The Bombers have nose-dived in both AFL and AFLW. Their only way through it is together

2 hours ago 3

Opinion

October 24, 2025 — 4.06pm

The Essendon and Hawthorn Football Clubs have despised each other for decades. The infamous rivalry has intensified in recent weeks, after the Hawks’ failed attempt to lure Bombers captain Zach Merrett during the trade period.

Footy fans are already salivating at the prospect of an opening round Essendon v Hawthorn clash next year.

Zach Merrett’s clash against the Hawks early next AFL season will be must-watch.

Does that animosity flow over into the women’s game?

The two teams arrived in the AFLW on the same night – playing a history-making game at Marvel Stadium in front of 12,000 fans. It was the most recent AFLW game at Marvel Stadium and it lived up to the anticipation, with star Bombers recruits Bonnie Toogood and Maddy Prespakis leading the new team to a 26-point victory.

Three years on, they clash again on Saturday at Windy Hill and their path through their first four seasons couldn’t be more different.

The Hawks stuttered through the first two years, before eventually parting ways with coach Bec Goddard.

Respected assistant coach Natalie Wood was given the reins to the Bombers. They made the finals in two of the first three years.

Bonnie Toogood greets Essendon fans at Windy Hill.

But since then, the Hawks have soared and the Bombers have nosedived.

Under new coach Daniel Webster, Hawthorn finished second last season before exiting their maiden finals series in straight sets. Despite some injuries, they secured their spot in the top four halfway through this season.

Essendon’s season has eerily mirrored the men’s program in 2025. It’s been a season from hell, largely because of injury. This year, the men’s team suffered four season-ending knee injuries, and four women suffered the same fate. Eight ACL tears in one club is horrible luck.

All-Australian defender and last year’s best-and-fairest winner Maddi Gay was the biggest casualty for the women. All up, seven AFLW players have been ruled out with leg injuries, in a squad of 30. That left Wood scrambling to find top-up players, even before the start of the season.

Co-captain and key forward Toogood has had a tough year. She kicked two goals in round one and two. Then a suspension sidelined her for a fortnight. Toogood hasn’t kicked a goal since and is a shadow of her former self. But she’s not alone. The team has struggled to kick goals this season, held to just one goal on three occasions, and two goals last week.

Prespakis is a long way off the form that saw her burst onto the scene and claim the league’s best and fairest as a teenager. While her younger sister Georgie is on her way to her second All- Australian blazer, the 24-year-old Maddy has unfortunately been unable to maintain the high level she achieved at such a young age.

Bombers stars Georgia Gee and Maddy Prespakis.

So Wood’s team has been exposed because she’s been forced to play untested talent and top-up players. Sound familiar?

The men’s team won six of their first 10 matches and then capitulated, losing their last 13 games of the season.

The women’s team won their first three games and are now on a record losing streak. Unless they produce an upset against Hawthorn, or against Sydney next week, they will lose their last nine games of the season.

In football clubs, connection, collaboration, mateship, and a sense of belonging drive success. You only have to look at the Brisbane Lions. Their Instagram account posts happy snaps of the male and female players working out in the gym together. AFLW coach Craig Starcevich recently asked Lachie Neale to stop by and talk to their players about an area of the game they were trying to fix. And they celebrate their premierships together.

At Tullamarine, relations between the two teams are reportedly as wide as the Grand Canyon, especially after it was reported that Merrett practised set shots on an indoor ground that was scheduled to be used by the women. Some saw it as a sign of disrespect. In the aftermath, Toogood conceded more needed to be done to improve relations, saying she was disappointed by the incident.

In times of crisis, the key is working together. To think about each other, to care for each other and lift each other up. When things get tough, the temptation is to turn inwards; everyone tends to think of themselves. Then they have no emotional energy left for the team.

Perhaps a new men’s captain will be the beginning of forging a closer working relationship between the two programs. Interestingly, the men’s vice captain and favourite to replace Merrett, Andrew McGrath, was spotted in the crowd at Windy Hill last weekend – sitting alongside teammate Nic Martin.

So, as the Bombers prepare for Saturday’s clash against the Hawks – with the rivalry once again at boiling point – we all want to see the red and black show some fight and spirit, because the Hawks have toyed with them on and off the field lately.

Merrett will have to find a way to rebuild his relationships at Essendon, and it would take courage to turn up to Windy Hill for the women’s clash with the Hawks.

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