ESSENDON
Over a strong 2026 campaign, there are only two league opponents who have beaten the Essendon Royals twice.
The first are Goulburn Valley Suns – crowned champions for a reason. The other team comes to Cross Keys on Friday night for the biggest game of Essendon’s season.
Keilor Park stand in the way of a promotion playoff final against Bayside or Box Hill on September 19th – and the Royals undoubtedly have a point to prove against their local rivals.
The Royals have won nine of ten league games at Cross Keys this year. The tenth casts a shadow over Friday. Keilor Park won 4-1 here on 21 August against a heavily rotated Essendon side, who already had their sights set of preparations for the playoffs. Sam Litchfield scored twice with Rhys Saunders and Max Branov adding the others, with Frank Mulhern replying for the Royals, but the lineup was not a true reflection of Essendon’s quality. Captain Dean Clarke, Vince Lia, Brad Norton and Anthony Trajkoski were all absent, Marcus Kotronis started on the bench, fifteen-year-old Kody Sapolu started in midfield and Bailee Kocankovski made his senior debut.
The reverse fixture back in May provides more cause for concern. Keilor Park prevailed 1-0 in a scrappy contest, the solitary goal coming through a deflected Yanagisono effort twenty seconds after a Royals corner at the other end.
The numbers show two different ways of winning a football match. The Royals have outscored Keilor this season, 63 goals to 39, while Keilor’s backline has shipped five fewer. But one-off matches tend to favour sides who don’t need to open the game up, and newly promoted Eagles have shown a propensity for grinding out results.
Sam O’Halleron, twelve goals for Keilor Park this season, went off after thirteen minutes on 21 August, and there has been no word since. Marcus Kotronis has matched that tally for Essendon this season, and with four goals in his last six outings, has hit form at the right time.
It’s a massive finals weekend for the Royals, with the men on Friday at 7:30pm and the women on Saturday at 3pm. Get down to Cross Keys and show your support as the season reaches its crescendo!