Round 20, 2026 | The Kids Are Alright: Can the Baby Bombers Rattle the Hawks?

Finally, a win! Essendon’s young side produced a brave and mature performance to defeat the Giants by three points, giving Bombers supporters their first taste of victory in more than a year. We break down the pressure, tackling and stoppage dominance behind the win, the emergence of Dyson Sharp, Nick Bryan’s best performance as a ruckman and the encouraging signs from Essendon’s next generation. Then we turn our attention to Hawthorn at the MCG. Can the Bombers reproduce that intensity on the bigger ground, compete with the Hawks at clearance and prevent one of the competition’s best turnover teams from taking control? Plus, selection, Essendon’s coaching search and the latest draft discussion. ___ Watch 'The Moment that Mattered' and listen to our Post Match First Thoughts exclusively on Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/donthestat Don The Stat Website: https://www.donthestat.com/ Follow Us on Twitter and Bluesky: Jono at twitter.com/JonathanJWalsh / https://bsky.app/profile/jonathanjwalsh.bsky.social Ian at twitter.com/Kyptastic1 / https://bsky.app/profile/kyptastic.bsky.social Don The Stat Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/donthestat Follow Don The Stat on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/donthestat?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==