A Thought Provoking List of 2004's Most Improved Rookies....

[Shane Hird]

(players who played 10 games or less at the start of the 04' season) and the team that has made the most progress with them,as from the start of 2007.

I think we have done well so far in the last 3 seasons. On paper,the EFC has had more numbers of young players developing than any other team...what do ya think?

All played less than 10 games at the start of 04'..but most had between
0 and 5 games under their belt.


I went through the lists of 04' and tried to pick players who have a name now...good players 3 years down the track....


Freo-Peake,Crowley
WCE-Selwood,Hanson,Waters
Crows-Rutten
BL-Brennan
CFC-Walker,Simpson,O'lAilpen
Haw-Luke Brennan
North-Firrito
MFC-McLean,Sylvia,Rivers,Carroll,Davey
Port-Ebert,Salopek
RFC-Tuck,Raines
Swans-Buchanan,Jarrod McViegh,Luke Ablett
WB-Cooney,Ray,Cross,Minson


and us....Essendon-Kepler,Dyson,Stanton,C.Johns,NLM,Lovett,Watson,Winderlich,Nash,Laycock

It's time these guys get it going and help us get to the finals in 07'!

 

[Longy413]

Luke Brennan is no longer at Hawthorn. He's on Sydney's rookie list.

 

[danzan22]

Stanton and Watson have already got going, im hoping winderlich and dyson come good.

 

[warney7]

Hopefully Dyson can have a good season and string a few games together!

Looking for Winderlich to recapture the form he was in before he broke his leg last season.

 

[Smokin]

Yep, it is some of this batch which has made us look a little lacking of depth (espec in midfield) and pace.

All of these guys have showed promise and teased with the ability at senior level, for for various reasons havnt been able to do it consistently: Winda, Dyson, Johns, Nash & Laycock. Think about those players, then our problems we have had with pace and Ruck (esp. a backup). We can throw Bradley in there is under-delivering as well.

Look at our players 22 and under with senior experience, all of which we can expect various levels of improvement from sooner rather than later:

Winda, Laycock, Johns, Watson, Dyson, Bradley, Nash, Slattery, Stanton, Lee, Monfries, Lonegran, Dempsey & Ryder.

Add to this guys slightly older at 23 or 24: McPhee, Lovett, NLM, Welsh and Cole.

Then we add this years draftees, unarguably our best bunch ever at this stage, and our youth stocks are very very healthy.

I am still earmarking 08 as the year for us - a bit like 98 (with 06 being our 97) - next year, if we can get the improvement from the key guys above who have teased, blended with still our core senior players who all have years to give, we are going to have an incredible blend of talented youth and experience to begin as assault on the league.

Look at Carlton and Hawthorn, sure they have great youth, but will they have the experience and talent of guys like Lloyd, Lucas, Fletcher, Michael as a core spine which their youth can be built around? Im very confident Lloyd and Lucas will see this batch come through, Im praying Fletcher and Michael will as well.

Generally, it is a blend of talented youth and experience which wins flags, not teams sitting on the bottom collecting masses of great picks, and hoping they all come good together...yet. Experience means so much in this game.

This season, I am only worried about development individually and collectively. Our ladder position should be reflected in our development, but ladder position alone isnt a major concern of mine right now.

Look at the Lions prior to their reign, they went from ordinary to extraordinary VERY quickly. I have a strong gut feeling we may do the same at some stage in the next couple of years. Simply too much talent, on paper no doubt at this stage, at the club for something not to go right to some sort of extent.

Also, a lot of the anger Essendon fans have had at the club, coach, board, recruiters etc to an extent has been due to our recent decades of success, and not appreciating the aspect that the draft now is forcing on clubs. We had to have this down, all clubs will start following suit as it has only been in this decade in which the draft has been mastered, and we unfortunatley have been one of the first casualties of it, being at or around the top when they (recruiters) started "getting it right".

West Coast and Freo "bottomed out" in 00-01. It takes time. The cycle will be around 10 years (from top to bottom back to top) as a general rule IMO. Like the stockmarket, the rise will probably be a lot slower than the fall as well.

 

[jules101]

(players who played 10 games or less at the start of the 04' season) and the team that has made the most progress with them,as from the start of 2007.

I think we have done well so far in the last 3 seasons. On paper,the EFC has had more numbers of young players developing than any other team...what do ya think?

All played less than 10 games at the start of 04'..but most had between
0 and 5 games under their belt.


I went through the lists of 04' and tried to pick players who have a name now...good players 3 years down the track....


Freo-Peake,Crowley
WCE-Selwood,Hanson,Waters
Crows-Rutten
BL-Brennan
CFC-Walker,Simpson,O'lAilpen
Haw-Luke Brennan
North-Firrito
MFC-McLean,Sylvia,Rivers,Carroll,Davey
Port-Ebert,Salopek
RFC-Tuck,Raines
Swans-Buchanan,Jarrod McViegh,Luke Ablett
WB-Cooney,Ray,Cross,Minson


and us....Essendon-Kepler,Dyson,Stanton,C.Johns,NLM,Lovett,Watson,Winderlich,Nash,Laycock

It's time these guys get it going and help us get to the finals in 07'!

In the best 10 players of the club: Watson, Lovett, Stanton
Getting there: NLM , Johns
Need to do something this year: Winderlich, Dyson, Nash, Laycock

 

[Big Scottknowsall]

As far as output goes, we are severely overrating Winderlich, Johns and Laycock....to name but a few.....

 

[taz@freo]

Just a few you left off Freo
Mundy, M Johnson, Sandilands, Murphy, Dodd

Quite an impressive batch when you add in Crowley and Peake.

 

[Shane Hird]

Luke Brennan is no longer at Hawthorn. He's on Sydney's rookie list.

oh....woops..

 

[Shane Hird]

Just a few you left off Freo
Mundy, M Johnson, Sandilands, Murphy, Dodd

Quite an impressive batch when you add in Crowley and Peake.

No these are players who had played less than 10 games at the start of the 2004 season....your other Freo players you listed had played more or hadn't even started yet..

 

[Shane Hird]

As far as output goes, we are severely overrating Winderlich, Johns and Laycock....to name but a few.....

No were not.....we are just the same as every other team....developing young players and giving them game time.

Can't happen in 20 games you know..