The past decade has been characterised by hope and heartbreak for Essendon.
The drug scandal meant Bomber teams of the early part of the decade never reached their full potential and the club was forced into a brief period of irrelevance in 2016.
The post-saga world for the Bombers has been filled with inconsistency and false hope, currently holding the longest winless finals record in the competition.
Throughout this turmoil, there have been 10 standouts that have stood the test of time.
Here are Essendon's top 10 players of the decade:ย
Brent Stanton
Noted as being one of the best gut runners of the modern era, Stanton began his career at Essendon in 2004 and proved to be one of Essendon's best players during the first half of the decade.
Stanton ability to accumulate possessions led to him averaging close to 25 touches a game for much for the first half of the decade.
With this ball winning consistency as well as Stanton's knack for rarely missing many games means that the tireless midfield runner is one of the leader possession winners in Essendon history.
Throughout his career he was able to improve his tackling and ball use, generating a considerable amount of inside 50's in his time.
Now working with Carlton as an assistant, Stanton's work rate is still given legendary status at Essendon and his contributions to big Anzac Day matches were also crucial in his time at the club.
