January 14, 16 & 20th

Welcome back.

The second week of Essendon’s 2026 preseason marked my first chance to get down to training, following a much-needed Christmas and New Year break — much like the players themselves.

Unlike most of the list, though, I didn’t need to build into that break off the back of an intense seven-week block that featured a heavy fitness focus, detailed skills work, and early exposure to incoming rule changes.

With the bulk of those building blocks now in place, attention turns to what I’ve been most interested in all along: the game style. The brand we all hope will come to define this group, shown through full-ground match simulation and scenario-based work.

Below is my take on what unfolded during a lighter session on Wednesday and then again on the following Tuesday, with a more informative hit-out on Friday in between.

Who’s there.

Lewis Hayes hasn’t been sighted across the past three weeks of sessions I’ve attended, after completing early work alongside Nick Bryan and Tom Edwards at the beginning of preseason.

Sullivan Robey is rarely seen beyond the boundary where players enter the ground, remaining away from the main training area. That said, video footage shared on Rick Edwards’ Patreon earlier this week showed him moving for the first time, which hopefully signals the early stages of his 2026 preparation.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/robey-back-on-148555950

Jordan Ridley continues to do a power of running at each session I attend, with very little kicking, if any, breaking up his routine.

Tom Edwards and Nick Bryan have joined in all non-contact drills, playing their role in ball movement by hand or foot before sitting out to focus on lateral movement as part of their rehabilitation.

Harrison Jones has also been involved in non-contact work, later stepping aside to run for the remainder of the session.

He is often beside Ridley, with Archie Perkins typically alongside them.

Perkins joined late in 2025, initially limited to short sprints in runners, but has since progressed to more endurance-based work in boots.

On Tuesday, he joined transition, zoning, kicking and handball drills, before later stepping aside to continue his conditioning. He doesn’t look far away from rejoining the main group.

Will Setterfield has regularly been the first player out on the track, getting great value from his new runners, jogging laps interchanged with short sprints.

All up, it represents a significant improvement compared to the same point last year.

Quote taken from my review of training January 22nd 2025

“Guelfi spent the session jogging as part of his injury recovery program and was briefly joined by Gresham, who also didn’t participate in the main training drills.

Parish continued to stick to jogging laps at a leisurely pace, which has been the trend for him all pre-season. Outside of warm-up drills, he has only participated in full training once.

McKay at least had his football boots on and did some kicking drills when the players first came out, but that was all he did on the ground.

Concerns about Cox’s readiness for the start of the season are beginning to grow, as he once again limited himself to walking a few early laps alone before heading back indoors.

Caldwell also made a welcome return to full training today. Up until this point, he’s had the runners on, running laps at a steady pace, but the pink footy boots were on today, and that wasn’t the only thing that shined the light on his return, as he completed the whole session and didn’t look to be holding back in any way.”

Every player who had questions over their fitness heading into last year has had a faultless run this pre-season, fingers crossed it continues.

The drills.

Wednesday saw the majority of players broken up into groups in what I suspect will be their starting positions this year, focusing on skills specific to their roles in both offence and defence modes.

Small to medium forwards were matched against defenders of a similar profile, with the emphasis on groundball contests in confined space.

Saad El Hawli continued his education as a defender, lining up alongside newly appointed captain Andrew McGrath, Archie Roberts, Zak Johnson, Jayden Nguyen and new recruit Max Kondogiannis. They went head-to-head with Isaac Kako, Jade Gresham, Matt Guelfi, Rhys Unwin and Archer Day-Wicks.

From the forward perspective, the focus was on timing runs to get to the drop of the ball, with teammates spreading to create space while also presenting as handball options. Defenders, meanwhile, were tasked with checking their opponent’s run and keeping them boundary side to force more difficult shots at goal.

The drill then extended into tackling techniques.

Defenders were instructed to get low and use their arms rather than their hands to hold on, while forwards focused on protecting the ball from being knocked out, while still allowing the option to dispose of it if possible.

Next priority defensively was to limit exiting options by funneling players out wide instead of central.

Here, Rhys Unwin shows his best weapon, change of direction, keeping his matchup on notice with his ability to step one way then another with the added bonus being quick hands or get the ball to foot.

On the Friday, after warm-ups and match sim, many of the same group were pulled aside for additional defensive drills under Dean Solomon’s guidance.

This time, the focus shifted to what happens after exiting defensive 50 and then turning the ball over.

Defenders were required to relocate opponents quickly, working as a connected unit, using their voices to either hand over a matchup or identify a player left free in space.

Of all the training setups I’ve been hoping to see this preseason, this ranks in my top three for importance and value.

Tuesday saw a concerted focus on teaching the whole group defensive zoning after turnovers further up the ground, with clear instruction around keeping the opposition “skinny” to one side and restricting exits through the corridor as the priority.

While the more experienced defenders and midfielders executed the setup as expected, the less experienced players still have some way to go.

More time is clearly needed for them to build cohesion with teammates, improve their ability to guard both space and opponents moving in and out of their areas, and lift the level of on-field dialogue required to make the system work reliably.

Competing outnumbered as a key forward is expected in the modern game, and Wednesday really tested their repeat workrate to continually bring the ball to ground when up against two key defenders.

In the opposite scenario, the defenders’ plus-one advantage required them not only to intercept mark, but to communicate clearly and organise each other behind the ball.

Angus Clarke’s development as a defender continued here, frequently matched against Archer May and Liam McMahon, with both clearly out pointing their undersized matchup, while Kayle Gerreyn worked alongside senior key posts Ben McKay and Zach Reid.

On most occasions over the last two preseasons, Reid has had the better of Peter Wright one-on-one, but Wednesday saw the 2021 Crichton Medalist repeatedly win this battle, with Reid still having a way to go in the contested wrestle, his preference built around aggressive positioning in front rather than getting into a push-and-shove.

On Wednesday, the midfield group got its first extended look at Nick Bryan’s ruck work this preseason.

The 24-year-old continues his steady rebuild following his 2025 ACL injury, with this session marking his first real test jumping into the ruck bag and directing taps both left and right to the onball brigade.

Photo by The Caddy Shack @CharlieDons on X

Used with permission

https://x.com/charliedons?s=21&t=L4mpm7shJJYGHL-jgpWWBw

In that same drill, Lachie Blackiston — pun unavoidable — stood out, his leap easily the biggest with the longest hang time of the three ruckmen on the list, consistently finding teammates underneath with both front and back-hand taps on either side of his body.

Regardless of which ruckman was involved, Dyson Sharp and Elijah Tsatas were the cleanest contested midfielders.

Photo by The Caddy Shack @CharlieDons on X

Used with permission

https://x.com/charliedons?s=21&t=L4mpm7shJJYGHL-jgpWWBw

Tsatas preferred to fend off once he took possession, while Sharp challenged his matchup by freeing his arms first and then changing direction to shake off the tackler.

Friday match practice.

In contrast to much of last year’s preseason, where match sim pitted a mostly experienced Team A against a Team B made up of draftees, AFL-listed players with more VFL time, and VFL-listed players, this year’s sessions have been markedly different — a change that likely reflects the coaches’ evolving thoughts on the lineup.

Matchups were far more like-for-like, with experienced and physically mature defenders, such as Reid and McKay, standing opposite key forwards Wright and Nate Caddy, while Roberts went against Kako and Nguyen with Hussein El Achkar, as examples.

Onball was a little different, with the experienced Darcy Parish, Jye Caldwell, and Sam Durham on one side, matched against Jacob Farrow, Elijah Tsatas, and Dyson Sharp.

Standing out.

At stoppages, both Caldwell and Durham showed their strength in winning first possession, while Farrow was the pick of the younger brigade. Once the game moved outside stoppages, Farrow shone even brighter, finding space, providing a reliable receiving option, and getting his hands on plenty of the ball — easily the most influential of his midfield group.

The groundball game inside 50 was the most damaging part of the mini-game, helped largely by what appears to be the game style shift heading into 2026.

Standing out even more.

If someone asked me who has stood out the most over this preseason — and I’ve been asked on numerous occasions — Isaac Kako is my immediate answer.

The 20-year-old, in only his second preseason, has been unmissable when the ball is in his area and almost unplayable when it’s in his hands. His quick step off the mark, combined with changes of direction, caught Roberts out multiple times on Friday. With his lightning hand-to-foot skills, he had an enormous say in the scoreboard, not just through his finishing, but in setting up teammates’ opportunities.

A better matchup for him would have been a more fleet-footed McGrath, who was primarily used as a rebounding defender rather than a lockdown option.

At the other end, Nguyen had his hands full with Hussein El Achkar, matching Kako’s one-touch pick-ups closer to goal this time and reaping maximum rewards.

Earlier I wrote of Wright having the better of Reid in one-on-one drills. This continued in match sim, with Wright’s “sticky fingers” the perfect complement to his body work.

Last year he showed a return to form in the air, only let down by his finishing in front of the sticks; his preseason confidence is certainly up, and if he can kick straighter, there’s no reason his 2021 can’t be repeated based on what I’ve seen.

It wasn’t all “strawberries and cream,” though.

Windy conditions made hitting targets by foot difficult, with judging the flight of the ball proving tricky.

Handball skills were inconsistent — very inconsistent, I should say — with the main problem seeming to be the timing of when to feed teammates, rather than the execution itself.

What it all looks like.

Quote taken from my 2025 Draft analysis 27th of November.

https://thebombersblog.wixsite.com/thebombersblog/post/draft-2025

“I got a small taste of what the changes may look like with ball in hand at my first two preseason training sessions last Friday and Monday, but it’s still early to be certain until I see more full-ground match simulations in the coming weeks”…

“Early signs point to a more direct style, moving the ball quicker, going long by foot and taking territory when possible.”

Almost two months on, I’m starting to get a better sense of how this year’s game style is shaping up — and it looks like another step in a direction I’m happy with, at least in terms of mindset.

The slow, short-kick, mark-focused method that has often been default under Brad Scott is almost completely gone. Instead, there’s a shift toward a more direct line to goal, moving the ball quickly, taking ground by run, handball, or kick, and pushing aggressively into attacking areas.

Going long to a contest should benefit the forwards ahead of the ball, creating more one-on-one opportunities rather than battling for free space in a crowded area.

Both of the opening goals in Friday’s match sim demonstrated this.

The first, from Archer Day Wicks, came from pressure with even numbers inside 50 forcing a turnover. The second because there was no delay in looking for a tall forward (Caddy) in the front third, which forced Roberts into a split-second decision — whether to help in the air as a two-on-one or stay locked to his man — with his indecision freeing up Kako at ground level.

All up this builds a more contested, chaos-based style, forcing players to win their own ball, or just as importantly, not lose it, in both defence and offence, while testing how quickly teammates can arrive to support, all things that have been a focus of this preseason.