The club slumped in 1910 to finish in fifth place before repeating their 1908 double success by winning the 1911 SANFL Premiership defeating Port Adelaide in the Grand Final and Essendon to win the Championship of Australia.

Prior to that Essendon lost a hard fought grand final to Richmond in 1943 by 5 points, finished 3rd in 1944, and dropped to 8th in 1945.

Essendon finished the 2009 season in 8th place, thereby qualifying for the finals series.

Jude attended St Bernard's College Essendon and played football for the school as well as the Calder Cannons Under 18s team, before being selected as the 8th pick in the 1998 National Draft.

* Australian rules football QFL games were played at the ground prior to, and just after, World War I. The ground hosted the 1950 Interstate Carnival, won by the Victorian Football League ( VFL ) side. The ground was also host to a VFL premiership match, Essendon vs Geelong, as part of Round 8, 1952.

With ' King Richard ' still holding court as coach in 1951, albeit now in a non-playing capacity, Essendon seemed on course for a third consecutive flag but a controversial four week suspension dished out to John Coleman on the eve of the finals effectively put paid to their chances.

John Coleman started his coaching career at Essendon in 1961, thus ending the Dick Reynolds era at the club.

As part of a major recruitment drive North secured the services of several big name stars including Barry Davis from Essendon and Doug Wade ( Geelong ), John Rantall ( South Melbourne ), Barry Cable ( Perth ).

* John Williams ( Australian footballer born 1947 ), Australian footballer for Essendon and Collingwood

* John Williams ( Australian footballer born 1988 ), Australian footballer for Essendon

On the recruiting front, prior to the 2000 season, Sheedy lured ruckman John Barnes back to Essendon ( a side that had traded him many years earlier ) after he was let go by Geelong.

Life peerages were also granted to former Leaders of the House of Lords, including John Julian Ganzoni, 2nd Baron Belstead ; Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington ; Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 7th Marquess of Salisbury ( better known as Viscount Cranborne and Lord Cecil of Essendon, having attended the Lords by virtue of a writ of acceleration ); George Jellicoe, 2nd Earl Jellicoe ; Malcolm Shepherd, 2nd Baron Shepherd ; and David Hennessy, 3rd Baron Windlesham.

Within the area there are several schools including Penleigh and Essendon Grammar School, Niddrie Primary School, Essendon Keilor College, Keilor Heights Primary School, Ave Maria College, Rosehill Secondary College, St. Bernards College and St John Bosco's Primary.

It is named after John Coleman, the former Essendon full forward whose spectacular career ( of 537 goals in only 98 games ) was cut short by injury.

John Douglas Coleman ( 23 November 1928 – 5 April 1973 ) was an Australian rules footballer and coach for Essendon in the Victorian Football League ( now the AFL ).

* John S. Gill ( 1932 – 2003 ), former VFL footballer for Essendon

* Former Geelong and Essendon Australian rules footballer John Barnes

The Coleman factor was just what Essendon needed to enable them to take that vital final step to premiership glory, but even so it was not until the business end of the season that this became clear.

Bob Davis acknowledges the possibility that had Coleman played, Essendon may well have won, given that Geelong had no true match for him, as Coleman was simply too skilled.

* The Coleman Medal was awarded to Matthew Lloyd of Essendon.

In 1896, delegates from the stronger and wealthier VFA clubs — Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda and South Melbourne — met to form a breakaway competition and in 1897, the Victorian Football League ( VFL ), was born as an eight-team competition.

The Essendon Football Club was formed sometime between 1871 and 1873.

Robert McCracken, the owner of several city hotels, was the founder and first President of the Essendon club, and his son, Alex, its secretary.

The club's first official match was played against Carlton on 7 June 1873, with Essendon winning by one goal.

At first Essendon was regarded as a junior club, and even after the formation of the VFA in 1877 the side was sometimes allowed ' odds ' of, for example, twenty-five players as against twenty, when confronted by the leading teams of the time.

In 1879 Essendon played Melbourne in one of the earliest night matches recorded when the ball was painted white.

Essendon was undefeated in the 1893 season.

Essendon were known as the " Same Olds " ( as in " the same old Essendon ") in order to distinguish the Essendon VFL side ( that played at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground ) to which this article refers, from the separate and unconnected Essendon VFA side ( that played at what was then the Essendon Cricket Ground ), which existed from 1900 to 1921.

Having already moved from its ground at Kent Street, Ascot Vale (" McCracken's Paddock ") to Flemington Hill, the club was again forced to move in 1881 ; and, because the City of Essendon mayor of the day, James Taylor, considered the Essendon Cricket Ground " to be suitable only for the gentleman's game of cricket ", Essendon moved to East Melbourne.

This move away from Essendon, at a time when fans would walk to their local ground, did not go over well with many Essendon people ; and, as a consequence, a new team and club was formed in 1900, unconnected with the first ( although it played in the same colours ), that was based at the Essendon Cricket Ground, and playing in the Victorian Football Association.

It was known firstly as Essendon Town and, after 1905, as Essendon " A " (" A " for association ).

The team became universally known as " The Dons " ( from EssenDON ); it was not until much later, during the War years of the early 1940s, that they became known as " The Bombers " — due to Windy Hill ’ s proximity to the Essendon Aerodrome.

Nevertheless, Essendon went on to win the 1942 Premiership with Western Australian Wally Buttsworth in irrepressible form at centre half back.

Terry Daniher and his brother Neale would come via a trade with South Melbourne, and Roger Merrett joined soon afterwards to form the nucleus of what would become the formidable Essendon sides of the 1980s.

As it turned out, 2006 would prove to be the worst season for Essendon under Sheedy, and its worst in over 70 years, with a multitude of injuries and poor form affecting the team, none more so than the serious hamstring injury suffered by newly appointed captain Lloyd.

Geelong helped form the new VFL with other foundation clubs, Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Melbourne, South Melbourne and St Kilda.

After the 1896 season, eight of the thirteen clubs broke away to form the Victorian Football League ( VFL ): Carlton, Collingwood, Essendon, Fitzroy, Geelong, Melbourne, St Kilda and South Melbourne.

Coinciding with White's career-best form, Melbourne sat atop the AFL ladder after Round 18, but in the final month of the season, the team lost its last five matches, finishing fifth after Round 22, and losing to Essendon in the Elimination Final.

Flemington and Kensington broke away from the City of Essendon in 1882 to form the Borough of Flemington and Kensington as the decade saw intensified residential development consisting of detached single-storey weatherboard homes and some brick semi-detached or attached single-storey homes on small allotments.

As the product became more popular, McEncroe moved to a larger factory with more modern equipment in North Essendon and later merged with a local company called Floyd's Iceworks to form Frozen Food Industries Pty Ltd.

In an auspicious return to form Tredrea booted four goals in the Power's 31 point victory over Essendon at AAMI Stadium.

McVeigh also went on to play the next 3 seasons in stellar form with Essendon who reached 3 consecutive Semi-Finals in which McVeigh played in all.