Autopsy Sydney defeat Thugden by 30pts

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caesar88 said:
The funniest part about the hoopla Essendon have made about their "edge" and how we supposedly "sooked about it" would be if it completely stuffed with their physicality this week and made them lose that game too.
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I half watched that silly Herald Sun journalists chin wag that follows AFL360 this season on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Jon Ralph talked a bit about this "Essendon Edge" and how it might tickle the fancy of Ross Lyon. He said that Lyon always expected his players to play with "an edge" - by which he meant "head over the ball, strong in the contest". I imagine that is exactly what Longmire expects of his players too.

Is that what Brad Scott means by "an edge?" I find it a bit bizarre that any coach would announce to the rest of the footy world that this year they are going to put their heads over the ball and be strong in the contest. I find it strange that this is something they apparently agreed upon in pre-season (according to Archie Perkins).

Strange, because I had assumed that was a minimum standard required of all AFL squads and individual players. Sure, some are better at contested ball than others, but everyone gets their turn to contest in some phase of any game.

It's further strange because Essendon aren't that bad at putting their head over the ball and winning it on the ground. They matched, and somewhat shaded the Swans in this respect on Saturday. They are good at contesting in the air, which was on display on Saturday. And these have been relative strengths of theirs for a few years now. Sure, their pressure isn't up to the same level as Sydney's but the main difference between the teams this time round was the outside stuff, not the contest.

If they need an internal codeword to remind themselves not to let off on the contest stuff, then I guess "edge" is as good as anything else. But I imagine they have most of the other clubs scratching their heads about their need to talk about it publicly.
 
liz said:
I half watched that silly Herald Sun journalists chin wag that follows AFL360 this season on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Jon Ralph talked a bit about this "Essendon Edge" and how it might tickle the fancy of Ross Lyon. He said that Lyon always expected his players to play with "an edge" - by which he meant "head over the ball, strong in the contest". I imagine that is exactly what Longmire expects of his players too.

Is that what Brad Scott means by "an edge?" I find it a bit bizarre that any coach would announce to the rest of the footy world that this year they are going to put their heads over the ball and be strong in the contest. I find it strange that this is something they apparently agreed upon in pre-season (according to Archie Perkins).

Strange, because I had assumed that was a minimum standard required of all AFL squads and individual players. Sure, some are better at contested ball than others, but everyone gets their turn to contest in some phase of any game.

It's further strange because Essendon aren't that bad at putting their head over the ball and winning it on the ground. They matched, and somewhat shaded the Swans in this respect on Saturday. They are good at contesting in the air, which was on display on Saturday. And these have been relative strengths of theirs for a few years now. Sure, their pressure isn't up to the same level as Sydney's but the main difference between the teams this time round was the outside stuff, not the contest.

If they need an internal codeword to remind themselves not to let off on the contest stuff, then I guess "edge" is as good as anything else. But I imagine they have most of the other clubs scratching their heads about their need to talk about it publicly.
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Essendon have a ledge, not an edge.

And they topple over it regularly.
 
liz said:
I half watched that silly Herald Sun journalists chin wag that follows AFL360 this season on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Jon Ralph talked a bit about this "Essendon Edge" and how it might tickle the fancy of Ross Lyon. He said that Lyon always expected his players to play with "an edge" - by which he meant "head over the ball, strong in the contest". I imagine that is exactly what Longmire expects of his players too.

Is that what Brad Scott means by "an edge?" I find it a bit bizarre that any coach would announce to the rest of the footy world that this year they are going to put their heads over the ball and be strong in the contest. I find it strange that this is something they apparently agreed upon in pre-season (according to Archie Perkins).

Strange, because I had assumed that was a minimum standard required of all AFL squads and individual players. Sure, some are better at contested ball than others, but everyone gets their turn to contest in some phase of any game.

It's further strange because Essendon aren't that bad at putting their head over the ball and winning it on the ground. They matched, and somewhat shaded the Swans in this respect on Saturday. They are good at contesting in the air, which was on display on Saturday. And these have been relative strengths of theirs for a few years now. Sure, their pressure isn't up to the same level as Sydney's but the main difference between the teams this time round was the outside stuff, not the contest.

If they need an internal codeword to remind themselves not to let off on the contest stuff, then I guess "edge" is as good as anything else. But I imagine they have most of the other clubs scratching their heads about their need to talk about it publicly.
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My feeling is that many of their opponents regard them as "soft" in some aspects of the game such as two-way running and second efforts. Watching us slice and dice them gives that impression. They may be trying to change their self-talk by doing it publicly. Like telling others your New Year's Resolutions.
 

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Kiama Chris said:
My feeling is that many of their opponents regard them as "soft" in some aspects of the game such as two-way running and second efforts. Watching us slice and dice them gives that impression. They may be trying to change their self-talk by doing it publicly. Like telling others your New Year's Resolutions.
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Yes their lack of two way running being part of their softness is a widely perceived point.

That sequence of play that follows the ball going Coast to Coast and ending in a Dossa goal shows our blokes running and Gulden sprinting while the Dons show next to no interest in chasing
 
Kiama Chris said:
My feeling is that many of their opponents regard them as "soft" in some aspects of the game such as two-way running and second efforts. Watching us slice and dice them gives that impression. They may be trying to change their self-talk by doing it publicly. Like telling others your New Year's Resolutions.
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But they’ll earn respect from opponents by doing it, not by talking about doing it. Indeed, they come across as even softer if they talk but don’t walk, which is what Papley and Heeney were commenting on during and after the game.
 
liz said:
I half watched that silly Herald Sun journalists chin wag that follows AFL360 this season on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Jon Ralph talked a bit about this "Essendon Edge" and how it might tickle the fancy of Ross Lyon. He said that Lyon always expected his players to play with "an edge" - by which he meant "head over the ball, strong in the contest". I imagine that is exactly what Longmire expects of his players too.

Is that what Brad Scott means by "an edge?" I find it a bit bizarre that any coach would announce to the rest of the footy world that this year they are going to put their heads over the ball and be strong in the contest. I find it strange that this is something they apparently agreed upon in pre-season (according to Archie Perkins).

Strange, because I had assumed that was a minimum standard required of all AFL squads and individual players. Sure, some are better at contested ball than others, but everyone gets their turn to contest in some phase of any game.

It's further strange because Essendon aren't that bad at putting their head over the ball and winning it on the ground. They matched, and somewhat shaded the Swans in this respect on Saturday. They are good at contesting in the air, which was on display on Saturday. And these have been relative strengths of theirs for a few years now. Sure, their pressure isn't up to the same level as Sydney's but the main difference between the teams this time round was the outside stuff, not the contest.

If they need an internal codeword to remind themselves not to let off on the contest stuff, then I guess "edge" is as good as anything else. But I imagine they have most of the other clubs scratching their heads about their need to talk about it publicly.
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Very astute point liz. Couldn't agree more, both that it's a baffling public assertion and that it's not particularly an area they desperately needed to improve in (though of course, like all teams, you can never be too hard at it in the contest.)

I've found in years past that softness isn't their issue so much as a general inadequate level of work rate off the ball. They're pretty average at running both ways or giving repeat efforts in a single contest, and those issues were again on display against us. They are get the ball and use it efficiently, or bust. I think it's why they've been capable of playing fast, high-scoring footy here and there that fools the media and pundits into thinking they're better than they actually are. But they also give up big scores and generally don't win enough games to be more than a mildly-threatening team you have to be 'on' to beat. Being head over the ball and body on the line is only one part of being "tough."
 
Are Essendon trying to change their image from Druggies to Thuggies?

Brad Scott is a joke if he thinks Essendon will win games by playing tough and taking cheap shots in (and out of) play. The Swans absorbed everything Essendon could throw at them, then raised the pressure bar even higher and punished them on the field. For all Essendon's posturing they get hard enough for long enough. The Swans owned them and showed the entire AFL world that Essendon players are all bun and no weiner.

Essendon reminded me of a belligerent drunk I saw years ago in a Hobart pub. He was boasting how tough he was, even taking the odd wild swing at other customers. He was so pissed he could barely stand up, so he copped more back than he managed to dish out. After a while the bouncers threw him out and told him never to come back. When we left some time later he was still outside, still threatening people, slurring as he half-sat, half-slumped against a wall in a pool of his own vomit. Two police cars had just pulled up. His night was about to go from bad to very bad to much worse.
 

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liz said:
I half watched that silly Herald Sun journalists chin wag that follows AFL360 this season on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Jon Ralph talked a bit about this "Essendon Edge" and how it might tickle the fancy of Ross Lyon. He said that Lyon always expected his players to play with "an edge" - by which he meant "head over the ball, strong in the contest". I imagine that is exactly what Longmire expects of his players too.

Is that what Brad Scott means by "an edge?" I find it a bit bizarre that any coach would announce to the rest of the footy world that this year they are going to put their heads over the ball and be strong in the contest. I find it strange that this is something they apparently agreed upon in pre-season (according to Archie Perkins).

Strange, because I had assumed that was a minimum standard required of all AFL squads and individual players. Sure, some are better at contested ball than others, but everyone gets their turn to contest in some phase of any game.

It's further strange because Essendon aren't that bad at putting their head over the ball and winning it on the ground. They matched, and somewhat shaded the Swans in this respect on Saturday. They are good at contesting in the air, which was on display on Saturday. And these have been relative strengths of theirs for a few years now. Sure, their pressure isn't up to the same level as Sydney's but the main difference between the teams this time round was the outside stuff, not the contest.

If they need an internal codeword to remind themselves not to let off on the contest stuff, then I guess "edge" is as good as anything else. But I imagine they have most of the other clubs scratching their heads about their need to talk about it publicly.
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two important points
and, to me, both come back to the fact brad scott is a very ordinary coach ... and these are "talking points" to feed to the media to distract from the fact he's getting bugger-all out of a squad with more individual talent than its record shows ... and not just the record under scott, but going back however many years of joy and entertainment it brings to the rest of us
 
liz said:
I half watched that silly Herald Sun journalists chin wag that follows AFL360 this season on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Jon Ralph talked a bit about this "Essendon Edge" and how it might tickle the fancy of Ross Lyon. He said that Lyon always expected his players to play with "an edge" - by which he meant "head over the ball, strong in the contest". I imagine that is exactly what Longmire expects of his players too.

Is that what Brad Scott means by "an edge?" I find it a bit bizarre that any coach would announce to the rest of the footy world that this year they are going to put their heads over the ball and be strong in the contest. I find it strange that this is something they apparently agreed upon in pre-season (according to Archie Perkins).

Strange, because I had assumed that was a minimum standard required of all AFL squads and individual players. Sure, some are better at contested ball than others, but everyone gets their turn to contest in some phase of any game.

It's further strange because Essendon aren't that bad at putting their head over the ball and winning it on the ground. They matched, and somewhat shaded the Swans in this respect on Saturday. They are good at contesting in the air, which was on display on Saturday. And these have been relative strengths of theirs for a few years now. Sure, their pressure isn't up to the same level as Sydney's but the main difference between the teams this time round was the outside stuff, not the contest.

If they need an internal codeword to remind themselves not to let off on the contest stuff, then I guess "edge" is as good as anything else. But I imagine they have most of the other clubs scratching their heads about their need to talk about it publicly.
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"The Edge 2024" is just the Title of Chapter 15 in a book which details a long running saga about a very unsuccessful club detailing their desperate attempt to become relevant in the players minds and the supporters lives. As always the chapter ends in August because they were again not noteworthy. Looking forward to a really riveting next Chapter 16 "Over the Edge 2025".
 

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Autopsy Sydney defeat Thugden by 30pts

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