RD1- Port v Bombers- Votes, and discussion

[bruce29]

It could have been a lot worse.

Thought we defended hard for 3 quarters, and even looked okay in the middle. But it was the final delivery in the fwd 50 that killed us each and every time. Lloyd no shots on goal?:eek: Lucas= round 1 rustbucket. Stanton=:thumbsd:

On the plus side, Hurley was awesome

[silk]

3. Watson
2. Fletcher
1. Skipworth

Hon Mention Ryder, Hocking and Hurley.

[EssendonPride]

3. Watson, great fightback after getting knocked over early
2. Hurley - Great first game, destroyed Tredrea
1. McPhee - No more waiting half an hour to dispose of the ball.

Skippy and Hocking tough to miss, both played very well.

[red+black]

let it blow out a bit at the end, but a 7 goal loss to Port away is not bad.

Port did not play that well themselves.

Are we witnessing the end of Lloyd? Would be a disgrace if he was captain next year.

Looking forward, I'd die if we lost next week to Freo.

Even a pessimist like me can't imagine we could ever lose to Freo here.

[Windas_Magic]

Lucas should be dropped imo. Yes he is a champ, but he is just too slow and Port players just ran off him all day. Send him to Bendigo for a few weeks and let him get into some form. Let Neagle play from the square, Lloyd at CHF and McPhee as the third tall.

I just don't think we can play both Lucas and Neagle in the same team at the moment due to the fact that their second efforts in the forward 50 are quite poor, and teams just get players to run off them at every opportunity.

[Big Jim]

3. Jobe Watson
2. Heath Hocking
1. Michael Hurley.

Disposal killed as yet again at times, and the structure up forward with Lloyd, Lucas & Neagle didn't work. I don't think we play all 3 up there.

[bombersno1]

3-Watson
2-Fletcher
1- Hocking

Just off Hurley who had a great debut

[Sam the RAMA fan]

3 -- Watson
2 -- Hocking
1 -- Skipworth

[Sigmund]

It could have been a lot worse.

Thought we defended hard for 3 quarters, and even looked okay in the middle. But it was the final delivery in the fwd 50 that killed us each and every time. Lloyd no shots on goal?:eek: Lucas= round 1 rustbucket. Stanton=:thumbsd:

On the plus side, Hurley was awesome


Did you actually watch the game??? He was not outstanding today but kicked 2 very nice goals, ran all day, and was far from our worst. Why do people insist on picking Stanton out for ridicule when there were a dozen worse players than him:confused::confused:

Anyway, votes

3. Watson
2. Hocking
1. McPhee

Alwyn began to look lively in the last three quarters, Lovett came back nicely in the second half. Hurley was most impressive. Pears found some footy but a couple of bad decisions.

Not sure if we can play three tall forwards as we did today. Neagle if he does not mark it can be a liability.. he seems a long way off being a consistent player for us.. a long way.

[Sigmund]

Lucas should be dropped imo. Yes he is a champ, but he is just too slow and Port players just ran off him all day. Send him to Bendigo for a few weeks and let him get into some form. Let Neagle play from the square, Lloyd at CHF and McPhee as the third tall.

I just don't think we can play both Lucas and Neagle in the same team at the moment due to the fact that their second efforts in the forward 50 are quite poor, and teams just get players to run off them at every opportunity.


Windas, what did young Jay actually do today to justify selection from the square next week? As bad as Lucas was, at least he was in and around some contensts.

[Wahooti Fandango]

3. Watson
2. Skipworth
1. Hurley

Stanton was also solid. Hille was below his best.

[Ludwig van Bertstare]

3. Jobe Watson
2. Dustin Fletcher
1. Hayden Skipworth

[Windas_Magic]

Windas, what did young Jay actually do today to justify selection from the square next week? As bad as Lucas was, at least he was in and around some contensts.
Jay is on his way up, Lucas is on his way out.

We are a rebuilding side, and need to play youth over the guys who will be gone in the next couple of years.

By the end of the year, i'd rather have Neagle play 20 odd games, kicking 35 goals that Lucas playing 20 games, and kicking 50 goals.

I'm not saying he should be left out for the whole year, but he is obviously underdone and needs a couple of games in the reserves to get himself into some sort of form.

[Sigmund]

Jay is on his way up, Lucas is on his way out.

We are a rebuilding side, and need to play youth over the guys who will be gone in the next couple of years.

By the end of the year, i'd rather have Neagle play 20 odd games, kicking 35 goals that Lucas playing 20 games, and kicking 50 goals.

I'm not saying he should be left out for the whole year, but he is obviously underdone and needs a couple of games in the reserves to get himself into some sort of form.

Understand where you are coming from here, but one could make the same arguement for Jay (i.e., going back to the 2's for some form)... I agree that we need to get young players some games, but they need to earn them.. That being said, I think that Neagle should be selected next week:thumbsu:

[lamaros]

Good points:

Lovett looked quality.
Hurley was very impressive.
Hocking was very good.
Pears got in it a bit, just some really bad distribution.
Skipworth looked comfortable, good squad player and nice to have with our current injuries.
Lonergan, Lloyd, Lucas, Hill and Davey are all capaple of much better, and will be more reliable in future games.

Bad points:

I like Neagle's effort, and he does have skills, but wee need a much better forward structure if we're going to get anything out of him. He has weaknesses that other sides can exploit.
I'm still not sold on Dempsey (needs to find more of the ball) and Houli (needs to do better with his choices), but they have time.

I have faith that Lloyd and Lucas will bounce back after a few games, and Davey worked his way into it too, so some good signs there. I'm really looking forward to getting Welsh, McVeigh, Prismall and and Myers fit and in some form though. I think with those guys around the midfield will work a lot better.

3. Watson
2. Hurley
1. Hocking

Ryder and Lovett unlucky.

[Wahooti Fandango]

I forgot Fletcher, he was awesome. He is above the marking system. He transcends the points system. :D

[james_omahoney]

3. Watson
2. Hurley
1. Skipworth.

[bomberstomake8]

Jay is on his way up, Lucas is on his way out.

We are a rebuilding side, and need to play youth over the guys who will be gone in the next couple of years.

By the end of the year, i'd rather have Neagle play 20 odd games, kicking 35 goals that Lucas playing 20 games, and kicking 50 goals.

I'm not saying he should be left out for the whole year, but he is obviously underdone and needs a couple of games in the reserves to get himself into some sort of form.


jeez some people are quick to jump on the back of champions, lucas was our best tall forward today, he dropped a few marks went to ground a bit but he gave his all kicked a goal had another few shots which he didnt convert, he was better then lloyd and had a lot more impact then neagle. our delivery inside 50 wasnt too great either.

i would like to see us persist with that structure, however we need to make sure we have guys like monfries davey jetta etc at their feet. i cant remember seeing any crumbing goals or any near crumbing goals our small forwards werent doing there job as well.

the advantage of having 3 big forwards is that they can crash packs, i felt neagle and lucas both did that well today, when this occurs our small forwards need to be at the fall of the ball and i cant remember seeing that too often

in relation to the votes id have

3. Watson
2. Hocking
1. Skipworth

honourable mentions to stanton, hurley and mcphee

[Hirdman]

3. Watson
2. Fletcher
1. Stanton

My random thoughts on the game:

Decision making and skills still poor which cost us on the rebound, Port actually showed us how to play the run and carry game. Brogan beat Hille in the ruck and we seemed to struggle in the clearneces at key times of the game. Ports forward line function that much better than ours, their ability to move the ball from defence into a forward line that oozes talent was a constant danger.

Main Positives for me
We gave 100% until the death
Hurley looks a gem, very cool under pressure, good in the air and GREAT kick
Davey came into the game and he's defensive pressure was great
Hocking really did a job and got some ball himself

Negatives
Dempsey just doesnt look to have a defensive enough game
Houli didnt work hard enough
The forward line was poor and didnt function at all.

[Johnny619]

3. Watson
2. Hurley - I am so happy we picked him up now
1. Skipworth

What killed us was playing catching up. It happened a lot last year... we need to be ready to take the game on in the 1st quarter.

Davey was good in the 2nd half. Started to show his stuff and thats what we need.

I am disappointing with the lost but none of us can really say we expected to win it so now that we got the trip out of the way we can fire against Freo next week:thumbsu:

[BringBackCransberg]

The forward line was poor and didnt function at all.

You're kinda right, I reckon, but it's hard to judge cos the delivery to them wasn't great all day. I'd like to see Neagle given space in the forward line, receiving the ball out of a midfield-half foward area where Lloyd throws his weight around, then have speedy crumbers swoop. Maybe have Neagle and Lucas swapping in such a position.

3. Watson
2. Fletcher (the only current AFL player with the possibility of playing 400 games....slight possibility, but his game style is ageless)
1. Hocking

[efcboy]

the umps did us no favours but won't harp on that...one of the problems was too many guys were unaccountable and lacking pace. i was annoyed how friendly the bombers were post match - they don't hurt enough when they lose (guys like slattery and lovett laughing and joking with opponents after the siren annoyed me). skipworth, mcphee, watson, stanton were solid contributors all game. player by player...

neagle - bad game but we have no other choice so have to persist with him.

dyson - stuffed a few things up but wasn't the worst. might hold his place.

watson - great game.

stanton - very good.

monfries - improvement on his pre-season form. some better movement and form from the talls would sure help him out.

winderlich - not too bad, probably needed the hitout given his limited pre-season.

lovett - pretty ordinary 1st half frustrating not going at the contest. after some bullish sledging, hits etc he bounced back quite well in the 2nd half and showed some character kicking that goal after being coathangered. i wasn't happy he gave any port players the time of day post match after the treatment he copped.

lonergan - ordinary. disappointing but definitely get a another crack next week.

dempsey - average, gets another game next week though.

pears - reasonable game in defence. should hold his spot.

lloyd - didn't get near it for the most part. unbelievable not to get a free when charged in front of goal...he'll bounce back next week.

hille - pretty ordinary by his standards - his disposal was on occasions quite poor. can only improve next week.

h.slattery - don't know why he was in the side in the 1st place. time after time was metres behind his opponent and was lucky ebert and co weren't kicking straight. prime candidate to be dropped.

skipworth - excellent club debut. vindicated the faith knights had in him and showed up some of the hyped players.

hurley - fantastic debut. we have an excellent young defender (shades of fletcher 93?)

lucas - as discussed pre-season very slow and often a liability. don't know what is going on with his elbow! he did improve as the game went on though so should get another gig up forward next week.

davey - reasonable hitout, his first h&a match post reco. will only get better.

ryder - excellent in defence - beat his varying opponent for majority of match and wasn't too bad in ruck.

fletcher - pretty good in defence.

mcphee - the only target across h/f. we would have been mauled without him. to those suggesting he shouldn't be in the side that is ludicrous.

hocking - got a bit of the ball but he is too slow for afl. he looked like a lumbering ruckman when chasing and he is not accountable on the rebound because of this deficiency. he is a liability against a quality, quick onballer. might hold his spot but i hope not for too long.

houli - terrible. hardly went near the ball and when he did he often turned it over. should be the first bloke dropped.

changes for next week:

out: h.slattery, houli
in: zaharakis, bellchambers.

zaharakis should be rewarded for his excellent vfl match whilst houli made to earn his spot. bellchambers in to combat sandilands.

with pears, fletcher, ryder, hurley all in the side we have the option to put one of these blokes up forward.

[TheDon35]

Oh Dear.... Long year ahead....

Clearly a big pre-season spent working on this innovative and dynamic game plan that Knights apparently has got....

Slattery - Not up to AFL football, was disgusting
Dyson - Pathetic
Winderlich - Non contributer today
Lucas - Has looked miserable in both the games he's played this year.

On the other hand, Hurly looks the goods, Watson continues to be one of the most maligned players in the league, was sensational.

[Ben the Gooner]

3 - Jobe Watson
2 - Brent Stanton
1 - Hayden Skipworth

Hon: Winderlich, Hurley, Fletch

[lamaros]

Oh Dear.... Long year ahead....

Clearly a big pre-season spent working on this innovative and dynamic game plan that Knights apparently has got....

Slattery - Not up to AFL football, was disgusting
Dyson - Pathetic
Winderlich - Non contributer today
Lucas - Has looked miserable in both the games he's played this year.

On the other hand, Hurly looks the goods, Watson continues to be one of the most maligned players in the league, was sensational.

Err did you watch the game? Dyson and Winders were far for our worst.

[horj89]

Was at the game today and I thought it was a really good effort. We were not at our best but there were some good signs.

Best
3. Watson: Worked really hard in and under. Hands were clean as usual and his foot skills looked better.
2. Stanton: Ran hard all day. Skills were very sharp.
1. Skipworth: Seemed to be everywhere. Skills looked really clean.

Mentions: Hurley(great debut), McPhee, Hocking, Winderlich, Lovett

[Smyth94]

hocking - got a bit of the ball but he is too slow for afl. he looked like a lumbering ruckman when chasing and he is not accountable on the rebound because of this deficiency. he is a liability against a quality, quick onballer. might hold his spot but i hope not for too long.

WTF? He smashed Shaun Bergoyne who is the absolute definition of your "quality, quick onballer" and was easily in our best 3

[DonMania#5]

3. Jobe Watson
2. Dustin Fletcher
1. Adam Mcphee

[windyhill]

3. Buddah
2. Hurley
1. Skippy

[sen entertainment bloke]

3/ Watson

2/ Fletcher

1/ Skipworth


4 points aside, probably a better start to the year than last year.

[KaaN10]

3. Watson
2. Stanton
1. Skipworth

Stiff: Hurley

[windyhill]

3. Buddah
2. Hurley
1. Skippy

[Dick johnson]

ryder - excellent in defence - beat his varying opponent for majority of match and wasn't too bad in ruck.

out: h.slattery, houli
in: zaharakis, bellchambers.

zaharakis should be rewarded for his excellent vfl match whilst houli made to earn his spot. bellchambers in to combat sandilands.

with pears, fletcher, ryder, hurley all in the side we have the option to put one of these blokes up forward.

ryder worried me a couple of times, kept fumbling instead of being able to pick up the ball cleanly. and the times im thinking of, they wernt just one fumble then he picked it up, i can remember him taking quite a few seconds to pick it up

I do agree with your ins and outs though. but i wouldnt mind also seeing dyson out for myers

on another note, i thought we struggled with clearences a bit -although jobe did well- and general crumbing. we took very few marks in the forward 50 so you wouldve hoped that someone was front n centre, but pretty much every one we had no one there, or did not read it nearly as well as port

[Boucks09]

mcphee - the only target across h/f. we would have been mauled without him. to those suggesting he shouldn't be in the side that is ludicrous.

Completely agree. He had an exceptional first half and kept us in the game early. The change in hair colour seemed to help his decision making skills. Anybody that doesn't have him in our best 22 has no idea.


hocking - got a bit of the ball but he is too slow for afl. he looked like a lumbering ruckman when chasing and he is not accountable on the rebound because of this deficiency. he is a liability against a quality, quick onballer. might hold his spot but i hope not for too long..

That is utterly ridiculous. Hocking shut down an absolute star today and won plenty of the ball. Yes he is not quick but neither is Cameron Ling. He has good footy smarts, uses the ball well and goes hard. He is a lock for atleast the first half of the season (until Welsh gets back) and then will be judged on his improvement.

houli - terrible. hardly went near the ball and when he did he often turned it over. should be the first bloke dropped.

He looked like a player lacking confidence. That is due in no doubt to the fact that he has been given some unexpected (but entirely justified) rockets pre season. I'd play him for Bendigo for a few weeks to get his confidence up before bringing him back because he didn't look right today.


I was wrapped with how we played after 1/4 time. We should a lot of fight given the following:

1). Our best player Hille was owned by Brogan (and it pains me to say that as I had that Johnnie Bravo ****) and forced to ruck virtually all day after Bellchambers missed

2). Lloyd, Lucas and Neagle kicked ONE goal between them and struggled

3). It was 30C and really tested the fitness of some of our underdone players such as Winderlich, Pears, Slattery, Stanton and Davey

My main positives were:

- Hurely. It has all been said before. The guy is absolute class. Tredrea may be past his best but that contested mark was exceptional and his decision making is great. I don't remember seeing many first gamers taking the kick out duties.

- NO INJURIES! I can't believe this hasn't been mentioned!

- Skipworth. He was great today and showed why we picked him up. Will keep his spot if he continues this form.

- Hocking. I've mentioned it before but he showed exactly why Knights has so much faith in him. Great effort son.

- Watson and Stanton. Both should terrific midfield leadership and worked super hard to get us back into the game. I know Stants made a few errors (there was one 15 sec period where he was out of it) but he played terrific today and both were getting tagged today don't forget.

Really looking forward to Freo next Sunday and I believe Zaka, Bellchambers and Jetta will get a game for Pears (did nothing wrong but needs more gametime with Bendigo), Houli and either Dyson or Neagle.

Not too disappointed today and you can't question our effort.

[ant555]

hocking - got a bit of the ball but he is too slow for afl. he looked like a lumbering ruckman when chasing and he is not accountable on the rebound because of this deficiency. he is a liability against a quality, quick onballer. might hold his spot but i hope not for too long.



People say i am biased for sticking up for Hocking but if you are going to evaluate players at least gett a clue. Not accountable on the rebound???? and a liability against a quality quick on baller ?????
He played most of the game on Shaun Burgoyne who had 15 touches to Hockings 25. WTF game where you watching ? maybe he looks bad chasing becasue he is chasing someone elses opponent while they are standing around with their thunb up their arse.
The only time he was not on Burgoyne was the last 1/4 when he went to half forward .
Seriously have an idea about who a bloke plays on before just making some random comments.

[GoDons]

1. Jay Neagle: Simply didn't find space all day. Did well contesting, but that's only a small part of what he's there to do. Right now, he's cramping Lloyd and Lucas, and we've got to find a way around that.

2. Ricky Dyson: He wasn't too bad, but that seems a common theme with Ricky. He did alright when given space through the midfield, but I could think of plenty of other guys where it's the same thing. We need some more ball winners in the centre, Ricky isn't one of them.

4. Jobe Watson: The pillar of strength. Absolutely worked his arse off till had nothing left to give. The one bloke in the side that consistently won the hard ball.

5. Brent Stanton: Looked at home on the wing. When Stants ran, things happened. Finished well in front of goal as well. Still needs to be more of a presence in contested situations and his kicking wasn't emmaculate.

6. Angus Monfries: Worked hard up forward in what wasn't an easy day. One of the cleaner players for us today.

8. Jason Winderlich: Got better when the game openned up, but in truth, we needed more from him early. Another that needs to give us more in close.

13. Andrew Lovett: He's the spark of the side. When we played good footy in the third quarter, he was terrific. Thought he tackled hard in the first half without really winning too many important balls, they played tight on him and it worked. When he got going, we got going.

14. Sam Lonergan: You can't fault his workrate or his endeavour, but just lacked class today. Just didn't quite pull things off. Would've liked a bit more from him early as well.

15. Courtenay Dempsey: I think he's a player that needs a fair bit of room, and he didn't get that today. Didn't make too many mistakes, but just didn't give us enough.

16. Tayte Pears: It was a big ask to play today with so little football behind him, but wasn't too bad. He contested well, but his kicking left a bit to be desired at times.

18. Matthew Lloyd: Our forward structure seemed all over the place, and Lloyd was the main loser. Needs more time in the Forward 50.

19. David Hille: So many times he nearly did something great, and it ended up being quite the opposite. Was definitely involved, and on another day, things will click.

20. Henry Slattery: Again, I think he's undeserving of a lot of the crap being slung his way. Played most of the day on the goal line, and held his own more than he was beaten. He had it bloody tough today, and had it been another player, it could've been a lot worse. Thought he was strong.

21. Hayden Skipworth: Had a heap of it and used it well. Wasn't really damaging, but was an important cool head.

22. Michael Hurley: A player has arrived. Matched Tredrea physically and used the ball calmly and cleanly. Didn't have a goal kicked on him. Brilliant debut.

25. Scott Lucas: Found that elbow tough to look at. Had a few chances that on other days he would've kicked or would've marked, and that was disappointing. He was in a fair few contests, but needs to sharpen up. At least he was getting to contests.

29. Alwyn Davey: Was really dangerous around the ball. This bloke makes things happen, and he's only going to get better with more footy behind him.

30. Patrick Ryder: I think he needs a defined role, and he didn't really have one today. Mixed some good with some bad.

31. Dustin Fletcher: It wasn't one for the archives, but another solid performance on a tough opponent.

33. Adam McPhee: Contested really hard today, and that's what we need from him. Didn't hold up the ball too much either.

39. Heath Hocking: Had a red hot go. Beat his opponentand got plenty of it himself. Nothing wrong with his game today.

43. Bachar Houli: Pretty uninspiring. Made a few bad errors, and it didn't do anything that made you really stand up and notice him.


Not great, but not a disastrous performance in what was a tough game. Port had a full list to choose from, home ground advantage and a pretty good side to begin with, so we were up against it today. He worked hard to stay in it, but couldn't break the 2 goal barrier. Mark McVeigh was sorely missed, let's hope he's right for next week.

[ant555]

Oh Dear.... Long year ahead....

Clearly a big pre-season spent working on this innovative and dynamic game plan that Knights apparently has got....

Slattery - Not up to AFL football, was disgusting
Dyson - Pathetic
Winderlich - Non contributer today
Lucas - Has looked miserable in both the games he's played this year.

On the other hand, Hurly looks the goods, Watson continues to be one of the most maligned players in the league, was sensational.

I am not a Dyson fan and if he is a regular in the best 22 then we will be in trouble but he was not bad today. He played in the backline and was reasonably good. Made a few stuff ups but he was not alone.

No mention of Skippy with 30 disposals and a goal :p
18 possesions in front of Cousins and playing next week :D

[Daytripper]

What more does Stants have to do to get votes ?
Terrific today, used the ball well and is easily our number one midfielder at present.

3. Stanton
2. Hocking
1. Lovett

Honourable mentions : McPhee, Jobe and Skipworth.

[stay true]

Extremely impressed with Hurley's debut. As I was with Skippy's Essendon debut. Same old story though with our disposal being our undoing. Didn't give our forwards much to work with.

Was extremely frustrating seeing how hard it was for us to move the ball forward and turn it over with the last kick into our 50 only for Port get a chance on goal with about 4-5 disposals.

I can't really fault their effort for the most part though, they were trying hard.

I don't really want to dwell on the negatives too much though.

[fishguts]

3. Watson

Dominated. We all know how good a player he is and now hopefully he'll show the league. An added bonus, Watson had the most effective kicks on our team, and 5th most for both teams.

2. Stanton

Was everywhere, seems to have added more defense to his game whilst showing signs that he could kick 20ish goals for the year. Looks set for a big one.

1. Skippy

Line ball between him and Davey. Was everywhere. Skills were good and didn't stop moving all day. Egg on Sam Newmans face.

Honourable mentions: Davey, Pears, Hurley, Lovett.

[d-mac3276]

3. Watson
2. Stanton
1. Skipworth

Stiff: Hurley
No chance Stanton in the votes yes he had a shit load of the ball but he butchered it too often and cost too many turnovers.

For me it was easy

3 Watson
2 Hocking
1 Skipworth

Special mention to Michael Hurley

[bombers2011]

3. Jobe was gold

2. Hocking (gonna make it hard for woosha to get a spot in the team when he comes back)

1. Hurley (watching him play alongside fletch was like Mr Miyagi and Daniel San in Karate Kid)

Backline looks really Promising and MUCH better without Nash, NLM and McPhee, only Slattery left to remove then we should really be consolidating what we have.
Bring in Myers and Atkinson, we get that extra bit of zip out of there.

Forward Line looks a mess. Maybe Gumby's injury threw off what they had planned? Irregardless, Neagle needs room and that is not gonna happen with Lloyd and Lucas in the 50. Lucas requires alot of space. He is too slow to be play up the ground anymore. It was mentioned earlier that maybe he should have a stint in the twos to get his game sharpened up. I am a supporter of this. It will do both he and Neagle the world of good.

Also, I think it's its time Dyson was made to earn his spot. Zaka was on fire in the twos, Gotta give him a start against Freo.

Ins : Atkinson Zaharakis Myers
Outs: Slattery Dyson Lucas


Also, the return of Spike and Reimers cannot come quick enough.
We need their FIRE!

GO BOMBERS!

[The Great Barry Besanko]

People say i am biased for sticking up for Hocking but if you are going to evaluate players at least gett a clue. Not accountable on the rebound???? and a liability against a quality quick on baller ?????
He played most of the game on Shaun Burgoyne who had 15 touches to Hockings 25. WTF game where you watching ? maybe he looks bad chasing becasue he is chasing someone elses opponent while they are standing around with their thunb up their arse.
The only time he was not on Burgoyne was the last 1/4 when he went to half forward .
Seriously have an idea about who a bloke plays on before just making some random comments.

I think what he means is that a few times players ran a little too easily away from him or he struggled to keep up.

Thought Hocking was ok but don't really see him as a long term solution. Thought it was more Burgoyne having an off day even when Hocking wasn't on him.

Jobe's kicking was disappointing at times. Just too many clangers if he want to aspire to A-grade status.

Dyson ducking his head in the last qtr and dropping an easy mark in def. 50 did not look good.

What was up with Hille in the last qtr, 3 shocking handballs!!

Some positives though were obviously Hurley, Ryder, Stanton and Winderlich and Davey showing signs their best may not be far away.

Just thought we lost far too many centre clearances, too many players having off games.

[Murph_S13]

3. Watson
2. Hurley
3. Stanton

I don't see what others do in Hocking at the moment, but thought he was very promising before his big injury. I didn't think he did a lot with his possessions today.

Houli did have a couple of turnovers, but his handball was decisive and creative. Thought he was OK.

I thought a strategic problem today — or as much as you can pick up from a telecast that gives ultra close-ups of players running through center wing and half forward! — seemed to be lack of movement up forward to provide viable targets (apart from McPhee). Midfielders seemed to be kicking long to the back of packs or bombing onto a pack. In either case, the ball wasn't to our forwards' advantage.

Pressure and intencity were pretty good in patches. It wasn't a thorough drubbing, so there are plenty of plusses to take away, but it's a long way below the best they can play.

[Ben the Gooner]

Just thought we lost far too many centre clearances, too many players having off games.

That's it in a nutshell. Even with Watson and Stanton firing, we were dominated in the clearances.

We need Spike, Woosha, Reimers and Prismal back ASAP.

[Kong]

3) Watson
2) Lovett
1) Hurley

[retroparty]

3. Watson
2. Skipworth
1. Fletch, Hurley

IMO we shouldn't make any changes (unless Spike is fit or there are injuries) and see how we play at home.

Was a fairly average game from most players (except 5-6) who looked underdone and uncomfortable in the hot weather playing to a hostile Port crowd.

Need to give them a run on the Dome before making many changes. Need to see how they go in front of a home crowd playing in more familiar weather conditions.

If Neagle doesn't perform he should be dropped to regain some confidence and form. It would be beneficial for him and the team if he was allowed to spend some quality time at Bendigo.

[bipolarbeaR]

Hurley
Watson
Skipworth

Unlucky: McPhee, Ryder and Hocking.

[Daytripper]

Shouldn't people be voting on merit - not just because it was someone's first game.

Hurley was reasonable today and excellent for a first gamer.

No way, he warranted being in our best 3 - not even in our best 8 to be honest.

I wish people would stop wetting their pants over draftees. It just leads to unrealistic expecatations.

Let the boy play without the hype.

PS : Maybe we could do another method of voting.
Votes for players with less than 30 games.

And then real votes for the actual best players for the club.

[Bomber32]

3. Watson
2. Stanton
1. Fletcher

Honourable mentions - Hurley, Hocking, Skipworth

[Jonesy1987]

3. Watson
2. Skippy
1. Hurley

Unlucky: Mcphee, Stanton and Ryder

[Smyth94]

The real positive for me today was the fact that we were genuinely in the game for most of the match despite our forward line not functioning.

The big negative was the mistakes - far too many.

I thought the coaching team should've thrown Ryder up forward far earlier than they did - say around the start of the 2nd half.

[HighettBomber]

I think our main problem was we had a team on the park that simply couldn't run with Port, who are a very fast side. I would like to see Atkinson in the BP, replacing Slattery and Myers replacing Pears.

We were a bit slow in the middle with Hocking and Jobe both playing there for much of the game. Both were very good, but we need to make sure we rotate Lovett, Winderlich, Davey and other quicker players through there so that this is not a weakness, we didn't seem to get much run from our quicker midfileders today.

Jetta should be played. If we have three talls and McPhee I think we need him. While Monfries is a good player he plays more of a lead up game rather than as a crumbing forward. Neagle needs to get on the lead and work a lot harder, he always seems to look dangerous but doesn't do enough.

[lemon chicken]

3 Watson
2. McPhee
1. Skipworth

Im gonna take a swipe at the coach since no-one else has. Why wasnt there a change made to the forward line to generate something. McPhee was the only one looking like doing something, yet we persisted with same blokes up there all day. Throw a Dempsey or a Winderlich or somebody to see if we can get something to work, something different. People calling for Lucas to dropped are off their heads, Neagle has struggled for weeks he has to be first in line. Being younger doesnt make him better, I would hope we are still trying to win games. Did anyone pick up where Lonergan was playing most of the match. Didnt spot him too often in the centre square.

[upanddown]

I think our main problem was we had a team on the park that simply couldn't run with Port, who are a very fast side. I would like to see Atkinson in the BP, replacing Slattery and Myers replacing Pears.

We were a bit slow in the middle with Hocking and Jobe both playing there for much of the game. Both were very good, but we need to make sure we rotate Lovett, Winderlich, Davey and other quicker players through there so that this is not a weakness, we didn't seem to get much run from our quicker midfileders today.

Jetta should be played. If we have three talls and McPhee I think we need him. While Monfries is a good player he plays more of a lead up game rather than as a crumbing forward. Neagle needs to get on the lead and work a lot harder, he always seems to look dangerous but doesn't do enough.


Have a feeling Pears will still be in the side next week. I was extremely happy with his game. Also happy with Winders effort. Have a feeling Neagle will stay in the team.

[bombersno1]

I would not be dropping any of the forwards. The forward line is only as good as your midfield, if your midfield sucks with terrible delivery (as was the case for our midfield today), forwards will struggle. The only one I'd consider would be Jetta and ONLY if he played well enough for Bendigo.

[efcboy]

People say i am biased for sticking up for Hocking but if you are going to evaluate players at least gett a clue. Not accountable on the rebound???? and a liability against a quality quick on baller ?????
He played most of the game on Shaun Burgoyne who had 15 touches to Hockings 25. WTF game where you watching ? maybe he looks bad chasing becasue he is chasing someone elses opponent while they are standing around with their thunb up their arse.
The only time he was not on Burgoyne was the last 1/4 when he went to half forward .
Seriously have an idea about who a bloke plays on before just making some random comments.

geesh take it easy - what i'm pointing at is that hocking is nothing more than a peverill type player who will never assist essendon towards ultimate glory. i don't doubt his endeavour and he has a crack but he just aint that good.

[james_omahoney]

geesh take it easy - what i'm pointing at is that hocking is nothing more than a peverill type player who will never assist essendon towards ultimate glory. i don't doubt his endeavour and he has a crack but he just aint that good.

Yep just slap your club twice in one sentence. Actually that really p!sses me off. He did well today - try being a bit more positive and keep in mind he is still young. Take Welsh for example - who knew he would step up to the next level last year? It's results that matter and today Hocking delivered so just ease up.

:thumbsd: to you.

[rainman06]

I think we can take a lot of positives out of the game. As far as 41 point beatings go, i think it was about as good as it gets.

3) Watson - His hands were nothing short of excellent. Such great vision, ran himself ragged all day and put his body on the line time after time after time.

2) Mcphee - He has copped alot of shit on here about not even being in the 22 but in reality he is almost the first name picked for next week on a half forward flank. Led hard all day, took crucial marks, composed himself well before disposing of the ball effectively and tackled relentlessly.

1) Fletcher - Just Fletch. Just managed to get an arm in the way every time the ball went near him. Every time he moved off a player, they became effective. (This maked me think that he was keeping them ineffective for as long as he was playing on them)

Mentions to Skipworth, Hocking, Ryder, Stanton and Lovett.

[Mr Sparkle]

3 Watson
2 Hocking
1 Skipworth

[Smokin]

I thought the coaching team should've thrown Ryder up forward far earlier than they did - say around the start of the 2nd half.

Yep, IMO we should play Hurley and rotate Pears/Daniher throughout the year with Fletch, and give Ryder a season as an extra lead up mobile forward who can give Hille a chopout in the ruck, and play down back if required. He can be the ultimate utililty.

I wouldnt bring Bellchambers in, personally.

IMO we need to seriously look at our overall structure, as it just seems to me we constantly get it wrong. IMO we play too heavy for todays football, which is a running game.

As soon as the ball hit the deck in our forward line, we were a mess. Id look to bring a Jetta for Monfries, who has no place in this side with guys like Lucas, Lloyd and Neagle in the forward line because he is a lead up forward who doesnt crumb. At least Ryder isnt useless with the ball on the deck.

We can play Lonergan is a crumber, but we need genuine crumbers with Davey who will move mountains to be front and square at the contests. We were horribly weak in this area.

[daffo]

Our Best for the day was Watson, Fletcher played well too but I can't really think of anyone who stood out.
If we ran from the half back and hit targets going into the 50 I think we could of beat them.

[ant555]

geesh take it easy - what i'm pointing at is that hocking is nothing more than a peverill type player who will never assist essendon towards ultimate glory. i don't doubt his endeavour and he has a crack but he just aint that good.

That is not what you said at all . You said we would be in trouble if he played on a quality quick mid. Well he did and beat him.
You bias against him is that high you will not even admit when he has a good game. Lets face it you had no idea who he played on yesterday or you would not have made the comment.
Im not saying you have to rate him but if you are going to evaluate a player at least know what his role was in the game you are evaluating him on.
The simple fact of the matter is his pace does not get us burnt going the other way even though he is not overly quick. If you want to know the real truth it is generally Stanon or Watsons man that burns us going the other way. Luckily for us they find enough of the ball to counter that to some degree.

[efcboy]

ok ant - hocking did ok on s.burgoyne but he didn't assist essendon from an attacking point of view. his lack of pace does result in essendon getting burnt the other way though so i strongly disagree on that. at one point it was like justin madden in a rovers body attempting to chase. we'll never get anywhere with slow players in the side like him. i can cop slower players like watson if they make up for it in other areas ie clearances. we were smashed in clearances and hocking didn't assist there much at all.

does anyone know who was supposed to be playing on danyle pierce?

[ant555]

ok ant - hocking did ok on s.burgoyne but he didn't assist essendon from an attacking point of view. his lack of pace does result in essendon getting burnt the other way though so i strongly disagree on that. at one point it was like justin madden in a rovers body attempting to chase. we'll never get anywhere with slow players in the side like him.

does anyone know who was supposed to be playing on danyle pierce?

Watson was his direct opponent.
And i can not agree about his lack of pace getting us burnt. How did it burn us ? It is Hockings fault he is not quick enough to run down someone elses opponent when they are running free ?
You are watching on TV and his action looks ordinary. You do know that when they do the sprint testing he is never out the back of the pack. He is always in the middle group along with Lonergan, Watson, Welsh and a few others. He is not quick but he is not as slow as you make him out to be. At least he continues to chase blokes and not stand around with hands on hips like a few others where doing yesterday.
So far there have been minimal times when his lack of pace has lead to other sides getting scoring oppertunities from his direct opponent.
In fact the only time he has been really pantsed at AFL level was by Lenny hayes who is not quick. He beat Griffen when he played on him last year. He has beaten Burgyone. Both quick mids.
As for not assisting Essendon with his attacking well he job was to run with Burgyone and limit his effectiveness while finding a bit of the ball himself. He did that. He had 25 possessions was equal second with 8 contested possessions.
He did his job.
It is not his job to keep another player quiet and also set up a good deal of the attack.
The kid is not Chris Judd .
He was one of the few players to actually have success in completing his role in the side with success.

[Boucks09]

ok ant - hocking did ok on s.burgoyne but he didn't assist essendon from an attacking point of view.

And your point being? We don't have the cattle to go head to head with the competitions premier midfields, because if we just put in attacking players you would see us getting hammered each week by 100pts. We need to have a DEFENSIVE side to our game and as the #1 tagger at the moment Hocking nulifies the opposition's attacking game by stopping one of the best players therefore making him valuable. The fact that he won a heap of contested ball is a also a sign he can hurt teams the other way.

his lack of pace does result in essendon getting burnt the other way though so i strongly disagree on that. at one point it was like justin madden in a rovers body attempting to chase. we'll never get anywhere with slow players in the side like him.

Anybody looks ridiculous chasing Danyle Pearce, P Burgoyne, Rodan et al. Cameron Ling looks like a dogs breakfast out there with his running style, doesn't have top class disposal but I guess his influence on Geelong got them nowhere...not like he was ever an All Australian or potential club captain. And I dare say that they are comparable at 21.

i can cop slower players like watson if they make up for it in other areas ie clearances. we were smashed in clearances and hocking didn't assist there much at all.

Hocking had 2 clearances (the same as Shaun Burgoyne). The reason we got smashed in the clearances was because we were missing two of our best clearance players in McVeigh and Welsh in addition to Hille getting smashed by Brogan (5 clearances to 0).

You clearly just have a gripe because he is not a flashy player that looks smooth ala Houli and Ryder. However he is EFFECTIVE and I would take a Heath Hocking over a current Bachar Houli type any day because at least you know that he is going to give you the following:

1). 100%. For all of Bachars fitness he doesn't hurt enough IMO
2). He doesn't try to do too much and therefore make ridiculous turnovers
3). HE HAS DEFENSIVE PRESSURE

People are obviously scared that we have another Peverill on our hands but the difference is that Hocking is actually a stopper, whereas in the last 2 seasons of his Essendon career Peverill played as an onballer who was allowwd to run free because his disposal was not damaging.

He will play at least until Welsh is back and fit and so he should. Top game from him.

BTW I forgot to give my votes last time

3. Watson
2. Hocking
1. Stanton

Honourable mentions - Skipworth, McPhee, Fletcher, Lovett.

[Toots Hibbert]

I presume I can't vote but gee you guys have got a beauty in Michael Hurley!! Already so strong, good disposal and a great football brain.

Lovett was good and Watson had a terrific game. He was everywhere and I thought his disposal was very good for a guy with a bad rep.

Plenty of endeavour from your guys till our fitness took over in the last quarter.

[BomberAce7]

Being at the game yesterday its clear our structures arent up to scratch as yet. Our disposal into the forward line was poor & Port's werent. Port kicked several goals from our skill errors but we will get better. Bachar was the worst culprit in regards to turning the pill over. He will get sent back to Bendigo next week imo. Thumbs up to Michael Hurley! Great Debut Mate!

[ROYAL EAGLE]

Did Myers play guys ?

How did Hille go ?

[yaco55]

ok ant - hocking did ok on s.burgoyne but he didn't assist essendon from an attacking point of view. his lack of pace does result in essendon getting burnt the other way though so i strongly disagree on that. at one point it was like justin madden in a rovers body attempting to chase. we'll never get anywhere with slow players in the side like him. i can cop slower players like watson if they make up for it in other areas ie clearances. we were smashed in clearances and hocking didn't assist there much at all.

does anyone know who was supposed to be playing on danyle pierce?

I am unsure how much you know about football.

The key to stopping Burgoyne is CLEARANCES - He is nearly the best clearance player in the competition.

Hocking held him to 2 clearances.

Enough said !

[Kong]

Thought I'd mention Watson's kicking as another positive. For the amount of flack he cops from the pessimists on here, his kicking was pretty good yesterday. He looked like he had more confidence in his own ability, too.

[TheDon35]

I am not a Dyson fan and if he is a regular in the best 22 then we will be in trouble but he was not bad today. He played in the backline and was reasonably good. Made a few stuff ups but he was not alone.

No mention of Skippy with 30 disposals and a goal :p
18 possesions in front of Cousins and playing next week :D

Yes, I'm sure if you watch Dysons game closely, you'll see that he is a joke. I couldn't give a stuff if he has 17 odd disposals, Was pushed out of the way on numerous occasions like a blowfly, Fell over at crucial times, was lead to the ball and his disposal reaks.

Yep Skippy was good, If your getting at my critisism of us drafting him, there is no way in the world i'm changing my thoughts, We are 4 - 5 years from a flag, teams rebuilding shouldn't draft 26 yo's unless they are absolutely top shelf I really don't care if he runs around and picks up 20 - 30 touches a week, the fact is that he's not going to be there when we are challenging for a flag and therefore I would have rathered us pick up a talent that could be.

As for your comparison to cousins well i'm glad you feel as though Skipworth is a better player than Cousins, shows you've been spending far to much time explaining to everyone how much you know about footy than actually understanding it.

[bombersno1]

Did Myers play guys ?

How did Hille go ?

Myers did not play- played for Bendigo as he was not match fit. Hille was pantsed by Port's ruckmen.

[Thrust]

I would not be dropping any of the forwards. The forward line is only as good as your midfield, if your midfield sucks with terrible delivery (as was the case for our midfield today), forwards will struggle. The only one I'd consider would be Jetta and ONLY if he played well enough for Bendigo.

ok now i'm convinced, we should delist lucas and lloyd now.

[patto75]

Just got back from Adelaide and thought I would add my 2 cents.

When you can't win a clearance all game then you aint going to win many games, there run out of defence killed us. I think 5-6 goals they scored without us touching the ball.

When we went from their defence we chipped and chipped and many times turned the ball over.

On a positive Skipworth was workman like, Hurley was a standout. Unlike others I think Paddy didn't work hard enough when he didn't have the ball.
Davey will be better for the run and gained more confidence as the game went on. Winders was a welcome return although he disposal let him down.
Hille struggled against two man mountains. Lloyd, Lucas and Neagle were non events, we all know how smart Neagles father was yet Jay just doesnt get into the right position and when he did he dropped the mark.

Why are we so slow????? Top athletic coach trained these boys for years and yet 9 times out of 10 we were left for dead by the Port Adelaide player.

We missed Bellchambers who I spoke to before the game and he was sick so couldn't play. Our disposal at times was sensational and then we tried to over possess the ball.

Can someone tell me which game plan we are trying to play because sometimes I don't think they know.

Davey no goal swung the momentum against us and although they were the better team and had more scoring shots I think 41 points was probably a fair reflection of where we are at.

Thank God we have Freo this week is all I can say.

Cheers

[patto75]

I forgot to mention thank God Houli is back in this side, disposal will improve but at least he looked like he could win the ball and do something with it.

[warney7]

There were a few shining lights and in the end it's commiserations to Michael Hurley

3 - Watson
2 - Skipworth
1 - Hocking

Stanton, Fletcher, Lovett and McPhee all doing some good work.

[dirtywhitepacker]

1. Watson
2. Stanton
3. Hocking

I really can't believe people are still on Hocking's back. He was extremely competitive all day. He shut down S.Burgoyne, got alot of his own ball, was hard at it, was one of the only players after he disposed of the ball to follow it up and provide a good shepherd and played a good defensive midfielders game. Not everyone on your list has to be lightening quick and I think Hocking showed adequate pace throughout. Was only burned on the wing by Pearce once notibly, who wasn't his opponent and he gave up a pretty big lead, still, had the heart to run off his opponent and attempt to chase down one of the quickest players on Port's list to put some kind of pressure on. It could have been very easy for Hocking to sit back like a few of our players do and not chase, not put pressure on and watch another inside 50, at least he made the effort, not many would have caught up to him anyway. People should concentrate more on the work he did for his teammates and the heart he showed.

I thought Houli was disappointing. Seems more time in the reserves is necessary to regain some sort of touch, and be made to earn his spot. It's hard with a few of our midfielders out, but I really thought he had little influence. One glaring mistake was when he had the ball on the back pocket, kicked it straight to Gray unmanned on the 50 Arc, direct goal. Those sort of mistakes are what are making me lose my hair.

Skipworth was solid, justified selection for Round 1, and more games like that will justify his selection in the draft. I think he will benefit more so from having some key players back (if he keeps his spot).

Stanton and Watson were courageous and was delighted with both their work ethic. It's all been said before, kicking is an issue, but very few negative moments can be taken from either.

Hille struggled against a quality ruck duo, bewildered as to why he was left to ruck alone against those two on such a day. A hard day at the office and it showed. Should bounce back next week against another quality ruckman in Sandilands, hopefully this time with some support.

Pears, Hurley and Fletcher were all solid in defence. Impressed with Hurley's kicking and decision making, didn't panic, cool head, nice kick-ins, very happy with the debut. Fletch was Fletch, and didn't faulter too much throughout. Pears was probably still abit underdone, and besides one horrid kick to the centre square, looked reliable and strong throughout. A hard day being a defender.

Winderlich tackled hard all day, used the ball reasonably well when in the hands. Thought he had a good defensive game, needed the ball in his hands more though. Did anyone else seem to think he has lost a yard of pace? I know the injury he has come back from was severe, and he is lucky to be out there at all, but he has had a few pre-season hit outs, should he have his pace back yet or what is the timeline usually surrounding that issue? Didn't seem to break the lines like he used to.

Slattery was ordinary. Behind his man all day it seemed. Monfries showed little and has to work harder more consistently. Lovett was patchy but showed abit. Dyson did enough, in what I thought was one of his better H&A games for the Bombers. Neagle needed more space, was tightly defended, needed to snare a few more marks and keep his feet. Lloyd and Lucas were disappointing, one thing that annoyed me the most was how easily they both went to ground in marking contest, not even allowing for the ball to be pinned down in our forward50. Most glaringly was Lloyd in the goal square, went to ground, appealed for the free as opposed to getting back up and putting pressure on the ball carrier. Dempsey very average and didn't get himself into a position to be damaging.

[yaco55]

I mentioned in another thread how effective Port are at clearances.

Unfortunately, EFC had their pants pulled down in this facet of play.

We won't be the last time !

[ant555]

Yes, I'm sure if you watch Dysons game closely, you'll see that he is a joke. I couldn't give a stuff if he has 17 odd disposals, Was pushed out of the way on numerous occasions like a blowfly, Fell over at crucial times, was lead to the ball and his disposal reaks.

Yep Skippy was good, If your getting at my critisism of us drafting him, there is no way in the world i'm changing my thoughts, We are 4 - 5 years from a flag, teams rebuilding shouldn't draft 26 yo's unless they are absolutely top shelf I really don't care if he runs around and picks up 20 - 30 touches a week, the fact is that he's not going to be there when we are challenging for a flag and therefore I would have rathered us pick up a talent that could be.

As for your comparison to cousins well i'm glad you feel as though Skipworth is a better player than Cousins, shows you've been spending far to much time explaining to everyone how much you know about footy than actually understanding it.


Blah blah blah blah.
Where did i say Skippy was better than Cousins. Find me one thread where i have ever said that.
I don't care what you think. You where the one who shit canned Skippy and he has shown that he is not the dud a lot of people where saying he was.

I think the real point is if you ever overcome your biased hatred to certain elements your opinion may be worth reading :eek:

By the way you do understand the use of emoticons and why they are used ?

[efcboy]

in response to some of my criticism - no i wasn't at the ground ant and yes the channel 7 coverage was very ordinary so it was difficult to see who was matching up on who. no doubt i'll get a better look at it this week.

i don't think we'll win many games if our starting midfield is watson, lonergan, hocking. these blokes are all on the slow side - we can afford 1 or 2 of them in the midfield but not all 3.

i'm hoping myers and zaharakis come under strong consideration this week. ideally we need mcveigh but he still looks a couple of weeks away.

the good thing is the dockers midfield is also slow so we may get away with it this week - palmer, crowley, hasleby etc should pose no problems pace wise.

i'm confident of a strong win.

[Sir James]

We lost by 7 goals, we had about 5 bad turnovers that cost us goals=bad skills=still early in the season.
Liked Hurleys game on Tredrea, Hocking, Skippy and Pears were impressive.
Jobe watson, what more can i say, He got hit hard yet managed to come back and be 1 of our best:thumbsu: just needs to be aware of his surroundings.
Good to see Froggy get through the game and Houli was better when he started to kick the ball.
Votes 1. Hocking
2. Skippworth
3. Watson

[ant555]

in response to some of my criticism - no i wasn't at the ground ant and yes the channel 7 coverage was very ordinary so it was difficult to see who was matching up on who. no doubt i'll get a better look at it this week.

i don't think we'll win many games if our starting midfield is watson, lonergan, hocking. these blokes are all on the slow side - we can afford 1 or 2 of them in the midfield but not all 3.

i'm hoping myers and zaharakis come under strong consideration this week. ideally we need mcveigh but he still looks a couple of weeks away.

the good thing is the dockers midfield is also slow so we may get away with it this week - palmer, crowley, hasleby etc should pose no problems pace wise.

i'm confident of a strong win.

I wasn't at the ground either but it is not that hard to work out the match ups on TV.

I agree that we can not Have Watson, Hocking and Lonergan in the middle at the same time but you have not seen the complete picture.
Under ideal circumstances you have Lonergan and Watson interchanging with each other and Hocking or Welsh ( or whoever your run with player is) plus one of your quicker mids. that way you start with something like Watson, Hocking (tag), Lovett, Hille.

Just on Hocking and his lack of pace , he played the last quarter of the practice match against North on Matthew Campbell and Campbell only had a couple of possesions.
He will get burnt off by quick players at times but i think you are reading too much into how much it hurts the side.
Even in the Bulldogs game last year when Griffen was too quick for Hocking down the wing he was still able to chase and be 2 or 3 meters behinds which made Griffen kick at full pace and he missed his target.

Until we get Welsh back there is really no one to play the same role unless you want to use Mcveigh and limit his attacking role.

[TheDon35]

Blah blah blah blah.
Where did i say Skippy was better than Cousins. Find me one thread where i have ever said that.
I don't care what you think. You where the one who shit canned Skippy and he has shown that he is not the dud a lot of people where saying he was.

I think the real point is if you ever overcome your biased hatred to certain elements your opinion may be worth reading :eek:

By the way you do understand the use of emoticons and why they are used ?

There is nothing biased about my opinion, Essendon are a poor team and have been a poor team for over 4 years now.

Players including Henry Slattery, Ricky Dyson, Angus Monfries, Jason Winderlich, Adam Mcphee, Jay Nash, are either not up to the required standard or are over rated compared to the decent players at other successful teams.

Yes Skipworth was good on the weekend. Having said that, he is a poor selection for a side trying to rebuild (I didn't want to draft cousins either btw).

If Essendon can't develop the majority of the following players into high quality footballers, we are a minimum of 6 - 7 years off having a team that can challenge for the top 4 as our 23 yo + players are not good enough comparatively.

Neagle
Ryder (Already quality)
Dempsey
Gumbleton (If he ever plays)
Jetta
Houli
Reimers
Hurley
Zaharakis
T. Slattery
Still
Lonergan
Myers
Pears
Daniher

I don't believe Hooker, Williams or Bellchambers will ever cut the mustard at the level.

[pazza]

3 - Watson
2 - Hurley
1 - Hocking