Scrapheap option for Essendon’s broken list

ESSENDON could be headed for a complete rebuild amid fears players crucial to a flag tilt are mentally shot.

The Bombers are preparing to make bold calls on a clutch of senior players to help rejuvenate their list over the next two or three years.

As with Melbourne’s list after years of failure, there is a feeling some players might need a fresh start for their careers to flourish.

Essendon were considered a premiership threat after beating Hawthorn in Round 2, but the World Anti-Doping Agency appeal of players’ exoneration on doping charges has since shattered their season.

Rival clubs will be wary of trading with Essendon given the players face bans of up to two years.

Leaders Jobe Watson and Brendon Goddard showed the strain of living under a threeyear investigation, with one effective kick between them against St Kilda on Sunday.

High performance coach Leigh Russell, who once worked at the club, said yesterday some players might need a change of scenery.

Former Bombers Patrick Ryder, Stewart Crameri and Angus Monfries also appear affected.

Port Adelaide’s Ryder had three possessions against Sydney last Thursday, teammate Monfries’ production has also nosedived, while Crameri has been dropped to the VFL.

Free agents Brent Stanton, Tom Bellchambers and Courtenay Dempsey and Jake Carlisle all face uncertain futures.

An unprecedented 20-plus players are out of contract nine weeks before the end of the season, setting up an aggressive exchange period under talent chief Adrian Dodoro.

The mental states of the players have become more of a concern on the back of a shock 110-point loss to St Kilda, when coach James Hird said his charges “stopped playing”.