Second-year Essendon tall Kayle Gerreyn has given an insight into the feedback he received following his maiden campaign, which is informing his second pre-season.
Gerreyn played 17 matches in the VFL, averaging 11 disposals and four marks, while kicking 14.11, regularly showing his powerful presence and competitiveness, which attracted Essendon to select him at the 2024 AFL Draft.
However, he finished the year as the only Bomber yet to make their AFL debut as the team cycled through a long list of names in the second half of 2025 due to an injury crisis.
The Western Australian taken at Pick 37 over 12 months ago has been training with the backline this pre-season and is clear on what the next step in his game is.
“The feedback I got was really black and white which is what I needed,” Gerreyn told Essendon Media.
“I feel like I've worked on the stuff I needed to work on and I'll take it week by week.
“If (a debut) comes over time, it comes, but I'm just trying to stay confident and keep striving and trying to do my best.
“Fitness was the big thing so being able to cover the ground a bit more consistently.
“Early on in games I was doing that and then I was dropping off towards the back end so the thing for me was building up my long distance training stuff so being able to run out games in the fourth quarter when the game is needed.
“I'm still working on that which has been really good and a lot of decision-making stuff.
“Obviously training in the backline, (it's) crucial to make the right decision exiting out of defensive 50 and being sharp with that.”
His note about endurance follows emerging leader Archie Roberts highlighting a similar theme earlier in the week.
Mathew Inness and David Regan are leading a new-look high-performance department, with the Bombers turning over staff after a sustained period hit by injury.
"We're loving the structure of the trainings - a lot more high speed, a lot more gruelling sessions,” Roberts said.
"We know it's setting us up for the season.
"(We're focusing on) probably the hardest seven minutes of the game and just being better than anyone else at that - when the game's at its toughest, being the fastest, being the hardest-working."
Ben McKay will spearhead the Essendon backline in 2026 after missing the second half of 2025 with injury, but Gerreyn has taken strong mentorship from an experienced campaigner at the other end of the field.
“I've worked with Peter Wright a lot. Working with him side by side doing extras, one on one craft in drills so he helps me a lot with back craft, what I could be doing in certain situations and we go really hard,” Gerreyn said.
“I feel like the intensity me and him are both training at is just going to make us better and the physicality he's really driving me with that.”
