Countdown to Round 1, 2026. Day 48: Essendon Guernsey Number 48

With 48 days to go until Essendon’s Round 1 clash against Hawthorn, Don The Stat continues its daily countdown through the club’s guernsey history.

Guernsey Number 48 has been worn by seven Essendon players at senior level, with appearances spread across more than fifty years.

The first Bomber to wear the number was Gary Parkes, who played one senior game in 1970. He was followed by Rob Newton, who wore the jumper for a single game in 1973, kicking two goals.

In 1979, Craig Barbary wore Number 48 across eight senior games, kicking five goals. The jumper then reappeared in the early 1990s, worn by David Calthorpe for 13 senior games across 1992 and 1993, during which he kicked 12 goals, the most ever recorded in the number, and having worn 48 in the 1993 Grand Final, it’s the highest number worn by an Essendon player in a winning Grand Final.

The number was worn briefly again in 1997 by Matthew Banks, before resurfacing in 2016 with Mathew Stokes, who played 11 senior games and kicked six goals during a season played under extraordinary circumstances.

The most recent and current wearer of Guernsey Number 48 is Liam McMahon, who first wore the jumper in 2025. McMahon played seven senior games and kicked 12 goals, and he will continue wearing Number 48 into 2026.

Across its history, Guernsey Number 48 has been worn for 43 senior games, making it a jumper that, while rarely held long-term, has consistently produced scoreboard impact.

Next up: Day 47 and Guernsey Number 47.