Essendon Football Club

If you were to pick out Dean Solomon’s most commonly used phrases around the NEC Hangar, there’s a good chance that repetitions of ‘hit the contest hard’, ‘impact without the ball’ and ‘seize your moments’ would rank right at the very top. By that logic, it’s no surprise that Archer Day-Wicks has firmly held onto his spot in the starting 23 and the weekend’s win over GWS showed exactly why.

Essendon Football Club and MOVA have strengthened their partnership ahead of the 2026 AFLW season, with the global smart home brand becoming Co-Major Partner of the Club's AFLW program as it continues to invest in Australian sport and innovation. The announcement was celebrated at the NEC Hangar, where AFLW captain Bonnie Toogood and reigning AFLW Best and Fairest Georgia Nanscawen were unveiled as MOVA's newest brand ambassadors, joining AFL stars Zach Merrett and Darcy Parish.

Essendon has made four changes to its side ahead of a Saturday afternoon encounter with old rivals Hawthorn. The Dons will call upon Nik Cox after his seven-goal haul in the VFL, with Will Setterfield and Ben McKay also returning to the lineup. Ruck Lachie Blakiston slots back into the side in the absence of Nick Bryan, who'll miss through injury after copping a couple of very heavy knocks last week.

Essendon are on a high after reaching the ‘most connected’ wavelength they’ve been on this season in their stirring win over GWS, but skipper Andy McGrath is hoping that’s only the baseline for this group’s output approaching the final month of the season. Speaking to SEN Breakfast on Thursday morning. McGrath admitted a sense of relief - both for the leaders shouldering the weight of a tough season and the youngsters getting to sing the song for the first time in their budding careers.

Essendon is saddened to hear news of the passing of Club Hall of Fame Legend Greg Sewell at the age of 93. A terrific servant of the Bombers both on-field and off, Sewell represented the red and black 171 times as a player before devoting his time to the Club’s Committee and taking the reins as President in 1981, overseeing the legendary 1984-’85 triumphs as back-to-back Premiers.

The Essendon Football Club is excited to take its first outbound Next Generation Academy (NGA) Come & Try Session of 2026 to East Sunbury Football Club on Wednesday, 5 August, providing local young athletes with the opportunity to learn, develop and connect with the Bombers.

ROUNDTWENTY Hawthorn v Essendon 4:15pm (AEST), Saturday 25thofJuly2026 Gates open from 2:30pm (MCC from1:45pm) MCG, Melbourne – Wurundjeri Key timings 2:30pm Gates open 4:01pm Team runout 4:13pm Coin Toss 4:15pm Game Start Hawthorn v Essendon tickets are available onTickets are available via Ticketek and on gameday outside Gates1and3. Essendon members have two ways to access the game on Saturday.

Fresh off a breakthrough victory, Essendon now faces another significant test as it prepares to take on a red-hot Hawthorn outfit. With confidence restored, the Bombers will be looking to match last week's intensity and prove they can back up their best against one of the competition's form sides. Solomon on… backing it up against Hawthorn "We've got a lot of respect for Hawthorn," he said.

Skip to main content 10:32 Mins Each year, players from our men's and women's visit the Tiwi Islands for a cultural immersion experience. Our most recent group saw Isaac Kako, Jayden Nguyen and VFLW player Tayla Hart-Aluni spend the week there with a focus on cultural connection, community engagement and education. They were lucky enough to watch the Tiwi Bombers take the field in a local match too.

A result for the ages saw the bottom-placed Bombers secure their second win of the 2026 season. Edging out the Giants by under a kick, the Bomber faithful bore witness to the Club's first win on Victorian soil in more than 400 days. Leading the charge once again was Essendon's young brigade, whose development has been one of the biggest positives of the season. That progression was further recognised with Dyson Sharp becoming the Club's seventh Rising Star nominee since the beginning of 2025.