Few Bombers have been a part of a more diverse collection of teams than this week’s Bomber Legend Darren Bewick.

Bewick booted 332 goals from 238 games in his 13 years at Essendon and transcended some of the most memorable eras of the club.

Joining the team in the late 80s, Bewick – who grew up as an Essendon supporter – admitted his arrival was “scary” as he joined many of the players he had once idolised as they reached the twilight of their illustrious careers.

“The main thing for me was two or three years earlier I’m out the front kicking the ball to myself pretending to be a Tim Watson or a Simon Madden or Paul Vander Haar,” Bewick said.

“And then rocking up and training with them was so surreal and so far-fetched that it took me a while to understand that.”

While Bewick was also initially intimidated by legendary Bombers coach Kevin Sheedy, it didn’t take long for the pair to forge a special relationship.

“Kevin was daunting for me, but in the same sense my father had passed away a couple of years prior to that and probably (over) the first two or three years he was more a father figure to me than a coach.

“He was more a father figure for me and the respect and love I had for him then was enormous because he was now guiding me, so I’ll forever be grateful for that.

“He’d give a good whack where it had to be done, at the same time he’d praise you when he had to. Good coaches do that and that’s where they get their success from their players.”

Bewick went on to be one of the most experienced members of Essendon’s infamous ‘Baby Bombers’ premiership side in 1993 before once again reaching the Holy Grail in 2000, his last season.

The Bombers lost just one game that year in arguably the most impressive season a team has ever put together, but that did have its downsides for those on the fringe of the team.

“It was a great year and competition for spots that year was unbelievable,” Bewick said.

“I missed a couple of games during the year, because I played a lot on the bench and Kevin in his wisdom decided that I’d have to play a couple of games in the reserves.

“It got to a point where we obviously weren’t losing any games, you had to do a lot of things right and luckily enough I got back in the team at around round 19 or so.”

Few players could ask for a better finale to their career – a dominant 60-point victory to claim a second premiership – but Bewick admits it wasn’t his decision to retire on that high.

“It was a perfect year. I can look back now and go ‘yeah my last game was a premiership’ and it’s a fantastic way to look at it.

“I thought I maybe had another year left in me…but I think you could ask any player and they probably think they do (think the same way).”

Bewick might not have been at ease with his retirement in 2000, but beside several legends of the club he was able to become one himself. 

You can see more from our round six Bomber Legend in his interview with Rohan Connolly in the video above or listen to the entire interview via the podcast below.