The midfielder of Essendon, David Zaharakis, signed a three-year contract as an extension with the club, thus confirming his stay till 2017.

Former W.S. Crichton medal winner, David Zaharakis, had a hard time with back injuries over the past two seasons. He also suffered one major setback last summer when he was sidelined of the club's leadership group, despite ending 10th in the Crichton medal nomination for 2013.

Zaharakis had played 87 games and bagged 37 goals over the last five seasons and was thrilled to secure his future at the club that he always favoured for.

Zaharakis mentioned in the club's Web site, "I'm proud to play for this great football club, I've supported the Bombers since I was a young boy so to re-sign for a further three years, I couldn't be happier."

"All parties were keen to settle my contract before round one and I'm looking forward to the season starting on Friday night and hopefully helping the team win our first four points of the season."

"As a playing group we're extremely excited about the progress we've made over the pre-season and if we continue to demand high standards from one another, I believe we have a really exciting future ahead of us."

Zaharakis, selected by Essendon during the 2008 AFL Draft, had previously played with the Northern Knights in the TAC Cup also captained in 2008.

He was awarded the number 11 Guernsey which belonged to Damien Peverill and has been in this number throughout most of his career.

In 2013, at the Anzac Day Match where Essendon defeated Collingwood by 46 points, Zaharakis was awarded the Anzac Day Medal for best-on-ground performance.

In his debut season he played 10 games and 20 in 2010. The year 2011 was the most consistent for Zaharakis. earning lots of accolade for this season.