The Herald Sun’s Jon Ralph has pondered whether or not the football public has forgiven Essendon, as the Bombers embark on their first finals campaign since 2014.
The Dons went through a tumultuous four years between 2012-2016, when their infamous supplements saga came to the forefront. Financial sanctions, banned players and banishment from the 2013 finals series were just some of the punishments Essendon were handed down, but Ralph wonders if a mass change in personnel has swung people’s opinions.
“Have you forgiven Essendon?” he asked on SEN’s The Run Home.
“We are four years on. Your heart will tell you, are you saying I can’t barrack for this mob? For me, whom would I hate?
“We all felt some players were thrown under the bus even if they could have done more, the coach isn’t there, the club doctor is there, but that isn’t a reason to hate them. The CEO is different and most of the board is gone. Most of those blokes are gone.
“So many people did a lot of heavy lifting. Paul Little and Xavier Campbell have been extraordinary. This club could be on its knees. In a lesser competition, it might have gone out of business.”
Former Melbourne forward David Schwarz says what the Bombers and coach John Worsfold have been able to achieve this season has been “nothing short of astonishing.”