Are Essendon the real deal?

[MAAAATTDAAAAMON]

Cannot believe how many people have said that the Dons are a top 4 contender after 1 round. Amazing.

I'm tipping a season of ups and downs, finishing between 7th and 10th.

 

[Nubby]

ITS ROUND 1.!!!!!!

Just because they had a good NAB and a great win first up doesnt make them the real deal, remember alot of teams put on a team of kids for the preseason and dont take it to seriously, some did (i.e collingwood)

no doubt they looked good on sunday, and god i can only hope they die in the ass, but its just a bit early in the season to tell is it not?

 

[Mervyn Beasley]

Difficult to tell with Dogs missing 3 of their best defenders.

Slightly concerning all the same!!

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Hard to say, I have seen time and timne again that it is easier to get motivation to play for a coach for the first month. The true test will be how we respond after we get belted, which we will. My gut feeling says we will come 11th this season.

 

[Art Corvelay]

ROUND 1

if we are say 4-0 going into Anzac Day and come close to the pies then i will start getting slighty excited.

Not going to completely blow the lid until at least round 10

Said to my mate today I secretly hoped you did come in undefeated so we can knock the wind out of your sails with a 15 goal drubbing.

I'm mean like that.

No doubt Dons in a bit of a honeymoon period at the moment. I was one who said you'd be going for bottom 4; well, wrong about that, I reckon you'll finish between 7 - 12. If you made the finals I'd be pretty impressed, because you looked like a team going nowhere last year and there wasn't a heap of changes to the list.

 

[LukeParkerno1]

Difficult to tell with Dogs missing 3 of their best defenders.

Slightly concerning all the same!!

Bit concerning for the Dogs depth though when Crameri makes a meal of them though, and I saw even worse signs in the midfield!

 

[Wernumberone]

Difficult to tell with Dogs missing 3 of their best defenders.

Slightly concerning all the same!!

Their defense had little to do with it and the result would have only been smaller had they been there. We were also missing players.

They were smashed in the midfield and workrate. 71 inside 50's to 40 tells the story. Any defense would crack under that.

Doubtful we will make the 8 and will stick with my original prediction, pre NAB cup, of minimum of 10 wins.

 

[mattys123]

Essendon can make the eight, but they, like most teams "around the fringe" of the eight will need luck with injuries/suspension/form to do so.

There will be about 6-7 teams fighting for the last 3 spots in the 8, if round 1 was anything to go by.

Pies, Cats, Saints, Hawks and Crows are near certs to make the final eight, all things being equal, but outside of them there is no one who could be called "certain".

The bombers lack real depth, especially in the midfield, but they may be able to make up for that with the little depth they have in their key position stocks, with the likes of Gumbelton, Pears and Bellchambers all missing on the weekend.

At the moment, I'd back them to make it, you don't have to be that good to finish 7th or 8th (cue Carlton the last 2 seasons), so they are a massive chance of finishing in one of those bottom 3 spots in the eight.

 

[brjafi]

Based on one game they will make the grand final. Will see over the next few weeks or so.

 

[CAS79]

Top 4 no, not this year

keep playing like that though they will make the eight, a lot of mediocrity in that middle part of the comp last year and it looks like it again.

 

[Ari]

Essendon can make the eight, but they, like most teams "around the fringe" of the eight will need luck with injuries/suspension/form to do so.

There will be about 6-7 teams fighting for the last 3 spots in the 8, if round 1 was anything to go by.

Pies, Cats, Saints, Hawks and Crows are near certs to make the final eight, all things being equal, but outside of them there is no one who could be called "certain".

The bombers lack real depth, especially in the midfield, but they may be able to make up for that with the little depth they have in their key position stocks, with the likes of Gumbelton, Pears and Bellchambers all missing on the weekend.

At the moment, I'd back them to make it, you don't have to be that good to finish 7th or 8th (cue Carlton the last 2 seasons), so they are a massive chance of finishing in one of those bottom 3 spots in the eight.

Very, very good post.

Having Bellie as a backup ruck could well be valuable this year.

 

[Bomberman86]

Very, very good post.

Having Bellie as a backup ruck could well be valuable this year.

The Bellchambers situation worries me a bit.. I didnt think hed come along at the rate he is.. If he keeps improving and not getting games we may well lose him to a club with poor ruck stocks...

 

[Bomber32]

We'll probably end up on the fringe of the eight with about 10 wins.

Next year is when we should have a decent crack at making the finals.

 

[Summer Nights]

The Bellchambers situation worries me a bit.. I didnt think hed come along at the rate he is.. If he keeps improving and not getting games we may well lose him to a club with poor ruck stocks...

Crazy idea. Maybe we could play him in defence if we lose a KPD to injury. Not ideal but might just tide him over here and there. Definitely don't want to lose him.

 

[jonoman89]

I hate Essendon with every bone of my body. Hate everything about them.

But i can't help be a little bit excited thinking that Collingwood, Essendon and Carlton could all be in the finals. Should be some fantastic games of footy in round 3 with us against the Pies, us against Essendon in round 4, and then ANZAC Dayn round 5.

But, to be completely honest, i'd rather see them both fail

Round 3, 4 and 5 are all very big for the three teams (save Pies v Tigers).

 

[Heeney2Franklin]

lol pretty sure this was the exact same thing said when they beat St.Kilda and some other top 4 team everyone was praising Knights and the reinvention of Essendon.

 

[SA1NTER]

They will finish top 4.

I disagree. I think the top 4 will consist of Collingwood, St. Kilda, Western Bulldogs and Carlton actually. But only time will tell...

 

[LordLucifer]

In RD 1. 2008 with Mathew Knights at the helm for the very first time, Essendon flogged North Melbourne by just under 10 goals but they ended up finishing 12th that year.

 

[SA HAWK]

In RD 1. 2008 with Mathew Knights at the helm for the very first time, Essendon flogged North Melbourne by just under 10 goals but they ended up finishing 12th that year.

They have a far better list now than they did in 2008.

 

[Macca18]

In RD 1. 2008 with Mathew Knights at the helm for the very first time, Essendon flogged North Melbourne by just under 10 goals but they ended up finishing 12th that year.

Thank you for now becoming the 7,891,927th person to use this fact over the last 24 hours. It is now apparent due to this crucial statistic that Hird's coaching career is going to follow along the exactly the same lines as Matthew Knights.

Not only that but Dyson Heppell won the Rising Star nomination, just like Bachar Houli won it in Round 1 of 2008. There is also absolutely no doubt now that Heppell will be playing for Richmond in 2014.

Oh, but one good thing will come out of it... we will beat Carlton by 16 points in a couple of weeks time. Because that's how much we beat them by in Knights first game as coach against them so it's a certainty to happen again. Yep.

 

[folester41]

should finish between 6th and 8th, depending on when they burn out, because i dont think they have the players to play that way consistently all season.

 

[Summer Nights]

Oh, but one good thing will come out of it... we will beat Carlton by 16 points in a couple of weeks time. Because that's how much we beat them by in Knights first game as coach against them so it's a certainty to happen again. Yep.

If this happens there will be some lol-worthy bumping.

 

[Wooljay]

Who do they edge out?

We have Sydney, Melbourne, Roos, Carlton (yeah.), and even Port who could finish in the middle order. I think roughly it'll end up being C'wood, Cats, Saints, Dogs, Hawks, Adelaide, Dockers who make up the top 7, so who gets the 8th spot out of those remaining 5-6? I think the only true 'locks' for bottom four are Richmond, GCFC, Brisbane and West Coast (will fade hard).

All my opinion though, however I think they will be very, VERY, close.

 

[jeemak]

Pretty hard to answer such a black and white survey. So I didn't.

I remember the Dogs winning all but one out of twelve or so in 2008 and this type of thread was still popping up about them.

Essendon fans, you're in for a long two months or so I reckon. Win a few, the opposition will get analysed to mitigate your good performance, lose a couple and the main board, talk back radio and the papers will be out to proclaim your dmise. I say, just enjoy the wins you get.


Anyway, Essendon showed on the weekend they are clearly fit and well drilled. Their midfield was allowed to run free from quarter time onwards and they made the most of their opportunities, which is a sign of a side maturing. Once they got on top in the middle to such an extent, they were always in the box seat to win the game convincingly.

The only concern I have with them is their ability to physically impose themselves on a midfield that is willing to shut them down and play hard relentless contested football against them. I'm not only talking about teams employing negative tactics however, I'm thinking the type of football Geelong played between 2007-2009 where they monstered opposition midfields and tore them to pieces with better skill in close. Essendon weren't exposed to that on the weekend, in fact, they were given free reign to do what they pleased.

Give them a few more weeks to show what they can do throughout a reasonably difficult draw.

 

[Dan26]

I don't know what "the real deal" means. Can you make the eight, and not be "the real deal"?

Carlton made the eight last year for example, but I don't think they were "T.R.D"

But yes, Essendon will make the eight.