After a promising start to the season Essendon found themselves second on the ladder with a record of 8 wins and 1 loss (which was by a single point). The season then took an unexpected turn which saw Essendon lose 10 out of the last 13 games and miss the finals. They became the first club to have an 8–1 record and miss finals since
Melbourne in the
1971 season.
Prior to the final round vice-captain
Mark McVeigh announced his retirement from football after 14 season and 232 games at the club. After the Home and Away season completed Essendon captain
Jobe Watson was awarded the
Brownlow Medal. The highest individual accolade in the
AFL. This was later handed back following the drug scandal.
The season became notorious for the
illegal supplements program that was operated by the club prior to and into the 2012 season. After a three-year investigation, thirty-four players on the 2012 squad were suspected to have been administered the banned peptide
Thymosin beta-4 and were suspended for the 2016 season.[1]
On 2 July
Essendon unveiled their Heritage Guernsey. It feature all the names of past premiership players in the background along with the name and signature of club legend
John Colman on the breast. Under the signature include the traditional
Essendon Football Club motto 'suaviter in modo, fortiter in re' which dates back to the 1870s and translates as 'gentle in manner, resolute in deed.'[2] The most notable change to the guernsey was the removal of the black background to comply with
AFL rules requiring each club to provide a
clash guernsey.
The new Heritage guernsey made its debut during the
Round 15 game between
St Kilda and
Essendon. This marked the end of a 114-year-long tradition as the first time the
Essendon Football Club would play an
AFL/VFL game without wearing its famous black and red stripe guernsey.
Results
Pre-season (NAB Cup)
Round 1
The three teams in each pool play each other in games of two 20-minute halves, with all three games being played over a three-hour period at the one venue.
The match between Essendon and St Kilda was cancelled, because heavy rain prevented flights chartered by the Essendon Football Club from landing in Wangaratta.[3] Initially the match was reflected as a draw with no score on the NAB Cup Ladder,[4] but later St Kilda was awarded the four points.[5]
Former Essendon player
Jordan Bannister made his senior AFL debut as a
field umpire in this match. Bannister played for Essendon from 2001–2003, and later played for
Carlton.[6]
a "Points" refers to carry-over points accrued following the sanction. For example, 154.69 points draw a one-match suspension, with 54.69 carry-over points (for every 100 points, a one-match suspension is given).
s Denotes amount of seasons on the
Essendon list only.
After a promising start to the season Essendon found themselves second on the ladder with a record of 8 wins and 1 loss (which was by a single point). The season then took an unexpected turn which saw Essendon lose 10 out of the last 13 games and miss the finals. They became the first club to have an 8–1 record and miss finals since
Melbourne in the
1971 season.
Prior to the final round vice-captain
Mark McVeigh announced his retirement from football after 14 season and 232 games at the club. After the Home and Away season completed Essendon captain
Jobe Watson was awarded the
Brownlow Medal. The highest individual accolade in the
AFL. This was later handed back following the drug scandal.
The season became notorious for the
illegal supplements program that was operated by the club prior to and into the 2012 season. After a three-year investigation, thirty-four players on the 2012 squad were suspected to have been administered the banned peptide
Thymosin beta-4 and were suspended for the 2016 season.[1]
On 2 July
Essendon unveiled their Heritage Guernsey. It feature all the names of past premiership players in the background along with the name and signature of club legend
John Colman on the breast. Under the signature include the traditional
Essendon Football Club motto 'suaviter in modo, fortiter in re' which dates back to the 1870s and translates as 'gentle in manner, resolute in deed.'[2] The most notable change to the guernsey was the removal of the black background to comply with
AFL rules requiring each club to provide a
clash guernsey.
The new Heritage guernsey made its debut during the
Round 15 game between
St Kilda and
Essendon. This marked the end of a 114-year-long tradition as the first time the
Essendon Football Club would play an
AFL/VFL game without wearing its famous black and red stripe guernsey.
Results
Pre-season (NAB Cup)
Round 1
The three teams in each pool play each other in games of two 20-minute halves, with all three games being played over a three-hour period at the one venue.
The match between Essendon and St Kilda was cancelled, because heavy rain prevented flights chartered by the Essendon Football Club from landing in Wangaratta.[3] Initially the match was reflected as a draw with no score on the NAB Cup Ladder,[4] but later St Kilda was awarded the four points.[5]
Former Essendon player
Jordan Bannister made his senior AFL debut as a
field umpire in this match. Bannister played for Essendon from 2001–2003, and later played for
Carlton.[6]
a "Points" refers to carry-over points accrued following the sanction. For example, 154.69 points draw a one-match suspension, with 54.69 carry-over points (for every 100 points, a one-match suspension is given).
s Denotes amount of seasons on the
Essendon list only.