Australia and the World Past and Present

Essendon is currently 18th (last) on the AFL ladder. They have lost 24 of their last 25 matches and recently parted ways with coach Brad Scott.

Did Essendon ever recover from the supplements saga?

The supplements saga led to a $2 million fine, the loss of draft picks, a 12-month suspension for coach James Hird and a full-season suspension for 34 past and present players in 2016.

Still, Essendon remained financially strong and continued to attract large crowds and memberships.

Since the scandal, Essendon has reached the finals several times (2017, 2019, 2021). However, they have not won a finals match since 2004.Their finals win drought is now more than two decades long.

Brad Scott

Brad Scott coached Essendon from 2023 until his dismissal in May 2026.

His overall record was 80 games with 29 wins, 50 losses and a draw. His winning percentage was 36%.

In 2023 Essendon finished 11th on the ladder. The same in 2024. Their position worsened to 15th in 2025 and even more so this year.

Scott’s first two seasons looked promising. In both 2023 and 2024 Essendon was positioned well deep into the season.

Critics say that under Scott results got worse, not better. The club regressed sharply in 2025 and 2026.

Supporters of Scott say that he inherited a list that wasn’t good enough, that the Bombers were in a state of rebuilding, or that the problems at Essendon pre-dated his time.

The most striking statistic is that Essendon won its last premiership in 2000 and its last win in a finals game was in 2004. Since then, many other clubs have rebuilt from the bottom and won premierships.

Even before the supplements saga, Essendon had been struggling for half a decade.

The supplements episode did take a toll.

A decade on and the club is still languishing.

A club that was once one of the competition’s dominant powers has now spent more than 20 years trying to return to contention.