$2 million cost of shocking 12-month Essendon implosion 'nobody would have seen coming'

Almost 12 months ago to the day, Essendon defeated Richmond in the Dreamtime at the 'G game by 23 points.

The season wasn't going perfectly, they'd been thrashed by Adelaide and the Bulldogs, but overall they had six wins from 10 games, including winning three of their last four, and looked well and truly alive in the 2025 season.

Now, one year on, they've sacked head coach Brad Scott with 18 months to run on his contract and reportedly $2m of salary to pay out.

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In that 12 months, they have won just one game from 24 appearances, dealt with two separate horror injury runs, and their captain stood down after requesting a trade to arch rivals Hawthorn.

The club has imploded in a way nobody would have seen coming as they left the MCG after beating the Tigers a year ago.

Going into that run of three wins across four games in May of 2025, the Bombers had just five players on their injury list, even if four of those were season-ending blows.

By the start of July, that number ballooned to 15. The club was forced to use four picks in the mid-season draft to keep itself afloat and the on-field standards dropped away as losses piled up.

From the 6-4 start, they would finish the season 6-17, not winning another game after Dreamtime.

Many critics gave them a pass, however. The Dons were barely able to field a team given half their list was injured, including effectively every player over 190cm.

They were competitive in losses to St Kilda, Sydney and Gold Coast after the bye, but either faded late or couldn't kick a winning score.

Things are always bleak after losing 13 straight games, but the extenuating circumstances were compelling.

Melbourne sacked premiership coach Simon Goodwin and Carlton danced around the same call on Michael Voss, but Scott's position never seemed in doubt.

And that's despite the most shocking development of all; captain Zach Merrett requesting a trade to Hawthorn.

No captain of the Bombers has ever played a game for the Hawks, let alone requested a trade there. The rivalry between the two clubs is as layered and storied as any in V/AFL history.

Merrett's reasoning was simple. The 30-year-old wanted to compete for a premiership and experience individual success given he hasn't even played in a winning final at Essendon.

Reading between those lines, it's clear the six-time club best and fairest winner did not believe the Bombers were anywhere near contention, despite the strong start to 2025.

However, the club held Merrett to his lengthy contract and ultimately turned down pick 10 and a pair of picks in the 20s to hold him against his will.

At the same time, defender Jordan Ridley also requested a trade, wanting to join Brisbane given his consistent injury issues, but was also denied that move.

Coming into 2026, the Bombers were clear: they were committed to playing young players with the aim of rebuilding their list, but they were adamant they could be in the finals mix.

President Andrew Welsh even adamantly declared six weeks before the culling that Scott would be their next premiership coach.

But 2026 got off to an ugly start, with the club thrashed at the hands of Hawthorn and Port Adelaide, before losing to North Melbourne.

Beating Melbourne comprehensively during Gather Round now looks like one of the outlier results of the season given the Dees' spike up the ladder, but outside of that, it has been a lean run.

They have been a defensive mess. No team has conceded more points across the season. The Bombers have had scores of 145, 143, 137, 133 and 119 whacked on them in 2026.

Their big-money key defensive recruit Ben McKay has struggled so badly that he was dropped to the VFL. Tellingly though, Geelong champion Jimmy Bartel stated at the time he felt McKay's problems had just as much to do with how he was being coached and positioned.

Merrett has accumulated numbers without having a huge impact, picking up just 15 coaches votes so far this season. He's had numerous occasions to reaffirm his loyalty to the club this season, but has refused to do so. It would appear he's headed back to the trade table.

Dreamtime at the 'G rolled around once again and Essendon was outplayed and beaten by a Richmond team that nearly had to call on VFL top-up players to fill out its squad.

On top of that, they lost five players to injury including new captain Andrew McGrath to a broken jaw.

The devastating all-facets loss saw the Dons slide into 18th spot on the ladder. It's only the third time this century the club has sat last on the table, and the first time since 2016 when they fielded a team of top-up players most weeks following the supplement saga.

Less than a week after the Richmond loss, Scott was sacked.

Welsh, in six weeks, moved from declaring him their next premiership coach to relieving him of his duties.

The weight of just one win from their last 24 matches, and 12 months without a win in Victoria, proved too much for the club, despite its constant rhetoric about being on the same page about the long-term rebuild unfolding.

Now, they will attempt to appoint their fourth senior coach of the 2020s and unpack where to go from here.

If Scott wasn't the right man to lead the rebuild, do they need a young untried coach, or do they go after another older, experienced head like a Ken Hinkley or a John Longmire.

They've tried the experienced coach path twice with John Worsfold and Scott, and even attempted a succession plan from Worsfold to Ben Rutten. Clearly, none of those plans bore fruit.

They head back to the drawing board once more.