Essendon will look to reap the benefits of a trying 2025 campaign that forced the club to debut a record 15 players, with the new season hopefully giving Bombers fans a glimpse of what a full fit list might look like.
While a large contingent of senior players will be back for Round 1, Nic Martin won't feature this year due to an ACL setback, however the timing of his year-ending diagnosis gives Brad Scott a significant window to plan without the outside ball winner.
Minor list changes via the trade period and a busy draft window have given Essendon a profile that will have some believing they can contend for a Wildcard spot at the very least.
A new ruckman will take their chance, while the Dons will be keen to uncover the right key forward mix after several seasons of change.
With all of that in mind, let's take a look at what Essendon's best 23 might look like...
Best 23
FB: Mason Redman, Ben McKay, Jordan Ridley
HB: Archie Roberts, Zach Reid, Andrew McGrath
C: Xavier Duursma, Zach Merrett, Brayden Fiorini
HF: Jye Caldwell, Archer May, Kyle Langford
FF: Isaac Kako, Nate Caddy, Matt Guelfi
FO: Nick Bryan, Darcy Parish, Sam Durham
I/C: Angus Clarke, Dyson Sharp, Jaxon Prior, Zak Johnson, Peter Wright
Stiff to miss: Archie Perkins, Liam McMahon, Elijah Tsatas, Jade Gresham, Will Setterfield, Harrison Jones, Saad El-Hawli, Jayden Nguyen, Lachie Blakiston
Unavailable: Nic Martin
