AFL 2025: Essendon will ‘relocate resources' to medical space after staggering injury toll
The Bombers face GWS without 16 players this Thursday after Nate Caddy, Ben Hobbs, Will Setterfield and Nic Martin joined a tall list of sidelined players.
Caddy and Hobbs are set to return next week, but Martin and Setterfield have been ruled out indefinitely.
Essendon coach Brad Scott has been the barometer of optimism this season, insisting the opportunity provided to the young Bombers had unearthed future stars.
But on Wednesday he confirmed the club would undisputedly need to upgrade its medical space after such an arduous campaign.
'I am not deep in the weeds in that space, I've got a job to do in the short term,' Scott said.
'This is a good example, a five-day break, there's no time to be getting distracted from what I need to do.
'I do have the utmost confidence in the people who are looking at our program (but) there's no doubt we will relocate resources to that space.
'We know better than anyone this year how important it is to get your players out fit and available.'
Scott was confident the adversity the Bombers had faced would forge a more resilient group.
'I mean I think everyone would like to go out and win all the time and for life to be good,' he said.
'But if you want to get better at anything, whatever your chosen field of endeavour, you've got to experience adversity.
'If you don't, you just won't improve. As I said, we didn't set out at the start of the year to break any records in terms of debutants.
'But that's the opportunity that's created for us. We are extremely lucky to do what we do.
'There are moments, don't get me wrong, where we all – including me – feel sorry for ourselves, but we've got to bounce out of that really quickly and focus on what we can control.'
The Bombers will unveil yet another debutant this week in mid-season draftee Liam McMahon.
He started the season at Carlton in the VFL and has a chance to finish it as one of the Bombers' first-choice forwards.
Scott lauded McMahon's natural ability to read the play, labelling him a forward few in the game present better than.
'He's just a very crafty forward, he finds a way to impact the game,' he said.
'He's one of those players, you have to spend a lot of time teaching forward craft (but) he's, I don't like using the term, but he's a bit of a natural forward.
'He reads the ball really well, he reads the cues of the opposition, he's a guy I'd like to kick the ball to if I was kicking the ball in the forward 50.
'McMahon presents better than most players in the competition and he's done it, albeit at VFL level.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
West Australian
21 minutes ago
- West Australian
Jordan De Goey, Bobby Hill set for Collingwood VFL game against Frankston
Collingwood has stacked its VFL team as the AFL finals push intensifies, with returning premiership winners Jordan De Goey and Bobby Hill set to play a Saturday night game in Frankston. The duo are among five key returns to football as Collingwood's assault on the final month of the home-and-away season gets a boost, with Billy Frampton also coming back through the VFL, while Dan Houston and Tim Membrey will be named to take on Richmond in the AFL on Sunday. The Magpies will also get a look at a potential future star, with Tom McGuane, the son of former premiership hero Mick, also set to play in the VFL game. It will be De Goey's first VFL game in more than a decade as he plots his path back to the AFL team having played only five games in 2025 and none since round 9 because of an achilles issue. He was also put on concussion protocols after a training clash with teammate Brayden Maynard delayed his return. Norm Smith Medallist Hill hasn't played at AFL level since round 16, having taken time away for the club to deal with personal issues as well as battling illness. The presence of the duo at Kinetic Stadium in Frankston, with the AFL team not playing until Sunday, could ensure a monster crowd at the suburban venue. De Goey in particular, is the most intriguing watch in that game after the matchwinner has endured a wretched run with injury this year. Collingwood coach Craig McRae says there's 'always an element of risk' with a player returning from injury, but he is confident in De Goey's power of work. 'We're excited for what that looks like, (De Goey has) been out for I don't even know how many weeks,' he said. 'Bobby Hill will play a game in the VFL as well … it will be great to have those two players for our club. 'There's always an element of risk with all things but, based on the last three weeks of training, (De Goey) looks really fit and strong. 'It's opportunity to get out and play, particularly for Bobby, he's had a bit of stuff going on, to see him smile. 'It might be hard down at Frankston on the Hill … they've got bongos going on, it's actually really enjoyable. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all plays out. 'Billy will play in the VFL as well … we could train him another week but we thought let's just get him in the VFL for some minutes. There will be a cast of thousands down at Frankston.' The Magpies face Richmond on Sunday after suffering successive losses for the first time in 2025. Collingwood's Darcy Moore had an uncharacteristically poor game against Fremantle last Sunday, losing his battle with Docker Patrick Voss. McRae spoke to Moore about his performance earlier this week and expects to see a response from the captain. 'I had a good chat to Darcy earlier in the week, the six goals weren't only on him. We have a team system we like to think supports him,' he said. 'But there's opportunities to get better and maybe that's a platform they'll show now, if you sort of isolate Darcy a little bit. 'We want a leader defending the ground a bit better than he did at times on the weekend, we won't shy away from that.'
Perth Now
21 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Magpies star to notch 3731-day first
Collingwood has stacked its VFL team as the AFL finals push intensifies, with returning premiership winners Jordan De Goey and Bobby Hill set to play a Saturday night game in Frankston. The duo are among five key returns to football as Collingwood's assault on the final month of the home-and-away season gets a boost, with Billy Frampton also coming back through the VFL, while Dan Houston and Tim Membrey will be named to take on Richmond in the AFL on Sunday. The Magpies will also get a look at a potential future star, with Tom McGuane, the son of former premiership hero Mick, also set to play in the VFL game. It will be De Goey's first VFL game in more than a decade as he plots his path back to the AFL team having played only five games in 2025 and none since round 9 because of an achilles issue. He was also put on concussion protocols after a training clash with teammate Brayden Maynard delayed his return. Jordan De Goey playing VFL football in 2015. Kylie Else Credit: News Corp Australia Norm Smith Medallist Hill hasn't played at AFL level since round 16, having taken time away for the club to deal with personal issues as well as battling illness. The presence of the duo at Kinetic Stadium in Frankston, with the AFL team not playing until Sunday, could ensure a monster crowd at the suburban venue. De Goey in particular, is the most intriguing watch in that game after the matchwinner has endured a wretched run with injury this year. Collingwood coach Craig McRae says there's 'always an element of risk' with a player returning from injury, but he is confident in De Goey's power of work. 'We're excited for what that looks like, (De Goey has) been out for I don't even know how many weeks,' he said. 'Bobby Hill will play a game in the VFL as well … it will be great to have those two players for our club. 'There's always an element of risk with all things but, based on the last three weeks of training, (De Goey) looks really fit and strong. 'It's opportunity to get out and play, particularly for Bobby, he's had a bit of stuff going on, to see him smile. 'It might be hard down at Frankston on the Hill … they've got bongos going on, it's actually really enjoyable. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all plays out. 'Billy will play in the VFL as well … we could train him another week but we thought let's just get him in the VFL for some minutes. There will be a cast of thousands down at Frankston.' The Magpies face Richmond on Sunday after suffering successive losses for the first time in 2025. Collingwood's Darcy Moore had an uncharacteristically poor game against Fremantle last Sunday, losing his battle with Docker Patrick Voss. McRae spoke to Moore about his performance earlier this week and expects to see a response from the captain. 'I had a good chat to Darcy earlier in the week, the six goals weren't only on him. We have a team system we like to think supports him,' he said. 'But there's opportunities to get better and maybe that's a platform they'll show now, if you sort of isolate Darcy a little bit. 'We want a leader defending the ground a bit better than he did at times on the weekend, we won't shy away from that.'
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Jordan De Goey, Bobby Hill set for Collingwood VFL game against Frankston
Collingwood has stacked its VFL team as the AFL finals push intensifies, with returning premiership winners Jordan De Goey and Bobby Hill set to play a Saturday night game in Frankston. The duo are among five key returns to football as Collingwood's assault on the final month of the home-and-away season gets a boost, with Billy Frampton also coming back through the VFL, while Dan Houston and Tim Membrey will be named to take on Richmond in the AFL on Sunday. The Magpies will also get a look at a potential future star, with Tom McGuane, the son of former premiership hero Mick, also set to play in the VFL game. It will be De Goey's first VFL game in more than a decade as he plots his path back to the AFL team having played only five games in 2025 and none since round 9 because of an achilles issue. He was also put on concussion protocols after a training clash with teammate Brayden Maynard delayed his return. Norm Smith Medallist Hill hasn't played at AFL level since round 16, having taken time away for the club to deal with personal issues as well as battling illness. The presence of the duo at Kinetic Stadium in Frankston, with the AFL team not playing until Sunday, could ensure a monster crowd at the suburban venue. De Goey in particular, is the most intriguing watch in that game after the matchwinner has endured a wretched run with injury this year. Collingwood coach Craig McRae says there's 'always an element of risk' with a player returning from injury, but he is confident in De Goey's power of work. 'We're excited for what that looks like, (De Goey has) been out for I don't even know how many weeks,' he said. 'Bobby Hill will play a game in the VFL as well … it will be great to have those two players for our club. 'There's always an element of risk with all things but, based on the last three weeks of training, (De Goey) looks really fit and strong. 'It's opportunity to get out and play, particularly for Bobby, he's had a bit of stuff going on, to see him smile. 'It might be hard down at Frankston on the Hill … they've got bongos going on, it's actually really enjoyable. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all plays out. 'Billy will play in the VFL as well … we could train him another week but we thought let's just get him in the VFL for some minutes. There will be a cast of thousands down at Frankston.' The Magpies face Richmond on Sunday after suffering successive losses for the first time in 2025. Collingwood's Darcy Moore had an uncharacteristically poor game against Fremantle last Sunday, losing his battle with Docker Patrick Voss. McRae spoke to Moore about his performance earlier this week and expects to see a response from the captain. 'I had a good chat to Darcy earlier in the week, the six goals weren't only on him. We have a team system we like to think supports him,' he said. 'But there's opportunities to get better and maybe that's a platform they'll show now, if you sort of isolate Darcy a little bit. 'We want a leader defending the ground a bit better than he did at times on the weekend, we won't shy away from that.'
