Every AFL team’s best 23 for the 2024 season: Essendon Bombers

A busy off-season has Essendon preparing to make the leap into the top eight after flirting with the chance of playing finals football in 2023.

After falling out of the September race, the Bombers took to the free agency and trade space to improve their list ahead of Brad Scott's second campaign at The Hangar, adding Ben McKay, Jade Gresham, Todd Goldstein and Xavier Duursma while managing to keep their first-round selections for this year and next.

Trading into the top 10 of the draft saw them secure teenager Nate Caddy, who looms as a key piece in the Dons' puzzle moving forward, while some outside run was acquired on night two of the National Draft.

An altered backline, a stacked midfield group and an upside-high forward line will have Bombers fans calling for a top-eight return in 2024, with Scott's first year with the club putting them on the path to do so after treading water in the finals frame throughout this year.

While they soon sunk to 11th, the Bombers did climb four rungs compared to their prior campaign and in the wake of a frantic off-season of off-field change.

With plenty of promise in their current crop of on-field assets, here's how Essendon is likely to take shape in 2024.

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