What each AFL club needs to show this pre-season

Bring back the 'Essendon Edge'

In 2024, Essendon found themselves positioned in the top four as late in the season as Round 17, and were inside the top two with just two months of footy remaining.

It was an incredible charge that came about in thanks to the Dons' branded style of football under Brad Scott, labelled as "the Essendon Edge". The club was prioritising winning contested footy - and it was working.

The Bombers jumped from 16th in contested possession in 2023 to as high as eighth in late April, 2024, and around that time, also improved from 17th in clearances per game to fifth.

Ultimately, as is well-publicised, the Bombers fell away dramatically in the final month of that season, missing finals after being so perfectly poised to end the finals-win drought.

Yet, there were building blocks toward success, and they should not go without some further assessment, because that was Essendon's first year winning more contested possessions than their opponent on average since 2018.

While many key members of that 2024 side have departed, Essendon's contested ball capabilities have hardly wavered in their top-end talent.

Among the top 20 contested possession leaders in 2025, three of them were Bombers. No other club had more than two. The only problem? Two of those Bombers played a combined 14 games, with Darcy Parish and Jye Caldwell facing frustrating years with injury, as did much of the Bombers outfit.

Essendon should give the "edge" another chance in 2026 and there's no better chance to test the theory and build some confidence than against two of the poorer contested ball-winning sides from 2025 in St Kilda and Richmond.