 4.3 clearances per game.
Tsatas was taken with Pick 5 in the 2022 AFL National Draft and has since failed to cement his spot in a struggling Essendon outfit which won the wooden spoon this season.
AFL media is reporting that the 21-year-old has not been offered a new contract under new coach Mark McVeigh as the Bombers look to reset for 2027.
Tsatas played the majority of the season in the VFL and finished ninth in the league's best-and-fairest.
The young midfielder's ability to win the ball never came under question, but some of the criticism of Tsatas was his defensive capabilities at stoppage and around the ground. Also, his impact with his disposals.
Plucked from the Oakleigh Chargers after a dominant season in 2022, Essendon chose Tsatas ahead of the likes of Bailey Humphrey, Cameron Mackenzie, Jhye Clark, Reuben Ginbey and Mattaes Phillipou in the top 10 of the draft.
Opposition clubs will likely back in their own development system and look at Tsatas as a late draft, rookie draft or SSP option given he was a top five draft pick four years ago and can find the footy with ease.
Calls on Archie Perkins, Jade Gresham, Jayden Nguyen, Kayle Gerryn, Liam McMahon, Matt Guelfi, Nik Cox, Rhys Unwin, Saad El-Hawli, Tom Edwards and Will Setterfield have yet to be confirmed.
