Bombers to rise above long drought
The streak that hangs over the Essendon male team like a black cloud is nowhere to be seen for the club’s AFLW side.
It’s all blue skies for these Bombers, who will head to Geelong for Sunday’s elimination final carrying the famous club drought of having not won a final in 7008 days.
The barren run can be ended by a rapidly rising AFLW side that has defied expectations put on expansion sides.
These Bombers have a vastly smaller streak to end – by winning a final 442 days after first playing an AFLW game.
“What’s really important to understand is that our journey is very different to the men’s journey,” co-captain Bonnie Toogood said.
“We are forging our own path at the moment and we are focusing this weekend on that first final. I think that’s an exciting prospect and the whole club is behind us.
“To represent this club is a proud moment for everyone.”
Toogood, who crossed over from the Western Bulldogs to join the upstart Essendon side before last season, got emotional when the club locked in a finals berth last weekend.
The midfielder refused to watch the other games as the fate of their season lay in the hands of rivals, but instead found herself refreshing the AFL app “every two minutes”.
“I shed a slight tear on Sunday as it’s our second year and to make finals after all that hard work, it was a very proud moment,” she said.
“Making the move to an expansion side, you are starting essentially from scratch. But a lot of your teammates who have come over have had a wealth of experience in the competition and we were pretty bullish in saying we want to make finals and make finals soon.”
Toogood’s midfield running mate Maddy Prespakis said the success was thanks to an even spread in the red and black.
“We have a really tight-knit group,” she said.