Agreed.
I’d rather see Goldstein. I just figure it’s unlikely. It’s more likely we try to see if Wright still has it.
Tell me more about this Setters in the ruck idea…
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If he stays next week it’ll be to tag the returning Kelly
At 192 cm (almost 6’4") he may be a bit short for a modern-day AFL ruckman, but he’s tough, hardworking, and not afraid to go the biff. As a back-up ruckman, he wouldn’t have to win the hit-outs - he’d just have to make sure the opposition ruckman didn’t either. I don’t know if he’s ever played ruck, but temperamentally and physically he should be a chance. At least he’d have to be better at it than 2MP…
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Did anyone think that he was more composed and used the ball better than he has before.
I had him tagged as a panic merchant butcher but thought he made some great decisions and used the ball beautifully at times.
Credit to him and development coaches.
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He’s been really solid in most games that he’s played for us. The issue is the the Tsata/Parish/Hobbs/Setters puzzle
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This thread really goes around in circles. When he’s good, those that support him poke their head up (which I’m agreeable with and grateful for) and when he’s injured, those who don’t think he’s much chop, talk doom and gloom.
He’s been a great addition to this club, it’s just a shame he hasn’t been able to get a consistent run with his body in his career.
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We paid peanuts for him because of his injury history. He’s exactly what we signed up for. A very good player whose body unfortunately lets him down fairly regularly.
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I still have massive concerns over Tsatas’s kicking. He’s an elite accumulator, but I’m just not sure we can carry his kicking.
I would look to trade Tsatas and play Setterfield until we can find someone better.
I’d be giving Richmond a ring and enquiring about Taranto.
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Not sure if serious?
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Mate Taranto is a far superior kick to Tsatas…that’s how bad Tsatas is.
I think we all forget what he contributes to the team when fit and playing, because he’s been out for so long
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He’s like Hewitt at Carlton or Rowbottom at Sydney, everyone plays better around them when he’s fit and given minutes with the hard edge he brings.
He’s the same draft as our VC and Ridley, so he’s entering his prime now.
Just pray he stays fit and play him.
It’s up to Tsartas, Hobbs, Shiel and Parish to displace him and the team first stuff he brings.
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Taranto is an absolute butcher.
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last week we had Durham go to Petracca and Setterfield go to Olliver.
something we rarely done in the past go the tag. Duzza more head to head but close checking. I like it, limiting the influence of the oppositions best players.
Throw Caldwell in there too and has done it well in the past, plus picking up disposals now too - that Lachie Neale game springs to mind.
A more defensive minded midfield. - I would take this over Shiel and Tsatas running forward.
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‘Frustrated’ gun taking Dons ‘back to the future’… and his instant impact after luckless run
April 18th, 2025 8:19 am
Three clubs into his 72-game AFL career, Will Setterfield has been “tested” more than most since his AFL debut nearly eight years ago.
Taken with Pick 5 in a talent-heavy 2016 National Draft, the Albury product spent his first two years in the AFL system with GWS for as many games, before an ACL injury during a Giants practice match in February of 2018 ended his second season before it even started.
A trade to Carlton at the end of the 2018 season, saw Ikon Park become his new home for four more years before Essendon, his childhood club, came calling to take him under their wing.
Injuries have prevented the 27-year-old from getting the absolute best out of his body since landing at the Hangar, but there has never been any denying that when fully fit, he is an integral part of Essendon’s finals hunt.
Setterfield took to the AFL field for the first time in 2025 last Saturday, where he had an instant impact against Melbourne’s midfield. His 23 disposals were punishing, but it was his game-high for all of pressure acts (29), tackles (10) and goal assists (three) that stood out most at Adelaide Oval during Gather Round — no mean feat against contested bulls Clayton Oliver, Christian Petracca and Jack Viney.
“I feel like the biggest thing I can bring to the team is my pressure, as well as my work out of contest and stoppage. I feel like if I’m bringing that, I’m helping out the mids get on the outside,” Setterfield told foxfooty.com.au in the change rooms post-game.
“I was just pumped to be playing footy again back in the senior team. I’ve had a few niggles these last few years, so I’m just trying to keep the body right.
“It’s definitely been difficult, I’ve been tested at different times. Last year, I started in the (senior) team and was playing some decent footy, but then I did my PCL. I never quite got back to the same level after that, even when I was playing VFL.”
The big-bodied midfielder was offered a one-year contract to play on at the Hangar in 2025, and with the exception of some groin soreness in Round 2, he looks fit and firing so far this year.
Numerous setbacks have left Setterfield leaning on the shoulder of a very strong support team, helping him develop a key characteristic in an industry that can at times be unforgiving.
“The last few years, I’ve learned so much about resilience and just to keep cracking away,” Setterfield continued to foxfooty.com.au.
“Your close inner circle, you’ve got to rely on them, and my family’s been massive for me. My mum, dad and my brother have been very supportive; even when I’ve been in and out of the team or struggling with injury. Just in life too, you’ve just got to keep tapping away because you never know when you’re going to get a look in — so I’m just glad I got a look in tonight.
Speaking to journalists post-game, head coach Brad Scott — who arrived at Tullamarine in the same off-season as Setterfield — spoke glowingly of his 192cm midfielder’s efforts against the Demons.
“He was enormous for us. He’s probably been a bit frustrated that he’s had some niggles over the early part of the year,” Scott said.
“I was really keen for him to play a good block in the VFL to make sure that he was absolutely physically right. With (Jye) Caldwell (and Elijah) Tsatas going out, the inclusion of Shiel and Setterfield into our midfield was really important.
“My first 10-15 games (at Essendon in 2023), Shiel and Setterfield were mainstays of our midfield, so it’s a bit of ‘back to the future’ for us.”
In a time when the defensive profile of Scott’s club has been heavily scrutinised, the conceding of just 117 points across their last two games is seriously impressive; speaking to a more refined game plan that only needed a few minor tweaks.
And in the absence of Jye Caldwell and Darcy Parish, the inclusion of a player like Setterfield is a luxury not many clubs have, particularly given how well-rounded he is. His 12 clearances against Werribee in a losing side a few weeks ago highlight his ability to also win the ball on his own accord when he isn’t as defensively minded or selfless at stoppage.
“With the bye, we had a good couple of weeks to work on our defence and really nail our principles; we worked really hard with that,” the 27-year-old highlighted.
“We felt like our offence would take care of itself, so it was probably the defensive side of the game that Brad really wanted to focus on.”
The Bombers take on West Coast at Optus Stadium on Friday night, with the chance to go 3-2 with a victory in Perth.
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I was just about to post that the knockers have been very quiet the last two weeks as yet again he has been in our top five or so players on the field. Full credit to the bloke for continuing to push through all the setbacks and producing such good football. He is definitely showing that he has a place in our best team.
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He is too important for our midfield balance. Tsatas is going to have to play well enough in the twos to take somebody else’s spot, like Shiel.
I also think having him there takes the pressure off Caldwell and Durham to be everything at the contest.
If he is fit, he plays.
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He’s an enigma. When fit he plays well and we start to depend on him. But invariably, gets injured and he comes back into the reserves and can’t get a game.
He has attributes as a defensive midfielder that we really need. His in and under strength and grunt is also what we need. Just gets injured a lot and then disappears into the reserves and does not appear in the seniors again.
He is only in currently because Calders and Tsatas are injured.
For me he plays until injured or out of form.
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