THE NEXT FOUR
The Bombers are back!
After an unnaturally early bye week (thanks to an aborted Opening Round) the Essendon Football Club returns to the field, and in Gather Round no less. It’s already been a fairly tumultuous season and it’s barely just begun. A few poor performances, a shock victory and some disappointing injuries would quietly sum up the first three outings of 2025 – but the next four will very likely give fans an insight into the fortunes of the remainder.
So, with that in mind let’s have a little gander at the next four games to come.
Who the Dons will face…
What should be expected…
And maybe, the key to a few wins…
Can the Bombers find away to heap more pain on this struggling Dees outfit?
MELBOURNE V ESSENDON (AWAY)
WHERE: Adelaide Oval
WHEN: 7:35PM Saturday, 12/04
EXPECTATIONS: The Dees have been slammed from pillar to post to start their 2025 campaign. Poor results have Melbourne languishing at the base of the ladder on 0-4. On and off the field, the Demons have had issues and some unsatisfactory body language from senior figures during their string of losses would have plenty of Dees fans wondering what the remainder of the season holds for them. But this doesn’t mean they’re not super dangerous.
Despite their underwhelming start to the season, Melbourne still have enough firepower to cause Essendon grief and major heartache. In their loss to Geelong last Friday night, the best of the Demons were still on-show. Clayton Oliver nabbed 30 disposals and Steven May 27. While goals were sparing for the Dees, the chef-supreme, Christian Petracca scored two to lead Melbourne’s tally. Had Fritsch or Pickett been able to convert any of their combined 6 behinds, who knows how things may have panned out.
The Dees may be on the ropes, but they’re not out.
HOW TO WIN: Essendon fans will be hoping a decent amount of psychological scarring has imbedded itself into the minds of the Melbourne squad, causing ceaseless doubt and self-reflection about every mistake that they potentially make come Saturday evening.
With this coupled alongside an optimistic thought that the Dons recent win against Port Adelaide has turned some players fortunes for the better, maybe a repeated victory over Melbourne during Gather Round isn’t so far-fetched.
Durham and co will need to be at their very best out west, even if the Eagles are primed for another spoon.
WEST COAST V ESSENDON (AWAY)
WHERE: Optus Stadium
WHEN: 6:10PM Friday, 18/04
EXPECTATIONS: SHOULD WIN – SHOULD WIN – SHOULD WIN!
I think that makes what most Essendon fans expect clear enough. Despite this match taking place out west, the Bombers should be favourites going into this one. The Eagles are still very deeply entrenched in the earliest and most painful aspects of an ugly rebuild. I’m sure there will be plenty of column inches given to Harley Reid’s supposed desire to relocate to Victoria, and Essendon being a rumoured frontrunner in the week preceding. However! Counting chickens before they hatch has never been a good idea.
The Bombers will need to be as hungry as ever if they’re going to get over the Eagles and head back home with the four points. This is a matchup primed for the likes of Nic Martin and Sam Durham to slice open the guts and for young guns like Isaac Kako and Nate Caddy to get their hands on the pill in front of goal, and just maybe, get themselves a bag.
This 2025 Essendon side is more than likely going to be a bottom six team. West Coast a bottom two. This game will help many Dons fans figure out exactly how much separates these two lists.
HOW TO WIN: There’s a sneaky chance Essendon may not really need to work that hard, I mean who knows, some Eagles players may not even turn up to the ground. I hear meetings with Sam Mitchell can just go on, and on, and on, and on…
Never a small occasion when the Dons face the Pies.
COLLINGWOOD V ESSENDON (AWAY)
WHERE: Melbourne Cricket Ground
WHEN: 3:20PM Friday, 25/04
EXPECTATIONS: Damn this could get ugly. Few things disgust me more than losing to Collingwood on ANZAC Day, and sadly I can’t see things changing in ’25.
The Magpies aren’t settling the world on fire. They’ve won three out of four against sides with significant question marks against their credentials. They’ve got a percentage of 123.4 and have spent their week complaining about visits to the airport. Shocker!
But they’re still dangerous. Membrey, Schultz, De Goey, Hill and Mihocek remain potent around goals. Steele Sidebottom and Scott Pendlebury refuse to age, and The Daicos’ are irritatingly splendid. Mix into that some handy bit players like Houston, Perryman and Crisp – well damn – that’s not an easy team to face.
This is a side who many still have firmly planted in the upper echelons on the ladder come September, and they’ve got a quality mix to back that up, along with proven coaching intellect in the box and sideline.
This game screams SMASHING!
HOW TO WIN: Remarkably, this is potentially an easy fix. Have the Collingwood squad visit a particularly unregulated childcare centre and pray they all come down with a nasty bout of gastro. Stranger things…
It’s never an easy outing against Norf - no matter where they are on the ladder.
ESSENDON V NORTH MELBOURNE (HOME)
WHERE: Marvel Stadium
WHEN: 7:30PM Thursday, 01/05
EXPECTATIONS: This is not the Kangaroos of years gone by. This one is okay. They appear for moments in games and then disappear. They put up a good showing against the Western Bulldogs and held it together for patches against Adelaide, and walloped Melbourne (a feat seemingly worth more in March than it is now). But also got spanked themselves by Sydney in the week just passed.
So, Essendon should be relatively confident going in – but eerily cautious. After all, North Melbourne has an alien hatred for the Bombers. Ask any of the six Kangaroos supporter in the country and they’ll tell you that Essendon is enemy number one. Ask any Essendon supporter the same, and it’ll be a long time before the Kangaroos garner a mention. Nevertheless, no matter what Dons fans think of this opponent, the entire entity that is the North Melbourne Football Club exists upon a very simple premise … beat Essendon.
This means that this matchup will be tough, tight and intense. Only Essendon’s A-game will assure a victory.
HOW TO WIN: I dunno, just play better … I got to admit, I really didn’t put much effort into this matchup. I don’t really think that much about the Arden Street team. I mean come on, it’s Norf.
In conclusion, fingers crossed this blog doesn’t come back to bite me in the arse and the Dons actually find a way out of the next four weeks looking relatively good. Minimal injuries and for the sake of all our sanity, a few wins on the board would be nice – at the very least two.
Because if we lose to the Eagles or the Roos … god help us!
Go Planes.