Essendon has secured Keidean Coleman in a trade with the Brisbane Lions in the dying minutes of the 2026 Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period.
The Bombers receive the dashing half back and pick No.25 in exchange for picks No.21 and 27.
It completes a move seven years in the making. Essendon first bid on Coleman in the 2019 National Draft, before Brisbane matched it to take him with pick No.37.
Born in the Northern Territory town of Katherine, Coleman moved to Brisbane at nine and joined the Lions Academy at age 13. The 182cm defender made his AFL debut in 2020.
Known for his damaging left foot, speed and agility, Coleman quickly developed into one of the competition’s most exciting young defenders, earning selection in the AFL Players’ 22Under22 team in 2022.
His 2023 season was his best. Coleman played every game and was outstanding in the Grand Final against Collingwood, finishing with a game-high 23 kicks. He was runner-up to Bobby Hill for the Norm Smith Medal, the only Brisbane player to poll, and finished second for the Gary Ayres Award as the best player of the finals series while sharing the Lions’ Best Finals Player honour.
Injury has interrupted his career since. Coleman tore his ACL in the Opening Round of 2024, then experienced further setbacks in 2025 before returning to the Lions’ side in 2026. He arrives at Essendon after 79 AFL games.
Essendon’s General Manager of List and Recruiting Matt Rosa said Coleman’s ball use, flair and ability to take the game on would be an important addition to the Bombers defence.
"Firstly, after meeting Kiddy and his his partner Rylie, they're fantastic people," Rosa said.
"He's a damaging ball user off half back. He's also shown the ability to play at half forward as well, so he's got a bit of flexibility. But we believe the fans will love the way that he uses the footy and the way that he applies pressure as well, and he's got speed.
"We're excited to get him into the footy club. It was reasonably tense (towards the deadline) but we were well prepared. We were all aligned that we really wanted to get Kiddy into the football club, and we thought we were able to work out a fair deal in the end.
"(The opportunity to represent Essendon) really excited Kiddy. We do have a proud history of Indigenous players at the footy club, and we're really keen for that to continue.
"He's certainly an exciting player, we've seen what he can do on Grand Final Day, and I think that really excited him playing in front of the big crowds - he really wants that opportunity."
The Club welcomes Keidean, his partner Rylie and their children Haisley and Kyus to the Bombers family.
