The Essendon Football Club, nicknamed The Bombers, is an Australian rules football club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Thought to have formed in 1872, Essendon played their first Victorian Football Association (VFA) game in 1873, before participating in the inaugural season of the Victorian Football League (now AFL) in 1897.[1] Headquartered at the Essendon Recreation Reserve, Windy Hill, in the Melbourne suburb of Essendon, the club has won 16 VFL/AFL premierships, which, along with Carlton, is the most of any club.[2] [3]
The club best and fairest award is claimed by some to have been first given in 1897; however, there is no contemporary evidence that it actually existed prior to the late 1920s. Since 1959 or 1960, it has been known as the W. S. Crichton Medal. Dick Reynolds was awarded medal on a record-equalling seven occasions between 1934 and 1943. Reynolds also won the Brownlow Medal a club-record three times, in 1934, 1937 and 1938. The medal is awarded annually to the best and fairest player in the competition, currently on the basis of a 3–2–1 match-by-match voting system used by the match umpires.[4] Former Richmond player Kevin Sheedy coached Essendon for a record 635 games and four premierships in 27 seasons between 1980 and 2007, thus becoming the second-longest-serving coach in VFL/AFL history.[5] Full-forward Matthew Lloyd is the club's leading goal-kicker, with 926, ahead of ruckman Simon Madden with 575.[6] Lloyd was Essendon's leading goal-kicker on a record 12 occasions between 1997 and 2009, kicking 100 goals in a season during 2000 and 2001.[7]
| Year | Coach | Captain | Leading goalkicker | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1897 # | — | — | Norman Waugh (23) | ||
| 1898 | — | — | (20) | ||
| 1899 | — | — | (15) | ||
| 1900 | — | — | (25) | ||
| 1901 # | — | (34) | |||
| 1902 | — | — | (32) | ||
| 1903 | — | (15) | |||
| 1904 | — | / | — | (25) | |
| 1905 | — | — | (29) | ||
| 1906 | — | (31) | |||
| 1907 | — | — | (16) | ||
| 1908 | (26) | ||||
| 1909 | (40) | ||||
| 1910 | — | (40) | |||
| 1911 # | (35) | ||||
| 1912 # | (43) | ||||
| 1913 | (29) | ||||
| 1914 | — | (28) | |||
| 1915 | — | (14) | |||
| 1916 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1917 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1918 | — | (15) | |||
| 1919 | — | (15) | |||
| 1920 | (33) | ||||
| 1921 | — | (17) | |||
| 1922 | (36) | ||||
| 1923 # | Greg Stockdale (68) | ||||
| 1924 # | (50) | ||||
| 1925 | (37) | ||||
| 1926 | Greg Stockdale (36) | ||||
| 1927 | (35) | ||||
| 1928 | Greg Stockdale (39) | ||||
| 1929 | / (40) | ||||
| 1930 | (54) | ||||
| 1931 | Ted Freyer (50) | ||||
| 1932 | Ted Freyer (52) | ||||
| 1933 | Ted Freyer (51) | ||||
| 1934 | Dick Reynolds * | Ted Freyer (61) | |||
| 1935 | Keith Forbes (52) | ||||
| 1936 | Ted Freyer (50) | ||||
| 1937 | Dick Reynolds * | Keith Forbes (44) | |||
| 1938 | Dick Reynolds * | Tom Reynolds (68) | |||
| 1939 | Tom Reynolds (71) | ||||
| 1940 | Ted Bryce (48) | ||||
| 1941 | Tom Reynolds (65) | ||||
| 1942 # | Tom Reynolds (61) | ||||
| 1943 | Dick Reynolds (31) | ||||
| 1944 | Ray Powell (42) | ||||
| 1945 | Bill Brittingham (48) | ||||
| 1946 # | Bill Brittingham (66) | ||||
| 1947 | Ted Leehane (50) | ||||
| 1948 | Bill Hutchison (52) | ||||
| 1949 # | John Coleman (100) | ||||
| 1950 # | John Coleman (120) | ||||
| 1951 | John Coleman (75) | ||||
| 1952 | Bill Hutchison * | John Coleman (103) | |||
| 1953 | Bill Hutchison * | John Coleman (97) | |||
| 1954 | John Coleman (42) | ||||
| 1955 | Hugh Mitchell (51) | ||||
| 1956 | Graham Willey (33) | ||||
| 1957 | Fred Gallagher (34) | ||||
| 1958 | John Birt (31) | ||||
| 1958 | John Birt (31) | ||||
| 1959 | Ron Evans (78 | ||||
| 1960 | Ron Evans (67) | ||||
| 1961 | Hugh Mitchell (33) | ||||
| 1962 # | Charlie Payne (39) | ||||
| 1963 | Charlie Payne (36) | ||||
| 1964 | Hugh Mitchell (32) | ||||
| 1965 # | Ted Fordham (54) | ||||
| 1966 | Ted Fordham (76) | ||||
| 1967 | Alan Noonan (40) | ||||
| 1968 | Alan Noonan (51) | ||||
| 1969 | Alan Noonan (43) | ||||
| 1970 | Geoff Blethyn (33) | ||||
| 1971 | Alan Noonan (31) | ||||
| 1972 | Geoff Blethyn (107) | ||||
| 1973 | Alan Noonan (63) | ||||
| 1974 | Alan Noonan (77) | ||||
| 1975 | Alan Noonan (48) | ||||
| 1976 | Graham Moss * | Geoff Blethyn (39) | |||
| 1977 | Max Crow (38) | ||||
| 1978 | Wayne Primmer (47) | ||||
| 1979 | Terry Daniher (57) | ||||
| 1979 | Terry Daniher (57) | ||||
| 1980 | Simon Madden (45) | ||||
| 1981 | Tony Buhagiar (42) | ||||
| 1982 | Simon Madden (49) | ||||
| 1983 | Terry Daniher (64) | ||||
| 1984 # | Paul Salmon (63) | ||||
| 1985 # | Mark Harvey (48) | ||||
| 1986 | Alan Ezard (47) | ||||
| 1987 | Paul Salmon (43) | ||||
| 1988 | Paul Salmon (37) | ||||
| 1989 | Paul Salmon (39) | ||||
| 1990 | Paul Salmon (43) | ||||
| 1991 | Simon Madden (42) | ||||
| 1992 | Paul Salmon (59) | ||||
| 1993 # | Paul Salmon (65) | ||||
| 1994 | Scott Cummings (32) | ||||
| 1995 | James Hird (47) | ||||
| 1996 | James Hird * | James Hird (39) | |||
| 1997 | Matthew Lloyd (63) | ||||
| 1998 | Matthew Lloyd (70) | ||||
| 1999 | Matthew Lloyd (87) | ||||
| 2000 # | Matthew Lloyd (109) | ||||
| 2001 | Matthew Lloyd (105) | ||||
| 2002 | Matthew Lloyd (47) | ||||
| 2003 | Matthew Lloyd (93) | ||||
| 2004 | Matthew Lloyd (96) | ||||
| 2005 | Matthew Lloyd (59) | ||||
| 2006 | Scott Lucas (67) | ||||
| 2007 | Matthew Lloyd (62) | ||||
| 2008 | Matthew Lloyd (62) | ||||
| 2009 | Matthew Lloyd (35) | ||||
| 2010 | Angus Monfries (24) | ||||
| 2011 | Stewart Crameri (34) | ||||
| 2012 | Stewart Crameri (32) | ||||
| 2013 | Stewart Crameri (30) | ||||
| 2014 | Joe Daniher (28) | ||||
| 2015 | Joe Daniher (34) | ||||
| 2016 | Joe Daniher (43) | ||||
| 2017 | Joe Daniher (65) | ||||
| 2018 | Jake Stringer (30) | ||||
| 2019 | Jake Stringer (33) | ||||
| 2020 | Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti (19) | ||||
| 2021 | Jake Stringer (41) | ||||
| 2022 | Peter Wright (53) | ||||
| 2023 | Brad Scott | Zach Merrett | Zach Merrett | Kyle Langford (51) | |
| 2024 | Brad Scott | Zach Merrett | (TBA) | (TBA) | |
| Source: Essendon Football Club. Last updated: 12 July 2024. | |||||