Inside Essendon’s American Training Camp That Set the Club on Course to End Its Infamous Finals Drought

When Essendon faltered at the end of last season, its leaders decided enough was enough.

The Bombers’ first season under Brad Scott began promisingly, with the team in the top four after winning four of their first six games. However, a familiar decline set in.

Essendon went 4-4 over the next eight matches, experiencing a four-game losing streak followed by a four-game winning streak, placing them in sixth at the bye.

Scott’s team peaked at fifth after Round 17 but then lost five of their last seven matches, finishing the season in 11th. The season concluded with humiliating defeats by 126 points to the GWS Giants and 70 points to Collingwood.

A season that started brightly ended disastrously for Essendon, with the team suffering crushing defeats in its last two games of 2023.

Jordan Ridley watched the final two losses from the sidelines due to a quad injury in Round 19. Frustrated, Ridley contacted Exos Sports, an American company renowned for working with elite athletes globally.

Exos had developed Germany’s strength and conditioning program during their victorious 2014 FIFA World Cup campaign.

“It started with conversations with Ridley and developing a program for his off-season, essentially as a primer for his pre-season,” said Zev Gollis of Exos. “This led to more of his teammates wanting to join.”

Ridley was soon joined in Arizona by 13 teammates, including vice-captain Andy McGrath, leading goal-kicker Kyle Langford, and defender Jayden Laverde. Youngsters Ben Hobbs, Archie Perkins, Jye Caldwell, Sam Durham, and 2022 No. 5 pick Elijah Tsatas also participated. New recruit Jade Gresham even joined the group.

“The group had a good mix of younger and more experienced players,” Gollis noted. “The older players inspired the younger ones and fostered a positive dynamic.”

Rich Pruett, Director of Performance at Exos, praised the senior players for setting the tone during the camp.

“A lot of the success credit goes to the older players,” Pruett said. “They corralled the younger ones and helped build a great culture, contributing to their success this season.”

Both Gollis and Pruett were impressed by the Bombers’ energy.

“Their energy was incredible,” Pruett recalled. “It was a blast working with them, and it’s great to see their success.”

Pruett remembered the Bombers taking over the facility’s music system, playing Australian artist FISHER at full blast during training.

“They’d play FISHER at full volume, and the entire building was wondering what was happening,” he said. “Their energy was well above the average pro athlete, making it a truly enlightening experience.”