At a time Essendon are more resolute than ever to rekindle their glory days, star utility and emerging leader Sam Durham has been likened to one of their greatest figures.
โHe is the modern-day Terry Daniher, isnโt he?โ club great James Hird told this masthead.
โPeople would follow Terry anywhere. When I got to the Essendon Football Club, Terry was this icon who [if he] said, โJumpโ, it was how high. If he said, โWalk over that cliffโ, you would do it. I feel that he is the modern-day version of that, which is a pretty high accolade to give someone.โ
Daniher is an Essendon and Australian Football Hall of Fame great, the 1984-85 premiership captain, and a three-time All-Australian who played 294 games for the Bombers.
That Durham, who has a more modest 97 games to his credit and is yet to play in a winning final, drew such praise from two-time premiership icon Hird is a high accolade indeed. But it reinforces the impact Durham, 24, has had since he was selected with pick No.9 in the 2021 mid-season draft.
It seems unfathomable he was overlooked in two national drafts because he was deemed to be a touch short (at 185 centimetres). But the hard nut from the Victorian country town of Seymour, who was a chippie before joining the arch-rivals of the Hawthorn he grew up supporting, has shown how inexact a science recruiting can be.
He was given his break in the VFL by Richmond, but even the Tigers overlooked him โ Durham famously adding to their lament when he kicked the winning goal in the 2023 Dreamtime at the โG clash.
โThey are a bit flat with that one, I think,โ Durham cheekily said this week of the Tigersโ draft call.
The Swans expressed interest in him, but it was the Bombers who swooped. And the results were quickly on show.
Hird remembers watching the Tigers and Bombers reserves at Punt Road during the 2021 pandemic-impacted campaign, when friends and family were not allowed into the venue and could only peer through the wiry fence.
Hird was there to watch his son, Tom, but Durham quickly made an impression.
โI just saw Sam playing off half-back โฆ [he] caught my eye, this dashing half-back flanker who was a bull at a gate, [and] obviously very courageous. [He] wasnโt the complete player by any stretch of the imagination, but just the way he approached the game immediately caught my eye,โ Hird said.
โI think thatโs what has caught everyoneโs eye at Essendon. As he has got better and better, and refined his game and became classier with the ball, and can see the game more, he has become an excellent footballer.
โBut what I think the essence of him is … he is that ultimate competitor who, as a supporter, you just love watching because you know no matter whether he is performing [as the] best on ground, or where he is performing, and wherever we are on the ladder, he is giving his all.โ
Heading into Saturdayโs Anzac Day clash against Collingwood, itโs clear Durham has added the skills and game awareness required to prosper at the elite level.
He has two podium finishes in the Crichton Medal count, and in February had his contract extended until the end of 2032, having already signed on until the end of 2028. It left him with the most lucrative deal in Bombers history, and it was a major show of faith by both club and player, although Durham and his manager Peter Lenton did weigh up all possibilities.
โI was definitely in conversation with my manager about all that sort of stuff, but I think he [Lenton] recognised that it was a great opportunity for me to sign on long-term, and how much faith the club had in me. So, I think it was a bit of a no-brainer,โ Durham said.
Durham has popped into the Essendon Football Club museum many a time, where itโs hard to ignore the tributes to the famed premiership teams of โ84-85, and the โBaby Bombersโ of 1993 โ the latter featuring a young marvel in Hird.
Under the guidance of coach Kevin Sheedy and captain Mark Thompson, that team delivered an earlier-than-expected uprising when they knocked over Carlton on the final Saturday of September.
Durham is determined to emulate that success.
โItโs especially the reason why I signed on because I want to be part of that core group of guys that really turns the club around. And, especially, how much โฆ the recognition those โBaby Bombersโ get, and so they should, but I want to be part of the next wave of the Essendon culture,โ Durham said.
โThat was definitely a big reason why I wanted to stay. If we are back in finals as a club, I think a lot of people would be happy with us.โ
Coach Brad Scott says Durham is the โprototypeโ modern midfielder, who has speed and endurance (his personal running coach Kelvin Lubeck encouraged game-specific burst work), and can shift to half-back, a wing or push forward.
He has also joined the leadership group, with midfield mate Elijah Tsatas revealing a โselflessโ Durham delivers a weekly rev-up before games.
โHe is a great on-field leader โ all the boys stand taller when he is playing,โ Tsatas said.
โI remember giving the advice to him โ donโt lose that competitive part of your game as you become better and better.โ
James Hird on Sam Durham
โHe does a little spiel before we run out, which is cool, each week โฆ it gets the boys going, which is good.โ
Tsatas wouldnโt elaborate, except to add, โItโs a bit of a pisstake, but itโs good. It gets the boys up and aboutโ.
Durhamโs bond with Seymour also remains strong. When he can, he still trains at Kings Park, the ground in the middle of the Goulburn Valley town where his single mother Jan runs a shoe shop.
Durham said Hird had been an influential figure in his early Essendon years โ the pair having met through Tom.
โJames has been pretty cool for me, just the way he gives his time on different things, [and] different pointers. He has been awesome,โ Durham said.
Hirdโs advice was simple.
โIt was just more about, as a utility, being able to play different positions,โ Hird explained.
โYou have to have an open mind and embrace every role that you have to play throughout a game, and the fact that you can impact more if you have more strings to your bow, and you can embrace the game.
โI remember giving the advice to him โ donโt lose that competitive part of your game as you become better and better. The one thing that has made you who you are is that absolute competitive spirit. Thatโs why the supporters love you.
โDonโt become so risk-averse that you donโt want to make mistakes … even if it does lead to mistakes, they are good mistakes.โ
Hird is a three-time Anzac medallist. Durham could well earn his first on Saturday if he follows his advice.
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Jon Pierik is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X or email.
