How far can Essendon go?

[marcuz]

Essendon can win the flag now.....if i were a bookmaker id rate the order for the flag as this:

Brisbane (still the team to beat)
Port Adelaide (hard to beat at AAMI)
Essendon (excellent draw and many tipped them earlier in the year to be top 2 and playing good footy at right time)
Sydney (Could be the smokey, with their possesion style game frustrating opponents)
St.Kilda (wheels have fallen off and with a possible prelim against red hot port)
Geelong (tough to come back after a demoralising loss)

Essendon wont make it past next week. Our boys will be bent over and driven home next week. Any talk of essendon making a prelim or GF is rubbish.

 

[Jimmy]

till next week, the cats will sort em out!!

 

[Chodders]

This has been a rollercoaster year for Essendon. Good wins followed by disappointing defeats. I tip it to continue. We will hear from Ess supporters all week about how they have a good chance of making the Grand final.
Keep dreaming! If Brisbane get the chance to play Essendon, they will make it look like they toyed with St Kilda.

 

[Bomber Spirit]

I fully expect Geelong to regroup and come out a lot harder next week. I'd be ecstatic if Essendon can win next week; we're a chance but Geelong have been easily better than us for most of the season.

 

[marcuz]

This has been a rollercoaster year for Essendon. Good wins followed by disappointing defeats. I tip it to continue. We will hear from Ess supporters all week about how they have a good chance of making the Grand final.
Keep dreaming! If Brisbane get the chance to play Essendon, they will make it look like they toyed with St Kilda.

Rubbish!

The majority of essendon fans on here are suprised we even got this far and most expect us to get beaten next week

 

[Dan26]

Essendon wont make it past next week. Our boys will be bent over and driven home next week. Any talk of essendon making a prelim or GF is rubbish.

Look, I agree on the basis of our year a PF appearance is probably not deserved, but you can't claim we are certainties to lose to Geelong. Look at it as a one-off match if football (which it is) rather than an entry passage to a PF.

If you look at is as an entry passage to a PF, the natural feeling is to think "Gee, we're not good enough to be in a PF, so we can'tt win this match againt Geelong."

The reality is, however, that it is a 2-hour football match against a very good, but beatable opponent, and one which we are capable of winning. You should know as a Bomber fan as much as anyone, that the best sides don't always win.

Who says the best 4 sides have to make it to the Preliminary Finals?

 

[marcuz]

The reality is, however, that it is a 2-hour football match against a very good, but beatable opponent, and one which we are capable of winning. You should know as a Bomber fan as much as anyone, that the best sides don't always win.

Who says the best 4 sides have to make it to the Preliminary Finals?

We are an average football side in transition at the minute and geelong will prove it. We may well win but any joy will be shortlived as brisbane will tear us a new arse. If both teams play to their best form geelong will win and win well.

 

[evertonfc]

All four games at the MCG - it's a dream run.

No reason why they can't go all the way if they pick up a resounding win this week. Will fancy their chances of taking Brisbane down a peg, too.

 

[Dan26]

We are an average football side in transition at the minute and geelong will prove it. We may well win but any joy will be shortlived as brisbane will tear us a new arse. If both teams play to their best form geelong will win and win well.

Geelong didn't play to their best today at Football Park. There is no guarantee they will be at their best next week. Both Geelong and Essendon are capable of beating Brisbane at the MCG. We are being swayed by Bribane's last two games of football, which resulted in 113 and 80 point wins. The reality is they lost 5 games on the road this year (road record was 5-5) and an MCG final in front of a pro-Bomber or Geeong crowd is no certainty.

As 1999 proved, the best teams don't always win. Average sides in transitition might not make the grade over 6 months, but they can do it over 2 hours.

No matter what happens it will be a raucous and intimidating atmosphere at the MCG for Brisbane's Preliminary Final.

 

[marcuz]

All four games at the MCG - it's a dream run.

No reason why they can't go all the way if they pick up a resounding win this week. Will fancy their chances of taking Brisbane down a peg, too.

Did you happen to catch the Ess v bris game at TD this year? Essendon at full strength and Bris without Acka and Lynch yet they still beat us by 70+ points.

As much as id like to beat the Lions they are in a different league.

 

[Dan26]

Did you happen to catch the Ess v bris game at TD this year? Essendon at full strength and Bris without Acka and Lynch yet they still beat us by 70+ points.

As much as id like to beat the Lions they are in a different league.

We beat Carlton by 76 point late in 1999.

Brisbane are better than us, but they are not some 20-2 team with a percenatge of 150%. They were 5-5 on the road (16-6 overall) and are capable of losing to inferior opponents when they have to travel. Past matches are irrelevant, by the way.

 

[bOmBeR_BoY1]

Did you happen to catch the Ess v bris game at TD this year? Essendon at full strength and Bris without Acka and Lynch yet they still beat us by 70+ points.

As much as id like to beat the Lions they are in a different league.

Aker actually played, he didn't play in our game last year though.

Essendon would be one of the last teams Geelong would want to play in the finals, much more experience and are coming off a memorable finals win at the MCG while the Cats were thrashed interstate. 50/50 ballgame, however whoever plays the Lions the week after faces automatic elimination.

 

[ant555]

Got to laugh at some of this really. We have the fact that Sheedy cant rebuild a list any more even though he has done it several times in the past.
We have a crap list despite the fact that 3 of our 4 draft picks from the last draft have played this year and we have seen some more promising effort from a couple of our 2002 draftees.Our best player this year is only 22, Lloyd is in his prime,Johnson,Johnson,Solomon and co are 25-27. Yes we are an absolute rabble with no future.

 

[ant555]

Did you happen to catch the Ess v bris game at TD this year? Essendon at full strength and Bris without Acka and Lynch yet they still beat us by 70+ points.

As much as id like to beat the Lions they are in a different league.

Yep the Lions will carve us up again and the reason is we simply dont have the players that can run all game like their whole mid field can.
I think this weeks game is a fifty/fifty affair where either side could win but after that it is elimination time.

 

[marcuz]

Yep the Lions will carve us up again and the reason is we simply dont have the players that can run all game like their whole mid field can.
I think this weeks game is a fifty/fifty affair where either side could win but after that it is elimination time.

If kingsley and mooney get suspended and ablett misses through injury then we are a fair chance. Lloyd would have to have a blinder and our midfield go up a cog if we want to push the lions.

 

[ant555]

If kingsley and mooney get suspended and ablett misses through injury then we are a fair chance. Lloyd would have to have a blinder and our midfield go up a cog if we want to push the lions.

Just a question on something completly non AFL, how do you think the Cowboys will go with our new 40+ year old QB? Boy i miss Troy Aikman lol

 

[matera30]

the form fletcher is in and with kinglsey out.

essendon will beat geelong by 7 goals.

then they have nothing at all to lose v brisbane, re carlton in 99.

essendons list is fine

lloyd lucas johnsons solomon hille mcveigh ramanauskas mcphee cupido welsh etc all 26 and under.

laycock stanton dyson bradley watson all massive talents.

anyone to say essendon is in decline is smoking a lot of crack. they as a club are amazing. they always recruit good by trade.

 

[bLuEMoOsE]

Here Here!

 

[pazza]

I guess the saying is anything can happen.

Should be an interesting game this week. Geelong face an nervous night at the tribunal on Tuesday and that could have a real bearing.

 

[marcuz]

Just a question on something completly non AFL, how do you think the Cowboys will go with our new 40+ year old QB? Boy i miss Troy Aikman lol

Vinny has looked alright. As long as our offensive line takes care of business we should be ok. Don't expect Vinny to leave the pocket too often and when he does it will only be for a rollout play. He has a good arm so Keyshawn,TG and Antonio Bryant should have plenty of catches come playoff time. Julius Jones gives us some speed at RB although Eddie George hasnt been able to even get to the line of scrimmage on most runs so one would have to question that signing.

Last years number 1 defence still looks strong and the defensive line with the inclusion of Marcellus wiley at the expense of the NFL's version of Aaron Henneman in Ebenezer Ekuban is one hell of an upgrade. The linebackers are strong and have a lot of depth which may see parcells run some 3-4 formations. The only concern is RCB where Pete Hunter has been inconsistant

All in all though i would expect a 10-6 or 9-7 season leading to another year in the playoffs.

 

[ant555]

Vinny has looked alright. As long as our offensive line takes care of business we should be ok. Don't expect Vinny to leave the pocket too often and when he does it will only be for a rollout play. He has a good arm so Keyshawn,TG and Antonio Bryant should have plenty of catches come playoff time. Julius Jones gives us some speed at RB although Eddie George hasnt been able to even get to the line of scrimmage on most runs so one would have to question that signing.

Last years number 1 defence still looks strong and the defensive line with the inclusion of Marcellus wiley at the expense of the NFL's version of Aaron Henneman in Ebenezer Ekuban is one hell of an upgrade. The linebackers are strong and have a lot of depth which may see parcells run some 3-4 formations. The only concern is RCB where Pete Hunter has been inconsistant

All in all though i would expect a 10-6 or 9-7 season leading to another year in the playoffs.

Havnt seen any of the pre season games yet
Hope we continue on with last years reasonable form although your evauation of the running backs is a concern as the opposition will run a blitzathon at us is we cant run the ball which could be a major porblem for Vinny T.

 

[marcuz]

Havnt seen any of the pre season games yet
Hope we continue on with last years reasonable form although your evauation of the running backs is a concern as the opposition will run a blitzathon at us is we cant run the ball which could be a major porblem for Vinny T.

Let em blitz. Just means there is more room for our recievers to work into.

Julius jones will find some holes to run through and Eddie can watch and applaud from the sidelines.

 

[slugger]

If you guys are going to talk about Dallas, then Debbie had sure better be in the equation.

I give us about a 45% chance of winning next week. Geelong might lose a couple of keys (Kingsley's done very well on Fletcher the last couple of times), but their pace has to be a real worry to us....particularly since 2 of the quick guys we had in the team yesterday are almost certain (deservedly so) to be dropped. The good thing about yesterday is that just about all of our big guns had good games. They'll need to do it again.

BTW I haven't noticed that many Essendon fans here showing blind optimism. But then truth, and reality, matter not a whit to the Bomber haters here.

 

[slugger]

Virtue of necessity huh. You mean like Sheedy having to recruit Murphy and Allan to get them into the 8 at the expense of the long term. Oh and by the way StKlida, Geelong and Carlton are already beating Essendon quite comfortably. Nuf said.

Like Carlton having recruited McGuane, Mansfield and O'Reilly just to patch things up to keep them up. We had some specific needs and Murphy and Allan filled them. I'm not sure we should keep either of them for next year. Allan maybe, but not Murphy.

The fact is that Carlton had this situation forced upon them. They did not accept it willingly, or gracefully, or in advance of time.

You're wrong, and blindly wrong. Face facts.

 

[marcuz]

If you guys are going to talk about Dallas, then Debbie had sure better be in the equation.

Last time debbie played they went down(pun intended)

BTW I haven't noticed that many Essendon fans here showing blind optimism. But then truth, and reality, matter not a whit to the Bomber haters here.

Spot on...we may have a few bomber haters diving off the west gate if we arse a premiership this year. It would clean up bigfooty 100%.