Roast Essendon in no mans land

[Vindicater]

In the predictions thread at the start of the year I had us as a 7th-12th team and that is where we will land.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

How do you rate the intensity against good opposition of Wright and Weideman who Adrian brought in on the cheap?
Stringer is getting on and never in good condition and Jones is frail.
No small forwards of note.

Langford has improved his game and Caddy should be given opportunity for sure.
These 2 are the starting point going forward …

hmmmmm

they were both absolutely cheap, so can't fault it to be honest.

Wright - got him for absolutely nothing and has been serviceable for what we paid.
Weidman - got him for nothing also so the fact he's doing nothing probably means not much.
Stringer - Serviceable when we are going but he's far from the star he was. he is the cherry on top, not the sundae.
Jones - he is young and will take time to develop has a VERY big engine, puts in a lot of KM's. He was great last night but lacks a lot of confidence at time, especially when kicking for goal.
Langford - good when on the lead or at ground level, but gets monstered in 1v1 marking contests against big defenders.
Caddy - could be anything. Who knows.

We definitely need to get some star power in there for sure. We have long forgotten our fwdline.

 

[Obeanie1]

Twitter and Facebook fan pages are so toxic.

I quit them to lessen the negativity in my life.

100%

I signed up to X.

Two weeks later I deleted my account for the exact same reason. The toxic culture was just over the top. What it is doing to peoples mental health would be shocking IMO.

 

[Obeanie1]

Not sure why Nick Bryan isnt playing. Had a all timer in the VFL yesterday it says on AFL.com.au

Nick Bryan dominated in the ruck with 45 clearances and 13 hitouts while also rolling forward to kick a goal.

If Goldy goes on again this bloke should look elsewhere.

Understand rucks take time however he seems to be doing everything he can in the lower grade.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

If Goldy goes on again this bloke should look elsewhere.

Understand rucks take time however he seems to be doing everything he can in the lower grade.

Yeah, but he isn't converting it to the AFL.

it's not like he hasn't had a go - Bryan has played 14 senior games.

His ability to get around the ground like Draper and Goldy is far below par. Could be do better elsewhere? Maybe. Granted he is 22 years old.

 

[sthmelb_dimmies]

What a season

 

[branedotorg]

1-2 more losses and we’re out of the 8 because low percentage.
least I got to experience Essendon in the top 3 half way through a season one time, hasn’t happened since early 2000s.

But that’s probably it for us this year.

as much as i'd enjoy that, your draw points and the general level of quality over 80% of the ladder make me think you'll play a final again this year.

 

[branedotorg]

Langford - good when on the lead or at ground level, but gets monstered in 1v1 marking contests against big defenders.
Caddy - could be anything. Who knows.

if caddy can get his tank ready and maybe stop playing like a labradour chasing the ball, a forward line of Caddy, langford and wright is reasonably dangerous, espeically if you can get seperation between them. Jones for first reserve.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

if caddy can get his tank ready and maybe stop playing like a labradour chasing the ball, a forward line of Caddy, langford and wright is reasonably dangerous, espeically if you can get seperation between them. Jones for first reserve.

caddy is the great hope.

has played 2 games and looks OK. Could be anything.

 

[branedotorg]

caddy is the great hope.

has played 2 games and looks OK. Could be anything.

i remember watching him for carlton vfl as a 17yo and a few times this year for your vfl team.

he's great but if i have a criticsim, he plays like a kid, chases the ball and the contest, leaps into packs etc even if it's not the right move for the team.

if/when you figure out the balance between his natural talent and team oriented football he can be the kind of player that neutrals go to watch.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

i remeber watching him for carlton vfl as a 17yo and a few times this year for your vfl team.

he's great but if i have a criticsim, he plays like a kid, chases the ball and the contest, leaps into packs etc even if it's not the right move for the team.

if/when you figure out the balance between his natural talent and team oriented football he can be the kind of player that neutrals go to watch.

I mean he plays like a kid because he is a kid.... he is 18 years old and has played 2 games..

 

[Red Bull]

What a season

View attachment 2035751

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

View attachment 2035880

"The competion is on a knifes edge"

He's spot on Brad

 

[Red Bull]

"The competion is on a knifes edge"

He's spot on Brad

The attachment shows who the dons wins have been against.
Gotta mix it with the big boys sooner or later Brad …

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

In the predictions thread at the start of the year I had us as a 7th-12th team and that is where we will land.

Another elimination final flogging yay

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

The attachment shows who the dons wins have been against.
Gotta mix it with the big boys sooner or later Brad …

Earlier in the season we were but not now the team is ready to give up Brad needs to be tough now

 

[Red Bull]

Earlier in the season we were but not now the team is ready to give up Brad needs to be tough now

Haven’t beaten a team in the top 8.
The team don’t respond well to “tough” rather, they are known to throw in the towel and give up when the going gets tough as was witnessed again on the weekend.
Brad tried to con anyone that wanted to listen with that ”edge” crap but leopards rarely change their spots and most just laughed …

 

[Shane Heard]

Haven’t beaten a team in the top 8.
The team don’t respond well to “tough” rather, they are known to throw in the towel and give up when the going gets tough as was witnessed again on the weekend.
Brad tried to con anyone that wanted to listen with that ”edge” crap but leopards rarely change their spots and most just laughed …

View attachment 2036124

Yeah but Caldwell is our Cripps.

Brownlow in a few years.

 

[WalshistheGOAT]

Brads the right coach imo. I'm just not sure they have the list.

Durham
Langford
Merrett
Mckay
Mcgrath
Redman
Caldwell

Thats the core I'd be building around. Martin is a talent but imo a bit of a figjam, certainly not in the trade him category but I don't see him as one of those personalities you can build a culture around. Draper's a complete idiot on and off the field, if they had other options I'd palm him off to someone else but they only really have Goldy.

Reid
Cox
Perkins
Jones
Tsatas
Hobbs

Pretty grim stuff from a drafting perspective. They'd be desperately hoping some of them kick on to become stars. Durham looks to basically be the player they hoped Tsatas would be but his kicking is rubbish.

Still a lot of work to do but they're slowly chipping away at it.

 

[King Hansen]

Brads the right coach imo. I'm just not sure they have the list.

Durham
Langford
Merrett
Mckay
Mcgrath
Redman
Caldwell

Thats the core I'd be building around. Martin is a talent but imo a bit of a figjam, certainly not in the trade him category but I don't see him as one of those personalities you can build a culture around. Draper's a complete idiot on and off the field, if they had other options I'd palm him off to someone else but they only really have Goldy.

Reid
Cox
Perkins
Jones
Tsatas
Hobbs

Pretty grim stuff from a drafting perspective. They'd be desperately hoping some of them kick on to become stars. Durham looks to basically be the player they hoped Tsatas would be but his kicking is rubbish.

Still a lot of work to do but they're slowly chipping away at it.

Give Tsatas a break. Kid's been in the system for 18 months.

 

[mcgrath_truther]

Give Tsatas a break. Kid's been in the system for 18 months.

he's also incapable of kicking a football semi-decently.

 

[schmuttt]

Brads the right coach imo. I'm just not sure they have the list.

Durham
Langford
Merrett
Mckay
Mcgrath
Redman
Caldwell

Thats the core I'd be building around. Martin is a talent but imo a bit of a figjam, certainly not in the trade him category but I don't see him as one of those personalities you can build a culture around. Draper's a complete idiot on and off the field, if they had other options I'd palm him off to someone else but they only really have Goldy.

Reid
Cox
Perkins
Jones
Tsatas
Hobbs

Pretty grim stuff from a drafting perspective. They'd be desperately hoping some of them kick on to become stars. Durham looks to basically be the player they hoped Tsatas would be but his kicking is rubbish.

Still a lot of work to do but they're slowly chipping away at it.

Would agree with this, the recent drafting has been pretty bad. Perkins 'could' be a gun but the others are crap or in Reids case, unknown because he is hurt all the time.

They'll never go from good to great whilst they continue to fail to get elite talent into the club. How many A graders have they drafted in the last 15 years? Merrett is the only one that comes to mind, and despite their constant trade week activity they've never quite traded genuine A grade talent into the club.

 

[Trent the flight Steward]

Brads the right coach imo. I'm just not sure they have the list.

Durham
Langford
Merrett
Mckay
Mcgrath
Redman
Caldwell

Thats the core I'd be building around. Martin is a talent but imo a bit of a figjam, certainly not in the trade him category but I don't see him as one of those personalities you can build a culture around. Draper's a complete idiot on and off the field, if they had other options I'd palm him off to someone else but they only really have Goldy.

Reid
Cox
Perkins
Jones
Tsatas
Hobbs

Pretty grim stuff from a drafting perspective. They'd be desperately hoping some of them kick on to become stars. Durham looks to basically be the player they hoped Tsatas would be but his kicking is rubbish.

Still a lot of work to do but they're slowly chipping away at it.

Wright is an a grader. Essendons strength is their midfield, I'd be trading parish and a first for Max King at the end of the year, suddenly they are a top 4 lock for 2025. Hobbs, perkins will be stars. Jones is also gone well ahead of cox, who I'd also look at trading. Maybe cox and parish for King and keep your first rounder

 

[Jeremias]

Wright is an a grader.

Nowhere near it.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

Brads the right coach imo. I'm just not sure they have the list.

Durham
Langford
Merrett
Mckay
Mcgrath
Redman
Caldwell

Thats the core I'd be building around. Martin is a talent but imo a bit of a figjam, certainly not in the trade him category but I don't see him as one of those personalities you can build a culture around. Draper's a complete idiot on and off the field, if they had other options I'd palm him off to someone else but they only really have Goldy.

Reid
Cox
Perkins
Jones
Tsatas
Hobbs

Pretty grim stuff from a drafting perspective. They'd be desperately hoping some of them kick on to become stars. Durham looks to basically be the player they hoped Tsatas would be but his kicking is rubbish.

Still a lot of work to do but they're slowly chipping away at it.

The sad thing is we didn't even expect Durham to be what he is now. We got him in Pick 9 in a mid season daft.....

the rest though....

Reid - Pick 10
Cox - Pick 8
Perkins - Pick 9
Jones - Pick 30
Tsatas - Pick 5
Hobbs - Pick 13

Alot of them are young granted. But we would have hoped for a lot more than what we got thus far with those picks. Alot of these guys are now in their 4th or more season........