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Aussie Rules1 min read

No.5 AFL draft pick among five Essendon delistings

Five Essendon players have been delisted as the Bombers try to recover from a season where they finished bottom with only two wins.
No.5 AFL draft pick among five Essendon delistings

Top-10 draft pick Elijah Tsatas and 100-game forward Matt Guelfi headline five Essendon AFL delistings under new coach Mark McVeigh.

Jade Gresham and mid-season recruits Saad El-Haawli and Liam McMahon were also not offered new contracts at Tullamarine.

Former captain Zach Merrett is likely to ask again for a trade to Hawthorn after his failed attempt a year ago.

There is also speculation about Jordan Ridley's future at Essendon, while Archie Perkins is out of contract.

Tsatas was Essendon's No.5 pick in the 2022 national draft. The onballer only managed 22 games across four seasons.

Guelfi played three senior games this season for a career total of 124, while Gresham managed 48 matches in three seasons after joining from St Kilda.

Gresham played 184 games at the Saints and Bombers.

El-Haawli joined the Bombers in the 2024 mid-season draft and McMahon arrived at Essendon during last season.

Essendon finished bottom this season with only two wins. Brad Scott was sacked and Dean Solomon was interim coach for the rest of the season, before McVeigh was appointed on August 24.

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It was published on September 15, 2026 and last updated on October 9, 2026. The time of the story is shown in your own time zone on the page.

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