Essendon’s injury curse continues: Martin to miss 2026 after further knee surgery

Scans have confirmed what Essendon feared: defender Nic Martin needs further knee surgery and will miss all of next season.

Martin slipped in training recently, re-injuring the knee he had reconstructed late in the 2025 season. Martin had further surgery to repair the reconstruction on Thursday after his surgeon on Monday reviewed new scans and confirmed the Bombers star needed to go under the knife again.

“It’s obviously a setback, but I have complete confidence in our medical and high-performance team and our long-term plan for me,” Martin said.

“I’m feeling good post-surgery, and I’m ready to take the time to build my knee back up, and I know I’m in the best hands possible, and I’ll attack this rehab with everything I’ve got to come back stronger.”

While Martin had been progressing well in his recovery before the slip at training, he only had the knee reconstructed after round 18 when he tore his anterior cruciate ligament against Richmond.

A typical 12-month return-to-play period would have only had Martin returning for the final handful of games next season in any event, so while the second surgery is a blow, it might not significantly alter the amount of football he would have been likely to miss anyway.

Essendon football manager Daniel McPherson said the club had been conservative and took a longer-term view with Martin in deciding to repair minor damage to the reconstructed knee.

“We are all really disappointed for Nic, but we are also really proud of the maturity with which he has handled this setback,” he said.

“The decision to go back in for surgery sets Nic up for the best long-term result, and he’s determined to come back from this setback an even better and stronger athlete.”

Just weeks after his retirement party, Brian Cook is back to help the Demons

Veteran administrator Brian Cook has been hired to mentor novice football chief executive Paul Guerra at the Demons.

Cook, who retired from full-time work at the end of this season after more than three decades in football administration, culminating in his term as chief executive of Carlton, will mentor Guerra for a day a week on football matters.

Cook was one of the longest serving chief executives in the AFL system having spent nine years at the West Coast Eagles before moving to Geelong where he was in charge for 23 years and finally four years at the Blues, the last of which was handing over to his successor Graham Wright.

The Demons are aiming to tap into Cook’s vast experience and, more importantly, his football network to mentor Guerra, who was previously chief executive of the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and had not worked in the AFL industry.

The appointment also comes less than two months after football powerbrokers and politicians gathered for a luncheon in the MCC committee room to honour Cook’s career in what was billed as a farewell to footy.

“The idea [of appointing Cook] was really to provide a mentor for Paul with his lack of football experience,” Melbourne’s new president Steven Smith said.

“Brian is an old teammate of mine – he played with me in the few senior games he played in the late ’70s – and he has vast experience in the game that could be really important and helpful to us.

“The timing was right for him and for us. Brian is one of the most highly respected administrators in the comp so he is ideal for Paul. We were lucky with the timing.

“It won’t be full-time, it will be about a day a week, it might be three to four hours a week, we will see how it goes.”

The position will only be advising on football matters and he not a review the executive or business structure.

The Demons want to access Cook’s long relationships in the game, to support Guerra as he delves into the nuances of football industry politics.

The appointment comes after a season of huge change at Melbourne. Aside from Guerra’s appointment, the club changed senior coach with the appointment of Steven King after the  premiership coach Simon Goodwin was sacked mid-year.

Smith has just taken over from Brad Green after a planned transition, and most critically the club made hard decisions on the playing list, trading out contracted pair Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver as the Demons continue a youth-driven list revitalisation using the draft picks from the Petracca trade to once more push into the top end of the draft.

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