The team consists of many greats, such as Terry Daniher and the rest of his brothers, as well as John Coleman, Tim Watson and current star Zach Merrett.
Our eyes, though, are on two of Avenel’s finest, Leon Baker and Ian “Bluey” Shelton, along with Cobram ruckman John Barnes.
These three players, despite only playing fewer than 250 games for Essendon combined, had a giant impact on the club and its history.
Barnes, originally from Cobram, played for the Tigers from a young age until he was drafted by the Bombers in 1986.
Between the years of 1987 and 1990, Barnes played 12 games for Essendon, before being dropped to the reserves and fighting through injury in 1991.
At the end of ’91, he was traded to Geelong, where he played 144 games and booted 65 goals, until 1999.
He was then redrafted by Essendon to play his final two years at the Bombers, and played the best footy of his career, winning a fairytale premiership at the end of 2000 against Melbourne.
Barnes is now a solidified political figure in Melbourne, serving as the councillor for the Buckley Ward on the City of Moonee Valley since 2024.
Meanwhile, Baker, nicknamed the “Accidental Footballer” by his brother, played for a short time at Avenel during his journey around Australia and before his VFL days.
He moved around Australia a lot, ending up in Bendigo, Perth, Avenel, Bunbury, Cairns and eventually Melbourne to pursue his professional football career.
Baker was so busy at the time, so he had almost taken a break from football other than playing a few games here and there.
He had always decided he had never wanted to live in a major city, so Bunbury, 180km south of Perth, had quite an appeal to him.
One afternoon he went to watch a game between Bunbury and South Bunbury and he saw that South Bunbury wore Sydney Swans colours, conveniently the same colours as his childhood team Avenel, so he decided he would play for it.
Baker made such a huge impression at South Bunbury, he was quickly collected by WAFL side Swan Districts and from there scouted out and drafted by Essendon.
He played 86 games for the Bombers between 1984 and 1988, won two premierships and was selected for the All-Australian team in 1985.
Another player from Avenel, coincidentally, was selected for Essendon’s best country squad.
“Bluey” Shelton was recruited by the Bombers straight from Avenel, growing up there, and proceeding to play 91 games between 1956 and 1965, winning two premierships and vice-captaining the Dons in ’65.
Retiring from the VFL at 25, Shelton took up a captain-coach role at Seymour before ending his football career with Avenel, back where it all began.
Shelton was awarded life membership to Essendon in 2005 and inducted into its Hall of Fame in 2019, but unfortunately died at the age of 81 in 2021.
Oliver Sawyer is a Year 10 student at Overnewton Anglican Community College in Keilor, who is currently on work experience at The News.
