Will they improve? Will they regress? The big questions facing Essendon in 2025

SEN Breakfast hosts Kane Cornes and Sam Edmund have run their eyes over Essendon and how they’re shaping up for the 2025 campaign.

With the trade and free agency period now complete, Cornes and Edmund discussed how the club may improve in 2025, how they may regress if things go wrong and the big questions facing the club next season.

The Bombers finished the 2024 season in 11th spot with 11.5 wins after spending plenty of time in the top four.

How can they improve?

“Not going 2-7 in their last 9 games would be a start, so a more even spread of form which started like a house on fire, they had top four written all over them," Cornes said on SEN Breakfast.

“I really can’t find a way of how they get better, I just think the conditioning of their fans which filters through to the playing group, and the lack of action in the trade period suggests that they are in a different phase and they’re willing to take a couple steps back to move forward.

“I know a lot of Essendon fans think it is the right thing to do, but how many resets do you need at this footy club, and how many times do you go down a certain path and divert because they don’t feel as if they are there yet.

“Health will be prime in terms of if they do get better, Darcy Parish you mentioned, Xavier Duursma played some good football but was injured a couple of times.”

How might they regress?

“With all his flaws supposedly, Jake Stringer takes 42 goals and 25 behinds up to GWS, he kicked their second most goals in the season, and they bring no established talent into the side,” Edmund said.

The other 2025 burning questions

“My question with the Bombers is can Brad Scott actually fix their defence? It’s still the elephant in the room, in both years he’s coached, they’ve coughed up the fourth most points in the competition, so this remains a watch at Essendon,” Edmund said. 

Cornes added: “They are unable to stop momentum, there appears to be a lack of on-field leadership to be able to rectify that, and that’s an issue that has yet to be solved, and defensively, their woes have been there way before Brad.”