Essendon cut first players, including former No.5 pick Elijah Tsatas, under new coach Mark McVeigh with blunt one-line statement

Essendon have cut former No.5 draft pick Elijah Tsatas and delisted four more players in their first moves under new coach Mark McVeigh.

Veteran pair Matt Guelfi and Jade Gresham were also let go along with Saad El-Hawli and Liam McMahon.

All five committed to the club’s VFL finals campaign before the Bombers went down to Box Hill in a preliminary final last weekend.

Guelfi played 124 AFL games for the club since being drafted in 2017 but fell out of favour this year.

Gresham arrived from St Kilda at the end of 2023 and kicked 29 goals in 41 games in his first two seasons, before six goals from just seven appearances this year under Brad Scott and Dean Solomon.

He kicked goals in every VFL game he played this year, including five across his two finals appearances.

El-Hawli and McMahon were mid-season draftees in 2024 and 2025 respectively.

McMahon kicked 12 goals in seven AFL games after joining the club last year but was restricted to the VFL throughout 2026, kicking 33 goals.

Tsatas received only a handful of senior chances in each of his four seasons under Scott and was given only three games by Solomon this season.

The Bombers announced the five decisions with a brief statement on social media on Wednesday.

“Everyone at the club thanks the boys for their contributions + wishes them all the best for the future,” Essendon said.