ESSENDON resisted the temptation last year. 

As Port Adelaide star Dan Houston chased a return home to Melbourne, the dual All-Australian half-back met with five clubs. He wanted a big deal but at a big Victorian club that could suitably satisfy Port in a trade. 

Essendon fitted the bill. It had cash and pick No.9 and had to move out the selection knowing a bid would come for Isaac Kako before it if it held onto it. Houston registered on its radar and the deal could have been done swiftly rather than the complex, drawn out, off-again-on-again sprawling deal that saw him eventually land at Collingwood.

But the Bombers were committed to the longer-term plan, of which Scott and his club are aiming to see on show this year. 

"As a wider club from our president all the way through the football department, we are very clear that we want to build a stable base for our future. The lure of short-term success and short-term wins are always there and they're very, very tempting. But to look at the bigger picture and build a sustainable base for the Essendon Football Club is our goal," Scott told AFL.com.au this week ahead of the Bombers' match simulation against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday.

Scott doesn't specifically reference Houston but it's clear who was up for grabs, and as he enters his third season as Essendon coach, he is keeping the bigger picture front of mind. 

"We needed to move our first pick out to match a bid for Isaac Kako and we elected not to use that first pick on another player from another club but to trade it into the future to build that platform," he said.

"We sit here now with two first-round picks and two second-round picks for next year and that sets a really good platform for the future but it's not at the expense of the present."

That hand – its extra first-round pick is tied to Melbourne and extra second-round pick is tied to St Kilda – puts Essendon into a powerful position to be on the attack this off-season after a draft focus last year. Already it is interested in Gold Coast's Matt Rowell, as AFL.com.au revealed last November, and there will be more.

"Whatever mode of player acquisition – whether it be trade, free agency – we're in a good position to launch at that. We'll keep working on the strategy and do our best to execute it," Scott said.

For now, Scott is harnessing what he has seen over the summer to prepare to face Rowell and the Suns in Opening Round. Games against the Dogs and Cats in the lead-up will go a little way to informing his view but the questions are there: How does Essendon take the jump up? Was the end of last season the blip or where the Bombers really sit? Who kicks the goals Jake Stringer would have? Is there a batch of 20-something Bombers ready to step up? Can Nate Caddy and Isaac Kako herald a new-look, high-energy red and black dawn? And is this the year of Essendon returning to the finals and into September? 

Some of those Scott can answer. He is ultra excited by Caddy and Kako, he is backing in Archie Perkins to play the position Stringer did and grow there and is keen to see further rise in Jye Caldwell, Sam Durham, Nic Martin and Harrison Jones. Zach Reid has "had a great prep" and can control the backline. Elijah Tsatas will be given inside midfield minutes this weekend, while Rhys Unwin, Angus Clarke and Archer Day-Wicks (before his recent toe injury) have all shown enough to suggest they could get a go at senior level this year. 

As for 2024, when Essendon tumbled from fourth on the ladder after round 17 to miss the top eight, Scott said work had been done to fix the areas it fell away, particularly in inside-50 conversion and defence.

"The big picture is that the finish to last year was vastly different [to the finish in 2023] in terms of competitiveness and the style of game we wanted to play, but it's also a good reminder that we're nowhere near where we want to get to. The first half of last year was really pleasing but never at any stage did I think 'Oh gee, we're cementing ourselves as one of the best four teams in the competition', because we still had a lot of work to do," he said.

Scott spent the first part of his off-season in America with captain Zach Merrett and vice-captain Andrew McGrath to continue to grow the club's leadership program. The Bombers have taken a hands-on approach to lifting the leadership within the group as Scott gives responsibility to the pair to drive the Bombers' pursuit back to the finals.

"We're trying to move as quickly as we can to a player-driven leadership model and a player-driven group that are keepers and protectors of the Essendon culture. But you can't do that until you've clearly defined what it is," Scott said. 

"And I think it's fair to say if you look back over the past 10-12 years at Essendon, there's been a lot of reasons why we haven't been able to embed and build on that culture."

Martin has been added to be among the outer ring of leaders after a stellar first three seasons at Essendon. 

"He's selecting himself in that space. His on-field speaks for itself and I think that before you can qualify as leading others, you have to have your own backyard in order and Nic certainly has done that over the last few years," Scott said. 

"He's a very articulate, very intelligent guy who prepares himself really well. He's got a really good platform to develop his leadership and we're keen to nurture that."

Essendon's focus on stability has been clear in Scott, president Dave Barham and chief executive Craig Vozzo's first two years together. Around their NEC Hangar headquarters there is new branding, with 'Embrace the obstacle with little fear' and 'Master your land and conquer the field' added to the main walls inside their indoor facility. 

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Scott has put a lens on the details since arriving at Essendon and says round one opponent Hawthorn showed last year that teams can surprise.

"After round 13 we were sitting third or fourth but we were [a couple of] games ahead of 14th or 15th. The small things matter. The nature of this industry is you've got to, day by day, do small things a little bit better than everyone else and stack them on top of each other and you end up getting a long-term result," he said.

"People said Hawthorn came from nowhere last year. They didn't come from nowhere, they came from being in the lower reaches of the ladder for four or five years and built. They had a 0-5 start to 2024 and people couldn't see the development, but clearly they could in the second half of the year."

The players are also living by the motto of 'Be a Don', with Scott explaining the detail behind the theme. 

"It's the culture that we have and the actions that we value, are those actions representative of what we want an Essendon player to look like? We'd love to click our fingers and get that done tomorrow but the reality is it takes time. You don't get to build that credibility and trust in a short period of time," Scott said.

AFL.com.au's full interview with Essendon coach Brad Scott will soon be uploaded to the Your Coach podcast feed. Subscribe now to hear from your club's coach ahead of the 2025 AFL season