This season review is a tad late (Essendon bit extracted only).
The two draws stopped us getting 11/10.
Position: Premiers
W-L-D (%): 15-0-2 (397.07)
Players used: 35
Played every match: A Radford, C Ugle
Debutants: 13
Longest winning streak: 6 (Rounds 6-11)
Best win: Grand Final: Essendon 6.6 (42) def Southern Saints 0.7 (7)
Biggest win: Round 1: Essendon 15.8 (98) def Western Bulldogs 0.0 (0)
Lambert-Pearce Medal: G Nanscawen 33 (winner), M Clifford 11, F Frew 5
Coaches MVP: G Nanscawen 69 (winner), A Radford 37, F Frew 26
Top 3 goalkickers: F Frew 35 (winner), M Clifford 21, R Tierney 18 and C McIntosh 18
VFLW TOP 10 STATS
Disposals: G Nanscawen 374 (2nd), A Radford 360 (3rd), J Zanchetta 285 (5th)
Kicks: A Radford 211 (2nd), G Nanscawen 202 (4th)
Marks: M Clifford 71 (1st), R Tierney 63 (3rd), D Marshall 60 (5th), A Radford 55 (8th)
Handballs: G Nanscawen 172 (1st), J Zanchetta 167 (2nd), A Radford 149 (4th), C Ugle 102 (10th)
Tackles: G Nanscawen 131 (2nd)
Hitouts: S Nalder 403 (1st)
What went right: Pretty much everything. The Bombers took all before them in compiling an undefeated premiership season to put together the perfect warm-up to their ongoing AFLW debut. Georgia Nanscawen won her second consecutive Lambert-Pearce Medal and also claimed the inaugural rebel Coaches MVP. Federica Frew dominated the leading goalkicker award ahead of her co-captain Mia-Rae Clifford after being repurposed as a forward. Amelia Radford was the breakout star of the season, Alana Barba was best-on-ground in a Grand Final they won without conceding a goal. The Bombers also had the No.1 player in marks (Clifford), handballs (Nanscawen) and hitouts (Simone Nalder).
What went wrong: Not much. Being held to draws by Southern Saints early in the season and Hawthorn just before the finals was as close as it got to a hiccup for Essendon, while Nanscawen’s knee injury late in the last quarter of the Grand Final put a slight dampener on the premiership celebrations.
Summary: Five-year plans don’t often come to fruition, but this one could not have gone any better for Brendan Major and his team. The Bombers entered the competition with a one-win wooden-spoon season in 2018 and grew to make a preliminary final last year before becoming the unstoppable juggernaut they were in 2022. Major rides off into the sunset after a job well done, with the team well set to thrive into the future.
Grade: 10/10