Has Essendon reached ground zero?

Following Essendon’s 62-point loss to the Hawks, Gerard Whateley believes that the Bombers' pain has just begun from a rebuilding perspective.

With coach Brad Scott joining the side in 2022 to establish a winning culture, the club is yet to see those results, having missed finals throughout his three-year tenure.

2025 proved to be the most difficult year of the three seasons as an injury crisis forced the Dons to debut 15 players (the most in a single season outside of an expansion club), resulting in a 15th-place finish.

2026 hasn’t started much better on the injury front, with Nic Martin (knee) being ruled out for the season, while Will Setterfield (foot) and Jordan Ridley (calf) will be out for an extended period.

Following their loss on Friday night, Whateley admits he is confused by their list, given their rebuilding status.

“They have the strangest list build, I think, for a team that is in (a) rebuild,” he told SEN’s Crunch Time.

“They’re attempting to do this with picks nine (Sullivan Robey – ‘25), 10 (Jacob Farrow -25), 10 (Nate Caddy – ‘23, 13 (Issac Kako – ‘24) and 13 (Dyson Sharpe – ‘25).

“And by contrast, I use North Melbourne who are making the hardest job of all time lifting (up), they are doing it with (picks) 2 (Finn O’Sullivan – ’24), 2 (Colby McKercher – ’23), 3 (Harry Sheezel – ’22), 4 (George Wardlaw – ’22), 4 (Zane Duursma – ’23) and 16 (Lachy Dovaston – ’25).

“And Richmond have gone to two drafts and gone 1 (Sam Lalor – ’24), 7 (Josh Smillie – ’24),7 (Sam Cumming – ’25), 8 (Sam Grlj – ’25), 12 (Taj Hotton – ’24) and 14 (Jonty Faull – ’24).

Whateley also pointed to their poor draft record, which has affected their on-field performance.

“They (Essendon) debuted 15 players last year out of necessity, not by design. 13 remained on the list, seven are rookies, and no one knows whether they’re going to make it,” he continued.

“Their two high picks who have become regulars, McGrath has now become captain, but he’s not the player they needed him to be, and neither is (Darcy) Parish at (pick) five.

“The lost generation we well know as (Elijah) Tsatas at five (in 2022), (Nik) Cox at eight, (Archie) Perkins at nine, (Zach) Reid at ten (in 2020).

“The pain has only just started for Essendon. They are now at ground zero.”

The Bombers will look to rebound from their poor start to 2026 when they take on the Power at Adelaide.

The match will be played on March 22, beginning from 3:15pm AEDT.