Essendon Bombers odds

No club has enjoyed more VFL/AFL success than Essendon. The Bombers have won 16 top-flight premierships, including the very first way back in 1897. Only Carlton, their oldest rivals, have as many pennants in their clubrooms.

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Times have been tough at Windy Hill since the turn of the millennium. After a record-breaking premiership year in 2000, a series of poor recruiting decisions (both on and off the field) saw Essendon vanish into the mires of mid-table mediocrity. Just as things were starting to turn around, a drawn-out doping saga brought the club to its knees.

Now the mist is clearing and a bright future lies ahead for the Dons. They have a respected coach in John Worsfold, a worthy captain in Dyson Heppell, and a list bursting with top-end talent in all positions.

How high can these Bombers fly? Let’s see what the bookies can tell us about Essendon’s prospects in the upcoming AFL Premiership season.

About the Essendon Football Club

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Updated Essendon futures betting

Latest Essendon AFL futures odds come courtesy of Sportsbet, where new customers can take advantage of some of the best AFL betting features and markets available. You can view the latest live odds at Sportsbet.com.au.

Best Bombers bets for the 2020 AFL season

There are dozens of AFL futures markets for Essendon, but where are they likely to return some real value?

Click on the tabs below to get more analysis on these markets:

• Essendon 2020 premiership betting
  Essendon have started the past two seasons as one of the teams to watch, but there is a little less buzz around them this time. The noise coming from the club is that we will see a more consistent, balanced style of footy from the Dons this year. If you fancy a roughie for the flag, you could do worse.
  
• Top 4 betting
  This has to be the goal for the Bombers in 2020. We have seen flashes of brilliance and streaks of form over the past few years, but now is the time for the red and black to put a full campaign together and give themselves a chance to make an impact in the finals.
  
• Brownlow Medal betting
  The vast improvement of Essendon’s midfield in recent years makes it tough to call a standout contender in the Brownlow Medal betting. Zach Merrett has polled well in the past and should lead the way again, while Andy McGrath is one to keep an eye on after a strong run home last season.
  
• Rising Star betting
  It was only in 2017 that Andy McGrath became Essendon’s second-ever AFL Rising Star, so it might be a little while before the club produces another. Harrison Jones and Ned Cahill are quoted at long odds, but both are far from guaranteed starters this year.
  
• Coleman Medal betting
  This is a massive year for Joe Daniher. After failing to seal a trade to the Sydney Swans in the offseason, the talented forward has a lot to prove to the Essendon faithful. JD booted 65 goals in 2017 before the injuries struck, so he is one to consider in the Coleman Medal betting.
  

Essendon 2020 AFL fixture

Essendon players to watch in 2020

Devon Smith
Born: 20/3/1993
Games: 138
Goals: 120
Position: Half-forward

All eyes will be on Joe Daniher in 2020, but the Bombers missed this guy just as much last season. Smith’s unique blend of blue-collar hustle and top-drawer skill make him a difficult player to replace.

Andy McGrath
Born: 2/6/1998
Games: 64
Goals: 15
Position: Midfielder

McGrath played a variety of roles in his first three seasons at Essendon, but the 2017 Rising Star found a home in the midfield at the back end of last year and now looks ready to take his game to another level in 2020.

Tom Cutler
Born: 20/2/1995
Games: 66
Goals: 32
Position: Utility

Cutler’s offseason switch from the Brisbane Lions went unnoticed by many in the footy world, but the versatile wingman could prove a very handy bit of business for the Dons if he can get fit and find his way into the 22.

Essendon records, stats and history

• Player records
  Most matches: 400 – Dustin Fletcher (1993–2015)
  Most career goals: 926 – Matthew Lloyd (1995–2009)
  Most goals in a season: 120 – John Coleman (1950)
  Most goals in a match: 14 – John Coleman (1954)
  Best and fairest awards: 7 – Bill Hutchison and Dick Reynolds
  
• Team records
  Most wins in a season: 21 (2000)
  Most consecutive wins: 20 (2000)
  Highest score in a match: 32.16.208 (vs. Footscray, 1982)
  Highest winning margin: 165 (vs. South Melbourne, 1964)
  Highest home attendance: 93,373 (vs. Collingwood, 2013)
  
• Essendon history
  The Essendon Football Club began life as a juniors team in 1871. Seven years later, the Dons entered the senior ranks of the Victorian Football Association. They enjoyed considerable success over the next decade, winning four consecutive premierships from 1891 to 1894.

  Essendon were one of seven VFA clubs that broke away to found the Victorian Football League in 1896. They won the inaugural VFL Premiership a year later and went on to win three more flags prior to the outbreak of World War I.

  The next few decades established Essendon as one of Melbourne’s true powerhouse clubs. Boasting superstars such as Dick Reynolds, Bill Hutchison and John Coleman, the red and black claimed three premierships between 1946 and 1950 to become only the second club to win 10 flags.

  After intermittent success in the ’50s and ’60s, the drought set in. Although the club was financially strong, an inability to find and keep top-end players saw the Bombers go the entirety of the 1970s without reaching a grand final.

  Then Kevin Sheedy came to the rescue. Appointed as coach in 1981, the former Richmond premiership player steered Essendon to the VFL Grand Final two years later – their first since 1968. They lost to Hawthorn on that occasion, but they bounced back with consecutive flag wins over the Hawks in ’84 and ’85.

  The AFL was formed in 1990 and Sheedy was determined to make Essendon one of the big wigs of the nascent national competition. The ‘Baby Bombers’ surprised everyone in 1993, besting Carlton in the decider with a young squad that featured future legends such as James Hird, Dustin Fletcher, Mark Mercuri, Joe Misiti and Gavin Wanganeen.

  New stars emerged throughout the ’90s. Some canny trading brought in Matthew Lloyd and Scott Lucas, who would form one of the game’s great forward partnerships. A series of near-misses throughout the decade culminated in a record-breaking 2000 campaign, when the Dons won 21 of 22 home and away games before smashing Melbourne in the grand final.

  The following years were less fruitful. As stars of the ’93 and ’00 premierships moved on, Sheedy and his staff sought out experienced off-cuts rather than trading for top-shelf talent or trusting in the draft. The result was a rapid decline from which the club is yet to fully recover.

  Just as things were starting look up under the stewardship of dual premiership hero James Hird, disaster struck. From 2012 to 2016, the club was embroiled in a doping scandal that resulted in 34 past and present players missing an entire season of football. Hird lost his job, the hierarchy was in tatters and the Dons were forced to play out the 2016 campaign with a patchwork squad of untried kids and second-tier recruits.

  There was a silver lining among all those storm clouds. With a dozen first-team players out of commission, Essendon had no choice but to trust in young, raw talents and hope for the best. The result was a return to finals footy in 2017 and a Rising Star nod for top draft pick Andy McGrath. With names like Merrett, Daniher, Fantasia, Hurley and Hooker on the books, the future is bright at Bomberland.