2012 Essendon Football Club season

The 2012 Essendon Football Club season is the club's 114th season in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Essendon Football Club
2012 season
PresidentDavid Evans
CoachJames Hird
(2nd season)
Captain(s)Jobe Watson
(3rd season)
Home groundEtihad Stadium
AFL season11th
Best and FairestJobe Watson
Leading goalkickerStewart Crameri (32)
Highest home attendance80,900 vs. Richmond (Round 8)
Lowest home attendance33,118 vs. Port Adelaide (Round 2)
Average home attendance47,607
Club membership47,708
(Decrease 2,567 / -5.38%)

After a promising start to the season Essendon found themselves second on the ladder with a record of 8 wins and 1 loss (which was by a single point). The season then took an unexpected turn which saw Essendon lose 10 out of the last 13 games and miss the finals. They became the first club to have an 8–1 record and miss finals since Melbourne in the 1971 season.

Prior to the final round vice-captain Mark McVeigh announced his retirement from football after 14 season and 232 games at the club. After the Home and Away season completed Essendon captain Jobe Watson was awarded the Brownlow Medal. The highest individual accolade in the AFL. This was later handed back following the drug scandal.

The season became notorious for the illegal supplements program that was operated by the club prior to and into the 2012 season. After a three-year investigation, thirty-four players on the 2012 squad were suspected to have been administered the banned peptide Thymosin beta-4 and were suspended for the 2016 season.[1]

Squad edit

Senior list Rookie List Coaching staff

Head coach

Assistant coaches


Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice-captain(s)
  • (vet) Veterans list

Updated: 20 October 2012
Source(s): Playing list, Coaching staff



Trades edit

Drafts edit

Delisted edit

Seasons[s] Player
4 Darcy Daniher
4 Jay Neagle
2 Mark Williams
3 Michael Quinn
3 Tyson Slattery
2 Taite Silverlock
1 James Webster
= Retired

Guernsey edit

Heritage Guernsey edit

On 2 July Essendon unveiled their Heritage Guernsey. It feature all the names of past premiership players in the background along with the name and signature of club legend John Colman on the breast. Under the signature include the traditional Essendon Football Club motto 'suaviter in modo, fortiter in re' which dates back to the 1870s and translates as 'gentle in manner, resolute in deed.'[2] The most notable change to the guernsey was the removal of the black background to comply with AFL rules requiring each club to provide a clash guernsey. The new Heritage guernsey made its debut during the Round 15 game between St Kilda and Essendon. This marked the end of a 114-year-long tradition as the first time the Essendon Football Club would play an AFL/VFL game without wearing its famous black and red stripe guernsey.

Results edit

Pre-season (NAB Cup) edit

Round 1 edit

The three teams in each pool play each other in games of two 20-minute halves, with all three games being played over a three-hour period at the one venue.