THE REMINDERS of Essendon's horror injury toll last year have been in front of Brad Scott every day this pre-season.

Nick Bryan, Lewis Hayes and Tom Edwards – who all tore their ACLs in a brutal stretch in the first half of last season – remain on modified programs as they build up their run into 2026. 

Gun Bomber Nic Martin, who had a knee setback in December and won't play until 2027, sits on the sidelines watching intraclubs, leaving Scott without perhaps his key playmaker for all of this year. Harrison Jones has had a long recovery from the gruesome ankle injury he battled. 

>> WATCH OR LISTEN TO CAL TWOMEY'S FULL INTERVIEW WITH BRAD SCOTT BELOW

They are carryovers from a run of injuries best forgotten, but Essendon has spent this summer avoiding the safety of a cautious pre-season. In contrast, the Bombers have pushed the list in a distinct way as the club rebuilds its players after an injury run that saw it debut a modern record 15 players last season.

New fitness boss Mathew Inness, poached from West Coast, has been conductor of a different tune to the Bombers, with Scott all in as he steers his young group. 

"We've always trained really hard. It's been a fundamental shift in terms of us wanting to replicate – at least meet, but probably exceed – the demands of the game within our training sessions," the Essendon coach told AFL.com.au this week.

"There's a fine balance between that given our injury history. You've got to push to the line and sometimes pass the line in terms of what the game demands of you, while trying to keep everyone fit, available and injury free. 

"But our philosophy has been if we're conservative and we just try and get everyone through, then one, we won't prepare them for what the game demands. And two, we won't be fit enough and strong enough to be able to compete against the best."

Not to say there hasn't been niggles and concerns. Jordan Ridley has had a long build up back from a hamstring strain in December, but the Bombers are confident he will play against Hawthorn in round one's biggest grudge match, while small forward Isaac Kako will be racing the clock to be available after his own hamstring injury in recent match simulation. 

Others, like Archie Perkins (groin), won't face the Tigers in Friday's first match practice after having interrupted summers.

"Jordan is right on track. It goes without saying we're being very conservative with him just because of his history," Scott said.

"There's a case to say that 'Rids' could be playing this week so we expect him to be right for round one. (Kako) is a pretty minor injury but … we'll just treat him symptomatically and we're still very optimistic he'll be there round one. But if he's not there round one, it'll be soon after."

Essendon finished its season last year with 13 straight losses amid a crumbling injury list. For Scott, patching up one hole of the ground left another to leak. 

"We had one game (last year) where we had 50 per cent of our forward line who were mid-season draftees," he said. "That makes it a fairly big challenge to work on synergy." 

The Bombers ranked second youngest for the average team that took the field last year (only ahead of West Coast), and have gotten younger as a list over summer with the exits of Todd Goldstein, Sam Draper and Dylan Shiel.

Five weddings among the team through the off-season belies the youth that will lead any rise up the ladder.

"Zach Merrett's the oldest player on our list. Kyle Langford and Peter Wright are getting a bit of grief about being in their late 20s and being the second and third oldest players on the list," Scott said.

Essendon's growth will come in its under-23 group. There's Kako and Nate Caddy, half-back-turned-midfielder Archie Roberts, Zak Johnson and Angus Clarke, mid-season recruit Archie May and even Zach Reid is still 23. 

Then there's last year's draft class. The Bombers added three top-10 picks – Sullivan Robey, Jacob Farrow and Dyson Sharp – and then brought through rebounding back Max Kondogiannis and small forward Hussien El Achkar. 

Robey has just gotten back into more training after the discovery of a back stress fracture upon arriving at the Bombers, while the other four are pushing for very early debuts.

"Sully's pretty much back into progressing into full training so he's not far away. Our other four draftees have all had very impressive pre-seasons. It's hard to speculate at the moment as to debutants, but it's not making a big statement to say that we expect all of our draftees to play at some point in 2026," Scott said.

El Achkar, picked from Essendon's Next Generation Academy, has impressed as a small forward in training and is well in the mix for a start against Hawthorn in round one.

"The challenge will be trying to create separate identities for Huss and Isaac because as a combination people are going to refer to them as a 'dynamic duo'," Scott said. "I've been really impressed with Huss. He's met the demands. As a coaching group, we've been very pleasantly surprised as to how quickly he's been able to adapt."

Scott said he is "optimistic" of the Bombers' progress, and that their younger brigade would continue to be given opportunities.

"Like most teams, at our best we'll be capable. But we're going to have some just obvious factual challenges in terms of how quickly can we get our 18-year-olds to step up to the level of elite AFL football?" he said. 

There are other changes expected for the start of the season, with mature-ager Lachie Blakiston firming for a start in the ruck after having to hold down a key position post out of necessity last year, while Xavier Duursma has spent time forward with the inclusion of Brayden Fiorini as a free agent on the wing.

Lots of the development, the Bombers hope, comes from their own. Sam Durham, a coach and fan favourite, can be better by having more help, which Scott sees coming from a fully-fit Darcy Parish and Jye Caldwell, who both were among the injury victims last year.

"I watch Darcy Parish train through the pre-season and think whether it's been at Essendon or as an external observer before I came here, I haven't seen him train or play like that since 2021, which was an All-Australian year for him. That's instant upside for us and a number of players fit in that category," Scott said.

Scott enters the fourth year of his time at the Bombers after another big list overhaul – nine players leaving the club after significant cuts the previous two years. The Bombers haven't played in the finals since 2021, and with Scott on board the club prioritised stability in his first three years.

That changed last off-season, with Andrew Welsh succeeding Dave Barham as president, Craig Vozzo departing as CEO and being replaced by vice-president Tim Roberts and former captain Merrett seeking a trade to Hawthorn in a tumultuous and tense Trade Period. 

On field, Scott said the fitness battles and losing streak to end the year would have silver linings. 

"The thing I like most in difficult circumstances was the players didn't turn up their toes. They didn't give up," Scott said.

"It was clearly challenging for us but hopefully those difficult times will build resilience within our group for when we face difficult times again because they're inevitable. We'll be better prepared to take that on, just hopefully it won't be a challenge in terms of player availability." 

BRAD SCOTT ON…

SAM DURHAM'S ASCENSION TO THE ELITE
"If you're trying to put together a prototypical modern day AFL midfielder, it would look something like Sam Durham. He's got a great combination of [being] big, strong and super quick, with a great mix of speed and endurance as well. Great overhead, good at ground level. He's a fairly complete player. But a lot's been asked of him over the last year or two. I think the biggest improvement for him personally will come from the players that are around him. Getting Parish and Caldwell back will have a big boost for Sam."

ANDREW MCGRATH TAKING THE CAPTAINCY
"Andy's a pretty complete person, not just a complete footballer. He's an exceptional leader. I have a philosophy that your captaincy, and leadership more generally, it's good to have progression and a bit of forward planning for who's going to be the successor to the current captain. Everyone will have their view about the off-season, but the natural progression from Zach to Andy has probably been in place for 18 months or so now, so it's been pretty seamless for us. I think it's the best of both worlds for us because we're not going to lose any of what Zach brings to the leadership that he plays within our club but also it's going to probably enable Zach to focus more on his individual game without the burden of having to constantly think about what he needs to do for the team off-field. He can just lock in and focus on what he needs to do to be the best player he can." 

SAM DRAPER'S DEPARTURE TO BRISBANE
"It's disappointing to lose him but we understand the nature of free agency. The loss for us will be as much off field as on field, because 'Drapes' is an energiser. He was a much-loved member of our group and he added a point of difference to our playing group. We certainly wish him well, just not against us."