The fruits of Essendon’s 2018 development were on display in the Bombers’ elimination final win over Collingwood.

No fewer than four members of the victorious side were first-year players at Essendon. Jake McQueen (22 disposals), Joe Harrison (10 disposals and 12 tackles), Nino Lazzaro (10 disposals) and Edyn Sibbald (nine disposals, five marks and two goals) had played a combined total of 21 matches in 2018 going into the elimination final.

All bar former North Ballarat player McQueen are in their first season of the VFL system. Indeed, 21-year-old Sibbald was in just his second match after making his debut in round 18 following an eleventh-hour call up from coach Dan Jordan.

“As it was a final, I wanted to get my hands on the ball as quickly as possible and have an impact,” Sibbald said.

He importantly booted two second-quarter goals gave Essendon an early ascendancy, but Sibbald’s contribution to the match didn’t end there.

During the third quarter, a crucial hard-ball get in the middle of the ground was capped off by Jackson Merrett’s fourth goal.

“With my height I can go for those marks, but I like to have that part of my game and then provide a contest at ground level as well,” the 200-centimetre key-position player said.

“It’s really important to work on both sides of that.”

Harrison made his debut in round eight against the Northern Blues and was selected three more times in the home and away season.

The 19-year-old was named as an emergency for the elimination final but when a groin complaint saw Jamieson Sheahan withdraw, Harrison was thrown into the big time of the engine room.

“I knew I just had to stick to the mantra of ‘next man up’, to come in and play my role through the midfield,” says Harrison.

The loss of Dylan Clarke to concussion in the second quarter only raised the stakes for the finals newcomer.

“I expected the pressure to go up a bit. The atmosphere was awesome and that made it all more exciting.

“I was trying to communicate with the other boys to make sure I was in position early at the stoppages.

“I knew I just had to stick to basic footy and that the rest would take care of itself.”

Collingwood had beaten Essendon twice in 2018, with Harrison playing in the Bombers’ round 17 loss to the Magpies.

“It helped going in this time to be wary of how good they are on the outside,” he said of the midfield preparation.

“I think we managed to counter that this time. We were really happy with that.”

Essendon is now preparing for a semi-final against minor premiers Richmond. If there’s anything that Sunday’s elimination final showed, it’s that these Bombers have improved from 2018’s lessons.

“DJ’s touched on that we have the ability as a side to match it with the best and it was just about putting that into action,” Sibbald reflected.

“After a pretty convincing win like that we know that we’ve got it in us. We’ve got plenty to work on but at least we know that we can match it with those top sides and capitalise when it counts.”