| Club: | Essendon Football Club |
| Season: | 2011 |
| President: | David Evans |
| Coach: | James Hird (1st season) |
| Captain: | Jobe Watson (2nd season) |
| Home Ground: | Marvel Stadium |
| Preseason Comp: | Pre-season competition |
| Preseason Result: | Runners Up |
| Regularseason Comp: | AFL season |
| Regularseason Result: | 8th |
| Finals Series: | Finals series |
| Finals Result: | Elimination Final |
| Club B&Amp;F: | Best and Fairest |
| Best And Fairest: | David Zaharakis |
| Leading Goalscorer: | Stewart Crameri (34) |
| Highest Attendance: | 89,626 vs. (Round 5) |
| Lowest Attendance: | 33,631 vs. (Round 7) |
| Average Attendance: | 49,267 |
| Club Membership: | 50,275 (9,686 / +23.86%) |
| Prevseason: | 2010 |
| Nextseason: | 2012 |
The 2011 Essendon Football Club season is the club's 113th season in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Essendon won 11 matches, drew one and lost 10 matches in the 2011 season. Essendon won five matches within the first eight rounds, before a form slump culminated in a five-match losing streak and Essendon dropping out of the top eight for the first time this season when it lost to by 65 points.
Their season begun with a 55-point thumping of triple-preliminary finalists the before a narrow five-point defeat to followed. Wins over (in their captain Nick Riewoldt's 200th game) followed, before a thrilling draw against and a five-goal loss in the Anzac Day match against followed.
Round 6 brought along the mother of all Essendon wins - a 139-point thumping of the at home, with the Bombers recording a record first-quarter score of 15.4 (94) and its quarter-time lead of 93 points also brought along a new record. Amidst this, Essendon lost the second quarter in surprising circumstances, before going on to finish the job to record its first win over a side featuring Gary Ablett since 2005. Only two more wins would follow, against the West Coast Eagles and Brisbane Lions in the weeks after the Suns annihilation.
Essendon pulled off the boilover of the season when they defeated the previously unbeaten by four points in Round 15, 2011, without their injured skipper, Jobe Watson. It was their first win over the Cats in almost six years, having not beaten them since Round 18, 2005. However, it was just their second win over Geelong since 2003, leaving them with one of the worst records against Geelong in recent times.
Round 20 saw Essendon at home to for the first time since Round 1, 2006 when Essendon triumphed by 27 points. Essendon won by one point after a post-siren shot by Sydney's Adam Goodes drifted to the left. Round 23 saw Essendon qualifying the finals for the second time in two years, when it defeated Port Adelaide by 7 points at Etihad Stadium. It ended a seven-year winless run against the side, having not beaten them since Round 18, 2004.
Essendon's elimination final against was lost by 62 points, ending what was otherwise a promising first year for James Hird in the Essendon coaching role.
In
Out
See main article: 2010 AFL Draft. National Draft
| Round | Pick | Name | From | League | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | TAC Cup | |||
| 2 | 31 | TAC Cup | |||
| 3 | 48 | TAC Cup | |||
| 4 | 64 | SANFL | |||
| 5 | 80 | TAC Cup | |||
| 6 | 95 | Pass | |||
| 7 | 106 | Rookie Promotion | |||
| Round | Pick | Name | From | League | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | CMFL | |||
| 2 | 29 | AFL | |||
| 3 | 46 | AFL | |||
| 4 | 61 | James Webster^ | BDFL |
Pre-Season Draft
See main article: 2011 NAB Cup.
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| Player | Round | Charge category | Level | Verdict | Points | Result | Victim | Club | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Williams | NAB Cup | Striking | 2 | Guilty | 70 | Reprimand | Liam Jurrah | Melbourne | [1] | |
| Cale Hooker | 3 | Wrestling | Guilty | 0 | $900 | Nick Riewoldt | St Kilda | [2] | ||
| Nathan Lovett-Murray | 7 | Negligent Umpire Contact | Guilty | 0 | $900 | Mathew Leppard | [3] |
| width=60 | Round | Opponent | width=90 | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42,617 | |||
| 5 | 89,626 | |||
| 6 | 33,710 | |||
| 7 | 33,631 | |||
| 11 | 53,077 | |||
| 13 | 42,329 | |||
| 15 | 43,806 | |||
| 16 | 55,442 | |||
| 18 | 74,123 | |||
| 20 | 38,722 | |||
| 23 | 34,849 | |||
| Total Attendance | 541,932 | |||
| Average Attendance | 49,267 | |||
| Item | $ (AUD) | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $51,416,731 | |
| Membership & Reserved Seating | $10,363,690 | |
| Gate Receipts | $963,101 | |
| Marketing Revenue | $15,532,108 | |
| Merchandise Revenue | $2,563,026 | |
| Football Department Spend | $18,510,078 | |
| Operating Profit/Loss | $1,024,086 | |
| Total Profit/Loss | $2,059,379 |