Countdown to Round 1, 2026 — Day 7: Essendon Guernsey Number 7

Don TheStat
4 hours ago
2 min read

Day 7 of the Countdown to Round 1, 2026 brings us to Essendon Guernsey Number 7, a jumper steeped in leadership, resilience, and Premiership success.

The first Essendon player to wear number 7 was Wally Chalmers, who wore it during the 1911 finals series, and across the early years of numbered jumpers. Chalmers played 50 games between 1911 and 1915, including Premiership seasons in 1911 and 1912.

The number passed through the interwar years before finding stability with Harry Hunter, who wore it for 103 games, including Essendon’s 1924 Premiership.

No discussion of number 7 can begin without Bill Hutchison. Wearing the jumper from 1942 to 1957, Hutchison played 290 games, kicked 496 goals, won seven Crichton Medals, two Brownlow Medals, captained the club for seven seasons, and wore the number in four Premierships. He ranks third all-time in VFL/AFL history for games played in number 7, and first for goals kicked.

Post-war custodians included Charlie Payne, a 166-game Premiership player in 1962, and Frank Dunell, who wore the number in Essendon’s 1984 Premiership.

In the modern era, Chris Daniher wore number 7 for 124 games, including the 1993 Premiership, before Dean Solomon added another Premiership in 2000 across 158 games.

Today, the number belongs to Zach Merrett, who has worn guernsey number 7 since 2015, captained the club from 2023 to 2025, earned three All-Australian selections, and won six Crichton Medals, placing him alongside Hutchison and Reynolds in the club’s all-time greats.