Bottom four next year?

[Timmy from Thomastown]

Whatever. It wasnt my main point, really a side issue. Its very very rare for teams to blow 13 point leads with 2 minutes on the clock. Make no mistake Collingwood lost that game not the other way around. Call it 10.5 wins, 9.5 wins or 9 wins, you lost more than you won and many of your youngsters did very little or at best plateaued.

And your injuries are over-stated as usual. Hille was your only major loss.

I struggle to see who will take you to the next level apart from Hurley and Ryder. Pears maybe.

 

[RM_3]

If you had used the word 'these' instead of 'this' I would have.

oh nice grammar police. Should you go ahead and dig up all of the other people that **** up with their spelling?

Improve, potential, blah, blah, blah. Maybe they can or maybe they will fall over due to the pressure of being thrown in with a lot of other youngsters. I don't think Essendon will be bottom 4 next year but your previous post was ridiculous.

Oh for **** sake. Why is it ridiculous?

I was just implying with that post that with a young list there's a fair chance we will improvement. You get it? I mean my club being 2nd in the young list order this season has potential to improve next season.

I said that in my prior post not because I'm obsessed with youth, not because I think youth>quality but purely the reason that I think these kids will improve again.

Similar to what they did last season. You get it? Or is it too hard for you?

 

[Rimmer]

13 Port
14 Essendon
15 Freo
16 Richmond

Not the typical sour grapes of many Richmond supporters, this is a realistic assessment. Our recruiting over recent years has been 'questionable' and Hardwick is going to be left with very little to work with after skimming off our older more experienced players and our failed recruiting efforts (read most of the Coburg side).

It will be a miracle if he can lift Richmond off the bottom in the next 3 years.

Freo have good kids but need to learn to win away, I think they will have another quiet season.

Essendon played above themselves this year, they will be weaker next year.

Port are losing too many of their senior players, a quiet year for them next year. IMO

 

[Tailypo]

Whatever. It wasnt my main point, really a side issue. Its very very rare for teams to blow 13 point leads with 2 minutes on the clock. Make no mistake Collingwood lost that game not the other way around. Call it 10.5 wins, 9.5 wins or 9 wins, you lost more than you won and many of your youngsters did very little or at best plateaued.

And your injuries are over-stated as usual. Hille was your only major loss.

I struggle to see who will take you to the next level apart from Hurley and Ryder. Pears maybe.

See I interpreted one of your main points as being that we undeservedly won games. As for Hille being our only major loss, and our injuries being overstated, well that's just ignorant, but I won't turn this into an injuries pissing contest. I will happily go there if you disagree
----------------------------------------------------------------------


FWIW I think the bottom 4 will consist of any of Richmond, Kangas, Melb, Port, Sydney.

 

[Smyth94]

13 Port
14 Essendon
15 Freo
16 Richmond

Not the typical sour grapes of many Richmond supporters, this is a realistic assessment. Our recruiting over recent years has been 'questionable' and Hardwick is going to be left with very little to work with after skimming off our older more experienced players and our failed recruiting efforts (read most of the Coburg side).

It will be a miracle if he can lift Richmond off the bottom in the next 3 years.

Freo have good kids but need to learn to win away, I think they will have another quiet season.

Essendon played above themselves this year, they will be weaker next year.

Port are losing too many of their senior players, a quiet year for them next year. IMO

Hille coming back in to the team will make us weaker?

McVeigh, Reimers, Gumbleton, Winderlich and Welsh having proper pre-seasons will make us weaker?

The solid core of <23 y.o we have at the club such as Hurley, Pears, Ryder, Dempsey, Zaharakis, Myers etc all have another season under their belts...this will make us weaker?

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Melbourne's the only team I can't see getting above 13th.

Rest is a lottery including Tigers, Freo, West Coast, North, Port and Sydney.

 

[The Donners]

Most posters had Essendon above bottom four last year. You made the eight with only 10.5 wins - about 2 less than what is usually required - and you were lucky that your opponents gifted you 1.5 of those wins. A pragmatist woudl acknowledge you could just as eaily only picked up 9 wins as the 10.5 you gained.

In a normal year that puts you exactly where most punters would have predicted - 11th or 12th.

Make no mistake, 2009 flattered Essendon. You picked up a couple of key position players who will be real quality and your ruckman came of age, but there was very little progress shown by a lot of your young midfielders who are supposed to be the next generation.

Your post just shows how little you know about Essendon.

 

[The Donners]

Players that were missing, played less than half the season or were coming back from serious injuries that will be in the running for selection:

David Hille
Mark McVeigh
Brent Prismall
Andrew Welsh
Scott Gumbleton
Jay Neagle
Kyle Reimers
Michael Hurley
David Zaharakis
Alwyn Davey
Jason Winderlich
Bachar Houli
David Myers
Jarrod Atkinson
Courtney Dempsey
Darcy Daniher

I'll take a stab and suggest we'll move forwards and not backwards!

Whatever. It wasnt my main point, really a side issue. Its very very rare for teams to blow 13 point leads with 2 minutes on the clock. Make no mistake Collingwood lost that game not the other way around. Call it 10.5 wins, 9.5 wins or 9 wins, you lost more than you won and many of your youngsters did very little or at best plateaued.

And your injuries are over-stated as usual. Hille was your only major loss.

I struggle to see who will take you to the next level apart from Hurley and Ryder. Pears maybe.

Over-stated? Look at the list, if you want an injury history of them '08 and '09 I'll provide one? You obviously have no idea so I cant help you?

 

[Wonaeamirri33]

Melbourne's the only team I can't see getting above 13th.

LOL- maybe you need some type of optical implant then

Over-stated? Look at the list, if you want an injury history of them '08 and '09 I'll provide one? You obviously have no idea so I cant help you?

Again, I definitely identify with your position on this thread Donners... a lot of people seem to be clueless about the depth of our injury problems during the last 2 seasons as well...

 

[OniAu]

LOL- maybe you need some type of optical implant then



Again, I definitely identify with your position on this thread Donners... a lot of people seem to be clueless about the depth of our injury problems during the last 2 seasons as well...

I love your optimistic view, pity reality is going to hit next year and you will struggle to get out of the bottom four let alone sneak into the top 8.

Name 8 sides you will be clearly better than next season, because thats what you are implying when you say you will finish 8th.

Every team has injuries , dont use two injury plagued seasons as the reason you are sittin near the bottom.

Essendon and carlton and the pies probably have just as many young guys as you guys that are actually performing in big games.

Melbourne supporters to me just seeme deluded with the term "youthful side" and are riding it as if its going to bring instant success.

 

[Wonaeamirri33]

Again, since massive numbers of injuries cost us at least 3-5 games that I can point to, I don't see any Earthly reason why we wouldn't end up well out of the bottom four.

But how would you know anyway? Honestly - if your comments here are anything to go by, you seem to know little or nothing about the Demons or about Demons players....

 

[Call Me Cake]

When you're trying to predict next year's performance, clearly its the number of times you managed to win this year that you will use as a template.

Good analogy, but IMO, that's complete bullshit.

Geelong's win/loss tally in 2006 was exactly the same as ours this season. 10 wins, 11 losses and 1 draw and finishing 10th. They went on to win 18 & lose 4 the very next season.

The Western Bulldogs managed to win 9, lose 12 and draw 1 in 2007 and finished 13th. They went on to win 15, lose 6, and draw 1 and finish 3rd the very next season.

North melbourne conjured up 7 wins, 15 losses in 2006 finishing 14th. They managed to win 14 and lose just 8 and finished 4th the very next season.

You see?... I can argue semantics too. But that's not footy. Hey, I guess they're alright for "predictions".

Clearly last years result was a good sounding board for 2009 and as a resulty we are still in the top four and a game away from a GF.

Ehem, no. If you're the type of person to crow about "luck" when it comes to us, then you better look at that very win against Adelaide. What's the chance that you'd have gone in straight sets had Anthony missed that goal, or better yet, not have recieved that free in the first place?

You try and sound wise, but in the end you should just try not to be a hypocrite instead.

Essendon cant say the same about their 8th position in 2009. To sit and say "we finished 8th therefore we'll do at least the same next year despite losing more games than we won" is pretty ignorant.

Making the 8 this year has never had ANYTHING to do with the preospect of making the 8 NEXT YEAR. You see, this year was seen as a rebuilding year for us. Looking at the old prediction thread, pretty much EVERY Bomber fan expected finals experience in 2010. Our efforts this year has had nothing to do with it.

With that said. I don't see how claiming the Bombers will make the 8 next year is ignorant at all. We won 10 games and drew 1 with our youngsters carrying a depleted side on their backs. Next year, key players will be coming back, and some of our new/young players will get another pre-season under their belt. Hille coming back to share the ruck with Ryder is a HUGE plus for us. This ruck combo will make a huge difference to how our midfield performs. Watson will no doubt perform on another level. Davey (shoulder, knee), Prismall, Winders, Welsh, Gumby having a proper pre-season since '07-'08 is a good thing. The prospect of us winning MORE than 10 or 11 games is a true one when the depth of the team is looked at next year. I don't see why we wouldn't improve.

P.S - You know so very little about Essendon, it's ridiculous.

one and a half of your wins were due to the opposition handing you the game on a platter.

Which one of these one and a half wins were granted to us?... AFAIK, we've had to work our ass off for every win we've had this year. The opposition has two options. Win or lose. If they choose to lose, it has nothing to do with our form or how we're going in a season. But seriously, to nitpick about one win is childish, and if you're going to do that, make sure your own backyard is clean first.

Btw, the draw against Brisbane should have been a win for us, as we were leading them for most of the last quarter. Our skill error gifted Bradshaw a goal in the last 5 seconds of the match to cause a draw. IMO, that was more of a win for us if anything. They were lucky to get off with a draw.

Apart from Hurley Pears and Ryder I did not see many of your younger players show measurable improvement in 2009. Watson of course was the other player who advanced in leaps and bounds. It does not seem that you have the same depth of up and coming talent as other teams.

And yet 8 other teams with such "up and coming talent" managed to win less than we did this year.

Hawthorn, Port and Sydney were all in contention. One team falling, luck is a definite. Two teams falling, luck is a prospect. Three teams falling, ain't luck at all. Performance is the key, and the young rebuilding Bombers who were expected to finish bottom 3, did better than expected. Finals was just a reward for such an achievement, makes no difference to next year...

Bring on 2010.

 

[mantis]

Over-stated? Look at the list, if you want an injury history of them '08 and '09 I'll provide one? You obviously have no idea so I cant help you?

Don't waste your time replying to TFT, he is a Bomber hater & will never post anything sensible about us. We know the Bombers are on the way up, but he will never admit it.

 

[DragonLass]

In no particular order

Port Adelaide
North
Hawthorn
Richmond

Melbourne to be the big improvers - probably not the 8, but not bottom 4.

 

[OniAu]

Again, since massive numbers of injuries cost us at least 3-5 games that I can point to, I don't see any Earthly reason why we wouldn't end up well out of the bottom four.

But how would you know anyway? Honestly - if your comments here are anything to go by, you seem to know little or nothing about the Demons or about Demons players....

i havent watched all 22 melbourne games , no one probably would have unless you are a melbourne supporter, even then someone pointed out your fans dont even turn up to your own games.

ive watched them enough to know they arent going to be pushing for the top 8 at all. hawks finished just outside the 8 this year , you guys are nowhere near them or essendon who just scraped in.

nice avoidance of naming 8 teams you think you are clearly better than. shows you know yourself u dont have a hope in making the 8.

 

[Wonaeamirri33]

Well we'd have been ahead of North, Freo, Richmond, WCE and Sydney this season if we'd won those games where injuries dramatically affected the result, is that good enough for you?

Truly, you're just making yourself look even more ignorant! You didn't even seem to know we were carrying a long injury list... anyone who's been following our season for 5 mins should've been aware of that!

And the lame comment about our supporters clearly shows up the troll in your posting, which just confirms my earlier suspicion....

 

[EagleMan87]

Well we'd have been ahead of North, Freo, Richmond, WCE and Sydney this season if we'd won those games where injuries dramatically affected the result, is that good enough for you?

Truly, you're just making yourself look even more ignorant! You didn't even seem to know we were carrying a long injury list... anyone who's been following our season for 5 mins should've been aware of that!

And the lame comment about our supporters clearly shows up the troll in your posting, which just confirms my earlier suspicion....

No, you could have been above those teams, but you have no guarentee that your team can actually get a team together.

You had a new fitness coach this year and he led your team to the worst injury list it's had in living memory. What makes you think next year will be different? You've had three terrible years and show no signs of improving.

By the way, just because I'm asking questions of your team; doesn't make me a troll.

 

[Wonaeamirri33]

Well yeah, I know you're not trolling mate.

But truly, you can't have been watching us much if you don't think we're improving.

As for THAT fitness coach (Bohdan Babjicuk), this particular appointment happened in 2007, under the previous board. And yeah, we've had cause to regret it ever since, you're right about that.

It looks like his role has been downgraded though, which we're pretty happy about.

 

[greennick]

Well we'd have been ahead of North, Freo, Richmond, WCE and Sydney this season if we'd won those games where injuries dramatically affected the result, is that good enough for you?

Truly, you're just making yourself look even more ignorant! You didn't even seem to know we were carrying a long injury list... anyone who's been following our season for 5 mins should've been aware of that!

And the lame comment about our supporters clearly shows up the troll in your posting, which just confirms my earlier suspicion....

Just say with the WC example, you don't think we would have been much better with Cox and Kerr without groin injuries??? Not to mention the 3-4 other premiership players who had long-term injuries (Brett Jones, Beau Waters, etc).

Every side has injuries, to players that are a shitload better than the ones Melbourne was missing out on.

 

[greennick]

In no particular order

Port Adelaide
North
Hawthorn
Richmond

Melbourne to be the big improvers - probably not the 8, but not bottom 4.

Hawthorn bottom 4? Seriously??

 

[lions_den]

Bottom 4 update.

13. Sydney
14. Richmond
15. Melbourne
16. Wonaeamirri33

 

[Wonaeamirri33]

Ignoring the Autoresponder Troll, who seems to be trying to target me as an individual poster now in hope of some sort of reaction - do I have a new stalker perhaps?

Just say with the WC example, you don't think we would have been much better with Cox and Kerr without groin injuries??? Not to mention the 3-4 other premiership players who had long-term injuries (Brett Jones, Beau Waters, etc).

If you lose 30/50% of your best 22 to injuries, it's going to have a major effect on your results. It's incredibly naive to think otherwise.

As for our players, well, you know a lot more about your own squad than you'd know about ours, and the same goes for me of course. So I wouldn't seek to make sweeping general assumptions about your players.

And yeah, I reckon you could've picked up a few more wins with a smaller injury list, I've said that before.

But it's pretty well certain we'd have picked up at least 3 more wins with a lower injury list.

Richmond, where we went down after the siren. WCE at Subi, where we lost by 7, and the Bulldogs game, where we lost by 8.

The other 2 games are perhaps less certain, but still I'd have backed us in for them with a few more of our best 22 available.

 

[pacemaker]

Idiots, who had WCE in their Bottom 4

But then again they might tank to get early draft picks

 

[EagleMan87]

Well yeah, I know you're not trolling mate.

But truly, you can't have been watching us much if you don't think we're improving.

As for THAT fitness coach (Bohdan Babjicuk), this particular appointment happened in 2007, under the previous board. And yeah, we've had cause to regret it ever since, you're right about that.

It looks like his role has been downgraded though, which we're pretty happy about.

I never said that. I said you can't guarentee that you won't have the same injury woes of the last three years, which you can't.

Honestly, you put Melbourne in the top eight in the predictions thread, how can you justify that?

 

[Wonaeamirri33]

Well yeah, I was tending towards the most optimistic outcome in my prediction there mate, that's true. Probably was a bit inclined towards balancing out some of the weirder predictions about us in that one as well.

I don't rule out 8th, but I think we're more likely to be around 9th/10th next year.