List Mgmt. Request for AFL assistance in 2026

[Donflicted]

Hi All,

While our previous seasons have never been North or WCE eagles bad we are hopefully going to finish 18th this year which in my opinion is needed as we require more elite talent on our list.

A hot take but i would happily trade one of our premiership cups for a wooden spoon this year and next as we have never ever embarked on a proper rebuild till now.

We have not won a final in over 20 years
Likely to go a year without winning a game
Tassie looms so the talent pool will be smaller

Surely we ask for some kind of assistance?
E.G Pick/s extra list spots for rookies

Apologises Lore if this thread isnt up to standard

 

[dalecooper]

id take the afl giving us discounted or free access to our nga and faither sons in the 2027 draft as 'assistance'. would be more useful than any picks they may give us as they would just get eaten up by bids. if any team in the comp deserves help it's us, who cares about being too 'proud' anymore.

 

[jannissary]

we're too proud as a club to want to/ask for help.

it's as simple as that

 

[Donflicted]

Being proud as an ego stand point is not a good enough excuse?

Does the club not think that the WCE are not a proud club?

 

[Yoda_]

100% we should ask for help, with Tassie coming in, why not try and get in ahead of the curb or better still, as dalecooper suggested, assistance/help/leeway with listing NGA's would be beneficial as well.

Maybe extra allowance in the soft cap so we can get some actual credible assistant coaches and not jobs for the boys we have going on

 

[Calthorpe14]

We should be asking and IMO, should be receiving something.

Depending on how shit the rest of the year goes, I'd be hopeful of an additional selection in the 1st round and maybe a couple of rookie spots. Can't tell me that West Coast, who won the flag in 2018 vs. us, who've been in this mess for 22 years, are more deserving.

My worry is that we're too proud and arrogant of a club to go cap in hand to the league.

 

[Yoda_]

We should be asking and IMO, should be receiving something.

Depending on how shit the rest of the year goes, I'd be hopeful of an additional selection in the 1st round and maybe a couple of rookie spots. Can't tell me that West Coast, who won the flag in 2018 vs. us, who've been in this mess for 22 years, are more deserving.

My worry is that we're too proud and arrogant of a club to go cap in hand to the league.

"oh but this was self inflicted by West Coast"

no shit, we've been our own worst enemy for 20 years

 

[Donflicted]

"oh but this was self inflicted by West Coast"

no shit, we've been our own worst enemy for 20 years

Still our worst enemy too with not parting with Merrett last year imo

 

[Ants]

id take the afl giving us discounted or free access to our nga and faither sons in the 2027 draft as 'assistance'. would be more useful than any picks they may give us as they would just get eaten up by bids. if any team in the comp deserves help it's us, who cares about being too 'proud' anymore.

This should absolutely be the focus of any request. We can spin it as "just keeping the current rules for us for a few years", "won't be obvious to the average punter what they've done", reflects that we've had picks pushed out by the current system for years and that with Tassie coming in it is the worse possible time to start a rebuild.

I'd also be pointing out to the AFL we've done exactly what they say clubs should try and do. Brought in senior coaches, pushed for finals, tried to lure free agents and players, insisted on Daniher & Merrett staying. Everything to stay relevant, that the AFL wants. And it has brought us to this.

 

[dank420_]

we're too proud as a club to want to/ask for help.

it's as simple as that

Also to proud to post this CRAP on the almight ESSENDON board

WE ARE ESSEDON

 

[Donflicted]

Also to proud to post this CRAP on the almight ESSENDON board

WE ARE ESSEDON

Welshy will talk his bullshit on how it isnt swagger blah blah blah

 

[King Patty]

To: The AFL Commission
From: The Board of the Essendon Football Club
Date: March 31, 2026
Subject: Formal Application for Special Assistance under the AFL Special Assistance Rule
Dear Commissioners,

The Essendon Football Club formally submits this application for a draft assistance package ahead of the 2026 Toyota AFL National Draft. We believe our current list profile and sustained period of on-field under performance constitute the "exceptional circumstances" required for Commission intervention to restore our competitiveness.
Our submission is based on four critical pillars:

1. Sustained On-Field Performance
Despite recent efforts to rebuild, the club has reached a critical juncture in on-field results:

• Finals Drought: The club has not won a finals match in over 21 years (since 2004), the longest active streak in the competition.
• 2025 Performance: Following a competitive start, the club suffered 13 consecutive losses to end the 2025 season.
• 2026 Performance: Essendon are yet to win a game and have suffered significant losses.
• Statistical Deficit: Our percentage has remained consistently below 100%, and our inability to compete with top-tier sides was highlighted by significant losses, including an 95-point defeat to Geelong , 93 and 91 point losses to Western Bulldogs and a 95 point loss to the Gold coast suns in our last encounters. Essendon has not scored over 100 points in the 2025 season and 2026 so far.

2. List Profile and Maturity
While we have invested in youth, our list remains one of the most inexperienced in the league:

• Inexperience: For the 2025 season, our list ranked 15th for average games played (62.2) and 16th for average age (23.9 years).
• Talent Void: The departure of senior leaders and free agents—including the loss of Sam Draper to Brisbane as an unrestricted free agent—has further hollowed out our mid-age demographic. In addition Zach Merrett was looking to depart for more success, he has given everything to this club, and our timeline for any success is so long in the future his career will be over. He Likely departs and we will have a severe lack of high end talent.

3. Impact of Injuries
The 2025 season was severely compromised by an unprecedented injury list that prevented continuity in our game plan:

• Key Absences: Critical pillars such as Nick Martin (acl) will miss the entire 2026 season.
• Medical Burden: The club started the year with 4 players returning from acl injuries.

4. Proposed Assistance Request
To fast-track our return to a competitive state and ensure the integrity of the national competition, we request the following:

• Supplementary Draft Selections: One end-of-first-round selection in the 2026 National Draft and two end-of-first-round selections in the 2027 National Draft.
• Rookie List Flexibility: Two additional rookie list spots for the 2027 season to allow for the retention of developing talent.
• NGA Concessions: Ability to add Next Generation Academy talent prior to the national draft for the next 2 years.

5. A healthy Essendon is good for the AFL competition
A strong Essendon Football Club is vital for the AFL competition because it revitalizes one of the league's most historic, successful, and widely supported "big four" clubs. A competitive Essendon boosts crowd numbers, fuels high-profile rivalries with clubs like Collingwood, and increases viewership, providing substantial commercial and passionate energy to the overall competition. And we are at risk of losing the next generation, even Die hard fans have trouble keeping their kids energised with the current club performances.


We are committed to a "ruthless" internal review of our football operations, but we believe this assistance is essential to provide the talent influx required to compete in a modern league.
We look forward to presenting our full case to the Commission.
Yours Sincerely,
The Board of Directors
Essendon Football Club

 

[eth-dog]

Ask for the world. Ask for free NGA pre listing access for the next 2 years (Justice, Rodan, Darwish here we come), 2x end of first round picks that are required to be traded, and a couple of extra rookie spots.

I don't think we're too proud to ask for help. Know what to ask for and what to chase.

 

[Donflicted]

To: The AFL Commission
From: The Board of the Essendon Football Club
Date: March 31, 2026
Subject: Formal Application for Special Assistance under the AFL Special Assistance Rule
Dear Commissioners,

The Essendon Football Club formally submits this application for a draft assistance package ahead of the 2026 Toyota AFL National Draft. We believe our current list profile and sustained period of on-field under performance constitute the "exceptional circumstances" required for Commission intervention to restore our competitiveness.
Our submission is based on four critical pillars:

1. Sustained On-Field Performance
Despite recent efforts to rebuild, the club has reached a critical juncture in on-field results:

• Finals Drought: The club has not won a finals match in over 21 years (since 2004), the longest active streak in the competition.
• 2025 Performance: Following a competitive start, the club suffered 13 consecutive losses to end the 2025 season.
• 2026 Performance: Essendon are yet to win a game and have suffered significant losses.
• Statistical Deficit: Our percentage has remained consistently below 100%, and our inability to compete with top-tier sides was highlighted by significant losses, including an 95-point defeat to Geelong , 93 and 91 point losses to Western Bulldogs and a 95 point loss to the Gold coast suns in our last encounters. Essendon has not scored over 100 points in the 2025 season and 2026 so far.

2. List Profile and Maturity
While we have invested in youth, our list remains one of the most inexperienced in the league:

• Inexperience: For the 2025 season, our list ranked 15th for average games played (62.2) and 16th for average age (23.9 years).
• Talent Void: The departure of senior leaders and free agents—including the loss of Sam Draper to Brisbane as an unrestricted free agent—has further hollowed out our mid-age demographic. In addition Zach Merrett was looking to depart for more success, he has given everything to this club, and our timeline for any success is so long in the future his career will be over. He Likely departs and we will have no high end talent./

3. Impact of Injuries
The 2025 season was severely compromised by an unprecedented injury list that prevented continuity in our game plan:

• Key Absences: Critical pillars such as Nick Martin (acl) will miss the entire 2026 season.
• Medical Burden: The club started the year with 4 players returning from acl injuries.

4. Proposed Assistance Request
To fast-track our return to a competitive state and ensure the integrity of the national competition, we request the following:

• Supplementary Draft Selections: One end-of-first-round selection in the 2026 National Draft and two end-of-first-round selections in the 2027 National Draft.
• Rookie List Flexibility: Two additional rookie list spots for the 2027 season to allow for the retention of developing talent.
• NGA Concessions: Ability to add Next Generation Academy talent prior to the national draft for the next 2 years.

We are committed to a "ruthless" internal review of our football operations, but we believe this assistance is essential to provide the talent influx required to compete in a modern league.
We look forward to presenting our full case to the Commission.
Yours Sincerely,
The Board of Directors
Essendon Football Club

I doubt they would allow all that

I am still in the letting Draper go was the correct choice he is a plodder and wasnt worth the money and years he was asking E.G Parish Langford

 

[Donflicted]

Ask for the world. Ask for free NGA pre listing access for the next 2 years (Justice, Rodan, Darwish here we come), 2x end of first round picks that are required to be traded, and a couple of extra rookie spots.

I don't think we're too proud to ask for help. Know what to ask for and what to chase.

I hope we are not to proud as we clearly need it i would also ask for those rookie spots to be able to be used on Veteran players from successful clubs that allow us to bring in some cultural drivers as our senior players are not up to it and we dont want them leading our next generation as its just going to repeat itself

 

[Phone]

we should of course ask for help but we're not getting anything this year. maybe next year

 

[Ants]

I will say I think the AFL will be more open to requests than they have been in the past. I believe their move to give bottom 5 finishers extra picks is a backdoor way of giving assistance without admitting they've screwed up equalisation. Everyone knows Tassie coming in makes this a terrible time to start rebuilding. And the AFL really really wants to avoid another North 7+ year rebuild.

But I wouldn't expect any picks as assistance. Too obvious. Assistance on the academy, either prelisting or a discount on player matching I think is easiest. Its just not as obvious to the average follower that they've given any meaningful assistance.

 

[King Patty]

I doubt they would allow all that

Its not all that much, not overly impacting draft
3 x end of first round picks 50/50 chance at best
2 extra rookies
NGA Concessions - would be helpful.

 

[Ants]

Its not all that much, not overly impacting draft
3 x end of first round picks 50/50 chance at best
2 extra rookies
NGA Concessions - would be helpful.

They're not going to give us extra picks when they've established you need to be rubbish for years to get them AND they're sneaking in support via this "extra picks for top 5 if your picks are pushed back", when everyone knows they will be with Walker & Cochrane.

 

[dank420_]

We need to milk the shitness.

Sack Brad next week after the dogs humiliate us.

Solomon takes over, doesn't win any games, sacked at the end of the year.

Hird is announced coach in the off season. We win ZERO GAMES again in 2027. Hird flees on a boat to Sardinia.

 

[King Patty]

We need to milk the shitness.

Sack Brad next week after the dogs humiliate us.

Solomon takes over, doesn't win any games, sacked at the end of the year.

We can probably keep Brad a bit longer.

Keep dogs less than 90 point win, he can have a few more weeks.

otherwise will need to call in emergency help to help out solomon.

 

[Donflicted]

Obsession with Solomon is odd

His our defensive coach and our defense has not been very good i would even say has gone backwards since Ben Jacobs went to our midfield coach

 

[King Patty]

We win ZERO GAMES again in 2027. Hird flees on a boat to Port Melbourne.

Fixed

 

[dank420_]

Obsession with Solomon is odd

No you misunderstand. If he takes over now he won't survive.

 

[ant555]

Ask for everything. We will not get anything but if you do not ask you will never know.