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Essendon Bombers odds
About the Bombers
Top Bookies
Futures Betting
News & Tips
Best Bets
Fixture
Players to Watch
Records & History
Top Bookies
Futures Betting
News & Tips
Best Bets
Fixture
Players to Watch
Records & History
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 their two greatest rivals, Carlton and Collingwood, have as many pennants in their clubrooms.
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, and the Dons are yet to fully recover from it.
It was literally an average season for the Dons last year, finishing 11th, with 11 wins, 11 losses and a draw. With the departure of Jake Stringer in the off-season, and the retirements of experience duo Dyson Heppell and Jake Kelly, the young Bombers are crucial to how Essendon go this season.
How high can these Bombers fly in 2025? Let’s see what the top AFL betting sites can tell us about Essendon’s prospects in the upcoming season.
About the Essendon Football Club
| Established: | 1878 |
|---|---|
| Home ground: | Marvel Stadium |
| Coach: | Brad Scott |
| Captain: | Zach Merrett |
| Premierships: | 16 – 1897, 1901, 1911, 1912, 1923, 1924, 1942, 1949, 1950, 1962, 1965, 1984, 1985, 1993, 2000 |
| 2024 ladder finish: | 11th (11-11-1) |
Best bookies for Bombers betting
This is my table
Updated Essendon futures betting
Correct as of March 25, 2025
Latest Essendon AFL futures odds come courtesy of Neds.com.au, where new customers can take advantage of some of the best AFL betting features and markets available.
| 2025 Premiership | Top 8 Betting | Brownlow Medal | Rising Star | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Odds @ BetOnline | $101 | $7 | Zach Merrett $41 | Isaac Kako $11 |
Essendon AFL news & tips
The Bombers will be looking to bounce back when they face North to kick off Round 8 of the 2025 ...
Collingwood crushed Essendon by 41 points on Anzac Day, with Nick and Josh Daicos starring and Steele Sidebottom claiming the ...
Best Bombers bets for the 2025 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 enters the 2025 AFL season with renewed optimism, but can they break their premiership drought? The Bombers have shown promise under Brad Scott, yet consistency remains a concern. At around $51 in futures markets, they offer value for believers, but defensive lapses could prove costly. If their midfield fires and the likes of Kyle Langford and Nate Caddy can dominate as a duo up forward, they’re not the worst team entering 2025.
- Essendon’s finals hopes hinge on consistency, with bookies pricing them around $5 to make the top eight. Their midfield talent is undeniable, but defensive concerns linger. If they start strong and stay injury-free, they’re a chance—though history suggests a rollercoaster ride for Bombers fans.
- Essendon skipper Zach Merrett is a proven ball-winner and polls well, sitting around $26 in Brownlow markets. His elite consistency keeps him in contention, but can he outshine the league’s top stars? If the Bombers push for finals, Merrett’s chances improve—though history suggests midfield depth could split votes.
Essendon 2025 AFL fixture
| Round | Date | Opponent | Time (VIC) | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opening Round | Saturday, March 8 | Gold Coast Suns | 5:15pm | People First Stadium, QLD |
| 1 | Friday, March 14 | Hawthorn Hawks | 7:40pm | MCG, VIC |
| 2 | Saturday, March 22 | Adelaide Crows | 1:20pm | MCG, VIC |
| 3 | Thursday, March 27 | Port Adelaide Power | 7:30pm | Marvel Stadium, VIC |
| 4 | BYE | |||
| 5 | Saturday, April 12 | Melbourne Demons | 7:35pm | Adelaide Oval, SA |
| 6 | Friday, April 18 | West Coast Eagles | 6:10pm | Optus Stadium, WA |
| 7 | Friday, April 25 | Collingwood Magpies | 3:20pm | MCG, VIC |
| 8 | Thursday, May 1 | North Melbourne Kangaroos | 7:30pm | Marvel Stadium, VIC |
| 9 | Saturday, May 10 | Sydney Swans | 4:15pm | Marvel Stadium, VIC |
| 10 | Saturday, May 17 | Western Bulldogs | 7:35pm | Marvel Stadium, VIC |
| 11 | Friday, May 23 | Richmond Tigers | 7:40pm | MCG, VIC |
| 12 | Thursday, May 29 | Brisbane Lions | 7:30pm | Gabba, QLD |
| 13 | Sunday, June 8 | Carlton Blues | 7:20pm | MCG, VIC |
| 14 | Saturday, June 14 | Geelong Cats | 4:15pm | MCG, VIC |
| 15 | Thursday, June 19 | Fremantle Dockers | 8:10pm | Optus Stadium, WA |
| 16 | BYE | |||
| 17 | TBC | Gold Coast Suns | TBC | Marvel Stadium, VIC |
| 18 | TBC | Richmond Tigers | TBC | MCG, VIC |
| 19 | TBC | GWS Giants | TBC | Marvel Stadium, VIC |
| 20 | TBC | Western Bulldogs | TBC | Marvel Stadium, VIC |
| 21 | TBC | Sydney Swans | TBC | SCG, NSW |
| 22 | TBC | Geelong Cats | TBC | GMHBA Stadium, VIC |
| 23 | TBC | St Kilda Saints | TBC | Marvel Stadium, VIC |
| 24 | TBC | Carlton Blues | TBC | MCG, VIC |
Essendon players to watch in 2025
Nate Caddy
Born: 14/07/2005
Games: 10
Goals: 9
Position: Forward
Nate Caddy is set to make a significant impact for Essendon in the 2025 AFL season. After a solid debut campaign in 2024, Caddy enters the new year with increased confidence and a strengthened skillset. His versatility and ability to contribute both in attack will be crucial as the Bombers aim for a strong showing in 2025. With the ability to take big pack marks, Essendon will be relying heavily on the second-year key forward.
Kyle Langford
Born: 01/12/1996
Games: 153
Goals: 171
Position: Forward
Kyle Langford is poised for an important 2025 season as a versatile presence in Essendon’s forward line. Known for his strong marking and ability to impact the scoreboard, Langford will look to build on his 2024 form, adding more consistency to his performances. His athleticism and skill in key moments will be pivotal as the Bombers push for a finals berth alongside fellow key-forward, Nate Caddy.
Jye Caldwell
Born: 28/09/2000
Games: 78
Goals: 26
Position: Midfield
Jye Caldwell heads into the 2025 season with a chance to establish himself as a central figure in Essendon’s midfield. After a solid 2024 campaign, Caldwell will look to build on his work rate, tackling ability, and ball-winning skills. His inside presence and distribution will be crucial as the Bombers aim for a finals push.
Essendon records, stats & history
- 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
- 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: 93,644 (vs. Collingwood, 2024)
- 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, Parish, Ridley, Shiel, and Heppell on the books, the future is bright at Bomberland.
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