<P> The 2017 season was also capped off by the retirement of much loved club legend and ex-captain Jobe Watson, midfielder Brent Stanton, and ex-Geelong star James Kelly, who later took up a development coach role at the club . 126 game midfielder Heath Hocking was delisted . </P> <P> Essendon's first recorded jumpers were navy blue (The Footballers, edited by Thomas Power, 1875) although the club wore' red and black caps and hose' . In 1877 The Footballers records the addition of' a red sash over left shoulder' . This is the first time a red sash as part of the club jumper and by 1878 there are newspaper reports referring to Essendon players as' the men in the sash' . </P> <P> Given that blue and navy blue were the most popular colours at the time it is thought that Essendon adopted a red sash in 1877 to distinguish its players from others in similar coloured jumpers . </P> <P> In 2007, the AFL Commission laid down the requirement that all clubs must produce an alternative jumper for use in matches where jumpers are considered to clash . From 2007--2011, the Essendon clash guernsey was the same design as its home guernsey, but with a substantially wider sash such that the guernsey was predominantly red rather than predominantly black . This was changed after 2011 when the AFL deemed that the wider sash did not provide a sufficient contrast . </P>

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