ABOUT US

Essendon FC - “The Bombers” - are a professional sporting team in the Australian Football League. As home to 5 sporting teams, we run our AFL men’s and women’s programs, VFL women’s and men’s programs, and a wheelchair football team. But we’re more than the game. Not only do we exist to win premierships, we aim to give back to our loyal membership base, and importantly, our community. We understand and take seriously the impact we have on social outcomes and work tirelessly to ensure these are positive, from our partnership with The Long Walk, to our indigenous pathway programs. To do this, we have strong commercial partnerships and innovate with non-traditional ventures, such as our Essendon Education Academy, so that we can deliver world class events, give back to our fans, run community programs and ultimately, strive toward our next premiership. 

ABOUT THE ROLE

Reporting to our AFL Football Analytics team, you will have the opportunity to learn the core skills of football analytics in an elite AFL club. The role involves:

• Adopting industry standard processes for capturing aligning and coding football/training vision
• Developing a working comprehension of notational analysis of training drills and matches using HUDL Sportscode
• Introduction to data processing and analysis using R
• Hands-on experience with first and third-party data sources
• Contribution to football analysis projects

Note: The tasks completed in this internship are in line with the “Exercise Science Standards” component of the ESSA Exercise Science Practicum requirements.

INTERNSHIP PROGRAM DETAILS

• Placement Commencement: 9th November 2026*
• Placement Completion: September 2027*
• Days Per Week: Approximately 1-2 days (this will vary across the season)
• Hours Per Day: 5 to 7 hours (approx. 140-200 hours)
• Work Location: The Hangar, Melbourne Airport. This placement is strictly onsite only

*Dates are subject to change

ABOUT YOU

You must be currently studying an Exercise Science, Sport Science, Performance Analysis or Data Analysis (or related degree), in their second year or later, with a university placement requirement.

Essendon are looking for students who are/have:

• Passionate about sport, performance analysis and/or data analytics and want to be involved within an elite sporting club.
• Genuine commitment to personal growth and development and a strong desire to learn.
• Work well under pressure and succeed in a team.
• Self-starter who has excellent organisational skills.
• Flexible and multitask when working in a challenging and dynamic environment
• Current Working with Children’s Check or ability to obtain one
• Ability to travel to The Hangar, Melbourne Airport

WHAT WE OFFER YOU

• Contribute to football analysis projects to help practice your skills and gain invaluable work experience in a dynamic and fast paced environment.
• Mentorship - Providing you with feedback, support and career advice.
• Opportunity to build your professional network while working with and learning from industry leaders and experts in their field; and
• Gain exposure to an elite sporting environment, being part of one of Australia’s largest and most successful AFL Clubs.
• Experience using industry standard technology and facilities
• VFL / AFLW game day experiences (subject to availability)
• Opportunities to complete certificates in HUDL Sportscode and Champion Data

PLEASE KEEP READING...

Research shows that while men apply to jobs when they meet an average of 60% of the criteria, women and other marginalised folks tend to only apply when they check every box. So, if you think you have what it takes, but don't necessarily meet every single point above, please still get in touch. We'd love to have a chat and see if you could be a great fit. 

We pride ourselves on creating an environment of shared spirit of passion, innovation, and inclusivity. As an Equal Opportunity employer, we firmly believe that diversity and inclusion is an important part of how we do business. We are united in upholding our Club-wide values and are consistently setting the benchmark both on and off the field as we strive to win our next premiership. And we wouldn’t be an elite footy club if we didn’t celebrate.