A personal reflection on what it means to support Essendon through difficult times. Don The Stat explores community, loyalty, resilience and why the Essendon Football Club is about far more than wins and losses.

Once a club reaches this point, everything becomes exposed. It’s going to expose who’s there to work hard and who’s going through the motions. It will expose who will go the extra yards to improve their game and who’s looking to expand their bank balance. At its worst, it’s going to set player against player, coach against coach, fan against fan. This will be stoked by an ever more rabid media, whose raison d'etre is to feed these conflicts for clicks, outrage and relevance.

Essendon returns to Marvel Stadium in Round 8 with one of the toughest assignments in the AFL season. After a heavy 77-point loss to Collingwood on ANZAC Day, the Bombers now face the back-to-back premiers Brisbane Lions. For our full preview, including all the numbers that matter, listen here. For supporters of the Essendon Football Club, the question this week is simple. How does this young side respond against one of the league’s benchmark teams? This preview breaks down w