View Full Version : review 09 Season Review - The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
kelvin_sheedy
6 Sep 2009, 11:07
Good:
- Finals
- The emergence of Ryder as a genuine ruck and star
- Hurley.. finally we struck gold with a first pick
- Pears. Not much needs to be said.
- Hooker. We may have got a bargain here. Looks a likely CHB prospect.
- Lovett and Winderlich. X factor players that stepped up and look like game breakers for years to come
- Watson. Captain and A grade material
- Wins against Collingwood, Carlton, Hawthorn, St Kilda
- Dempsey. Playing a whole season and showing enormous talent.
- Dyson. From absolute spud to handy player - amazing.
- Z-a-h-a-r-a-k-i-s be a hero son.
Bad:
- Davey. Form was terrible all year
- Injuries. Another year another run of bad luck
- Draw. The two Perth trips kills us in the last month
- Discipline. Once again it let us down, on and off the field
- Lloyd and Lucas. Sadly their time had come.
- McVeigh and Welsh. Senior brigade let us down. Injury, discipline and faster game catching up.
Ugly:
- Coaching and Selections. Very strange decision this year. Myers,Quinn,No ruckman in a final, etc,etc
- Myers. Form was terrible for a highly rated player and pick and looked nothing more than a suburban footballer.
- Quinn. At least he gave the opposition a few laughs.
- Losses to North, Rich, WCE, Freo and Adelaide. Games we should have won were lost at the selection table and coaches box.
fishguts
6 Sep 2009, 11:11
Again with Myers, he was played as a flanker and his style doesn't fit our gameplan, Hence why he is being groomed as Watson's partner in crime, and doing a good job of it in the magoos.
Good:
- Finals
- The emergence of Ryder as a genuine ruck and star
- Hurley.. finally we struck gold with a first pick
- Pears. Not much needs to be said.
- Hooker. We may have got a bargain here. Looks a likely CHB prospect.
- Lovett and Winderlich. X factor players that stepped up and look like game breakers for years to come
- Watson. Captain and A grade material
- Wins against Collingwood, Carlton, Hawthorn, St Kilda
- Dempsey. Playing a whole season and showing enormous talent.
- Dyson. From absolute spud to handy player - amazing.
- Z-a-h-a-r-a-k-i-s be a hero son.
Bad:
- Davey. Form was terrible all year
- Injuries. Another year another run of bad luck
- Draw. The two Perth trips kills us in the last month
- Discipline. Once again it let us down, on and off the field
- Lloyd and Lucas. Sadly their time had come.
- McVeigh and Welsh. Senior brigade let us down. Injury, discipline and faster game catching up.
Ugly:
- Coaching and Selections. Very strange decision this year. Myers,Quinn,No ruckman in a final, etc,etc
- Myers. Form was terrible for a highly rated player and pick and looked nothing more than a suburban footballer.
- Quinn. At least he gave the opposition a few laughs.
- Losses to North, Rich, WCE, Freo and Adelaide. Games we should have won were lost at the selection table and coaches box.
Good review Kelvin, hopefully next season we can add Myers to the good list, it would be nice to see him develop into a hard running midfielder with good skills, something we lack atm.
Ben the Gooner
6 Sep 2009, 11:25
I don't know why you cop such a bad rap kelvin.
I can't see anything which you got seriously wrong.
I think Quinn showed a bit, and I hope Myers doesn't continue the form he had this year, but all in all, it's hard to find a serious problem with your thread.
You could probably add our interstate record to the ugly column. 1 out of 6, including losses to WCE and Fremantle is embarrassing.
I don't know why you cop such a bad rap kelvin.
I can't see anything which you got seriously wrong.
Because in the heat of the moment he has a habit of over-reacting? :p
Davey is definitely a worry for me
Good: Loosing to Adelaide means that Hurley is still eligable for the rising star next year and surely will start as the favourite :D
Fair assessment. :thumbsu:
Judging on Myers' form for Bendigo in the last month of the season, he is definitely being groomed for a midfield role, which IMO plays to his strengths.
Boucks09
6 Sep 2009, 14:04
Good:
Bad:
- Davey. Form was terrible all year
Ugly:
- Coaching and Selections. Very strange decision this year. Myers,Quinn,No ruckman in a final, etc,etc
- Myers. Form was terrible for a highly rated player and pick and looked nothing more than a suburban footballer.
- Quinn. At least he gave the opposition a few laughs.
I can't say that I agree with you on Davey. People are forgetting that he was coming off a knee reco last year which significantly impacted that way that he plays. He relies on his agility to give him confidence to take the game on. It normally takes a player a solid 12 months to get full confidence in his body (which makes Prismall even more amazing).
Expect to see Alwyn light it up next season.
Totally disagree with you regarding Myers. He was played out of position to try and obviously teach him about the game. Whether that was the right call is a different issue entirely. He was not terrible when he played either, it was not as if he was taken to the cleaners by his opponent. He will go on ball next season and from the times I have seen him play there (at Bendigo) he looks like he could be exactly the sort of player we are looking for to assist our new Captain.
How the **** was Quinn an embarrasment? He should've kicked 3 goals in a final and directly set up McPhee with a great tackle. That isn't laughable by any stretch. I can't wait to see the improvement in him next season because I think he can make it as a player.
My Good:
- Heath Hocking's development into a leading midfielder. He has leadership written all over him and showed that in the heat of a final he is able to stand up in the middle against a side dominating the clearances. An absolutely awesome find for us.
- Neagle's complete season. Hopefully now his foot has healed and he is able to hit the training track 100% and maximise his talent.
- Winderlich's comeback from injury. With no preseason he was outstanding and showed that he can be a major influence.
My Bad:
- The backward step of Leroy Jetta. Really thought he would stand up this year but it wasn't to be.
- Laycock's injury woes continuing. I just pray he is able to get his foot right and play next season.
- The handling of the Scott Lucas retirement. Just felt that he didn't get the chance to go out the way he deserved.
The Ugly:
- McVeigh's lack of discipline at times of need. Went from near certainty as next captain, to public enemy number 1 on too many occasions.
- The ridiculous criticisms of Slattery and McPhee all year. Both had good years and will go top 10 in the B&F.
- Hille's injury. If we took a poll at the start of the season about what we didn't want to happen to any player, Hille doing his knee was it.
- Bendigo. Enough said.
Ben the Gooner
6 Sep 2009, 16:08
Because in the heat of the moment he has a habit of over-reacting? :p
Believe me, there are far worse culprits than kelvin.
[...]Even better. :thumbsu:
HULK HOGAN
6 Sep 2009, 16:49
Hey Bouks when and where was Myers plsyed out of position?
Skeeta Olly
6 Sep 2009, 16:51
Playing off half back....^
HULK HOGAN
6 Sep 2009, 16:59
Playing off half back....^
Didnt we recruit him after he played off half back in the under 18 carnival?
kelvin_sheedy
6 Sep 2009, 17:05
It normally takes a player a solid 12 months to get full confidence in his body (which makes Prismall even more amazing).
I would have Prismall in my bad also. He didn't do much and I can't see him improving our midfield over the next few years tbh.
His performances have been way overrated and his defensive and second efforts are not there. He crumbled under the pressure against Adelaide land I'm not sure we can have him in the side with the likes of Jobe, Stanton and Lovett who are all better players than him.
I don't buy the knee excuse because he's been playing the exact same way since day one in the AFL.
Boucks09
6 Sep 2009, 17:07
Didnt we recruit him after he played off half back in the under 18 carnival?
You are right, he did play off half back in the U/18 comp. However since he came to Essendon he has grown 6-7cm and his body shape has changed significantly so he is now better suited to playing in close as a clearance player rather than a roaming half back flanker.
I would have Prismall in my bad also. He didn't do much and I can't see him improving our midfield over the next few years tbh.
His performances have been way overrated and his defensive and second efforts are not there. He crumbled under the pressure against Adelaide land I'm not sure we can have him in the side with the likes of Jobe, Stanton and Lovett who are all better players than him.
I don't buy the knee excuse because he's been playing the exact same way since day one in the AFL.
Can we please give Prismall a bit more time
HULK HOGAN
6 Sep 2009, 17:12
You are right, he did play off half back in the U/18 comp. However since he came to Essendon he has grown 6-7cm and his body shape has changed significantly so he is now better suited to playing in close as a clearance player rather than a roaming half back flanker.
Just how much improvement has he made playing in the middle, because I'm stating to ge abit excited about his prospects next year?
Skeeta Olly
6 Sep 2009, 17:13
Can we please give Prismall a bit more time
Agree with this. He's done pretty well coming off an ACL to play within 12 months.
Ben the Gooner
6 Sep 2009, 17:31
Can we please give Prismall a bit more time
I agree, but if he doesn't improve a fair bit next year, I'll stick with my original claims that he was a bargain at #39, but still a fairly vanilla midfielder.
I agree, but if he doesn't improve a fair bit next year, I'll stick with my original claims that he was a bargain at #39, but still a fairly vanilla midfielder.
Prismall's true worth is best displayed in a stronger midfield division ala Geelong whereby he doesn't have to worry so much about his defensive actions because the ball is practically always in his team's possession.
I would say Prismall is the icing on the cake to a super team.
Ben the Gooner
6 Sep 2009, 17:50
Prismall's true worth is best displayed in a stronger midfield division ala Geelong whereby he doesn't have to worry so much about his defensive actions because the ball is practically always in his team's possession.
I would say Prismall is the icing on the cake to a super team.
Let's face it, despite some of our kids showing promise, we don't have an Ablett, Bartel, Corey AND Selwood on our list. One or two maybe, but definitely not all four.
So if he doesn't improve his defensive side and his kicking, it's no good talking about what he'd be like in an elite midfield.
Longy413
6 Sep 2009, 18:06
Tough on Myers, overrated Lovett and still not convinced on Hooker but a pretty fair assessment none the less.
Boucks09
6 Sep 2009, 18:09
I would have Prismall in my bad also. He didn't do much and I can't see him improving our midfield over the next few years tbh.
His performances have been way overrated and his defensive and second efforts are not there. He crumbled under the pressure against Adelaide land I'm not sure we can have him in the side with the likes of Jobe, Stanton and Lovett who are all better players than him.
I don't buy the knee excuse because he's been playing the exact same way since day one in the AFL.
I think you are being incredibly harsh. It was 12 months ago yesterday that he did his knee, so he has had a limited pre season yet still managed to slot into our side and get plenty of the ball.
His kicking over short distances is elite IMHO. I also think his first half against Adelaide was excellent. Especially when you compare his game and endeavour to Andrew Lovett who you are saying is a better player. Lovett put in the worst performance of his career on Friday and should be ashamed at the lack of effort and times that he pulled out of contests. Prismall put his head over the ball and did well.
I'm sure he will need to improve the defensive side of his game, but he has only played 30 odd games in his career so far!
Just how much improvement has he made playing in the middle, because I'm stating to ge abit excited about his prospects next year?
Look he hasn't been Jobe-esque, however he has shown that with his size he is able to be very strong over the ball and dish out a lot of handballs to running players at the stoppages. His hands in close are excellent.
I really think he will burst onto the scene next year and get a spot in our starting 22 as a midfielder.
Let's face it, despite some of our kids showing promise, we don't have an Ablett, Bartel, Corey AND Selwood on our list. One or two maybe, but definitely not all four.
So if he doesn't improve his defensive side and his kicking, it's no good talking about what he'd be like in an elite midfield.
Prismall's kicking is an issue?
Anyway, I was simply using Geelong as a reference
Ben the Gooner
6 Sep 2009, 18:34
Prismall's kicking is an issue?
Anyway, I was simply using Geelong as a reference
It's not fantastic, there's certainly room for improvement.
a few tough critics here.
thought prismal has been exactly what we needed this year to help out stants and jobe.
i would have to say major worries from this season has to be the lack of quality crumbing forwads
i think davey and jetta just have not done enough, reimers playing out of a pocket will add another option next year.
biggest worry has to be our vfl side (if you call it that) the sooner we cut that cancer off the better. start fresh operate out of windy hill, logistically having our club in bendigo just does not work on many levels.
alot of positives out of the year, we need to chase a silk smooth midfielder in the draft, and touch wood '10 brings us better luck with injuries
kelvin_sheedy
6 Sep 2009, 20:06
I think you are being incredibly harsh. It was 12 months ago yesterday that he did his knee, so he has had a limited pre season yet still managed to slot into our side and get plenty of the ball.
His kicking over short distances is elite IMHO. I also think his first half against Adelaide was excellent. Especially when you compare his game and endeavour to Andrew Lovett who you are saying is a better player. Lovett put in the worst performance of his career on Friday and should be ashamed at the lack of effort and times that he pulled out of contests. Prismall put his head over the ball and did well.
I'm sure he will need to improve the defensive side of his game, but he has only played 30 odd games in his career so far!
Maybe a bit harsh but if we are going to recruit guys to improve our midfield then they better do so. You can add Myers to the argument.
Prismall's kicking under fatigue and pressure is not great. Hopefully he improves with fitness but it was similar at times last year with the Cats. It wasn't noticed because he had few guys mopping up for him.
Prismall has dodged a lot of contests this year, make no mistake about it. As a side to go forward we need a guy like Myers to stand up in the middle and help Jobe out. Prismall might be surplus to requirements.
In fact,what Hocking did in the first quarter against Adelaide said to me that he will be a first choice starting mid next year and leave guys like Prismall and Myers in his wake.
kelvin_sheedy
6 Sep 2009, 20:08
alot of positives out of the year, we need to chase a silk smooth midfielder in the draft, and touch wood '10 brings us better luck with injuries
Zaharakis?
Maybe a bit harsh but if we are going to recruit guys to improve our midfield then they better do so. You can add Myers to the argument.
Prismall's kicking under fatigue and pressure is not great. Hopefully he improves with fitness but it was similar at times last year with the Cats. It wasn't noticed because he had few guys mopping up for him.
Prismall has dodged a lot of contests this year, make no mistake about it. As a side to go forward we need a guy like Myers to stand up in the middle and help Jobe out. Prismall might be surplus to requirements.
In fact,what Hocking did in the first quarter against Adelaide said to me that he will be a first choice starting mid next year and leave guys like Prismall and Myers in his wake.
You are a bit harsh on Prismall.
He should be a better player next year with a full pre-season under his belt.
Prismall will never be better than a B grade Midfielder or he would have been selected at Geelong before Sellwood and Kelly.
geesh - i would have been putting prismall in the good criteria. following a knee injury that occurred in september last year expectations had to be minimal. he played the majority of the second half of the season and was more than handy in the midfield rotations. he'll be a gun in 2010 with a full uninterrupted pre-season under his belt to increase his endurance.
the bad - worst things were clearly the hille and gumbleton injuries. at the start of the year i thought they were our two most important players to achieve any success
geesh - i would have been putting prismall in the good criteria. following a knee injury that occurred in september last year expectations had to be minimal. he played the majority of the second half of the season and was more than handy in the midfield rotations. he'll be a gun in 2010 with a full uninterrupted pre-season under his belt to increase his endurance.
the bad - worst things were clearly the hille and gumbleton injuries. at the start of the year i thought they were our two most important players to achieve any success
A gun is by definition an A Grade midfielder.
And he ain't an A Grade midfielder.
stay true
7 Sep 2009, 00:36
I have to agree with pretty much everything Kelvin said.
Probably a bit harsh on Prissa IMO as we all know he's just come back from a knee reco. I don't expect him to be our savior but with a big pre season he'll be a pretty good player for us next year.
nighthawk
8 Sep 2009, 08:46
Astonished to see people criticising Prismall's kicking. His defensive pressure definitely can be criticised, but Prismall has to have been one of the best kicks in our team this season. He has the vision to look both short and long, and when he finds his target he puts it in the perfect spot. I was never more confident that we were going to end up with a mark than when Prismall was carrying it. He is the polar opposite of Mcphee, great decision making and execution.
Other than that, agree with most things that have been said.
zen dice man
8 Sep 2009, 09:45
Hope Davey can return to the sublime form of his first 20 games for us. His history injury history is almost as bad as Gumby's though & I fear his best is behind him.
Prizza on the other hand will improve & I feel he did very very well considering. Its not about excuses Kelvin, its about understanding & context. A terrible knee injury is very hard to comback from. Prizza will pole some votes in our B&F & show you up mate. So your comments about Prizza are wrong.
By all accounts Myers did have a crap year in the seniors, but his form in the second half of the year at Bendigo has been very good as an in & under mid in the Watson mold.
That could be his place. The guy has great skills, is big and can run a bit. I expect him to cement his spot in the team and play some very good footy for us.
He kind of reminds me of Goddard in many ways, he also took a lot of games to get going. I reckon he will become a powerful mid Ala Watson & also switch to play accross HB as a rebounder with a great left foot ala Goodard.
Prismall will win our B&F next year. Bookmark it.
End of season report: Essendon
http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/84304/default.aspx
"Injuries to experienced players ended up being a blessing in disguise for the Bombers, as it enabled Matthew Knights to unearth some realtalent at senior level..."
http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/84304/default.aspx
-Pretty much what has been said on this forum, except I was quite surprised at the following:
"There have been some promising signs in the Bombers’ defence, but the fact remains that at the conclusion of round 22 there were just four teams, with three of those holding up the rest of the ladder, who had conceded more points than Essendon."
So we still have a leaky defence?
essendon play an attacking game so will always concede more points against than say a side such as sydney who play a slow tempo defensive game.
i don't think the statistic of points against is the best way to gauge a defence due to varying game styles - the best way would be to take the ratio of points against over inside 50s conceded.
if anyone could find this ratio (Points Against / Inside 50s conceded) it would be very interesting to see how the clubs stack up.
Ben the Gooner
8 Sep 2009, 19:38
So we still have a leaky defence?
I'd argue a leaky midfield.
Colin D'Cops
8 Sep 2009, 19:44
Can we please give Prismall a bit more time
I agree with this also. Lets judge him after he has completed a preseason with us.
rainman06
8 Sep 2009, 22:01
Im not overly excited about Prismall, but if he improves 5% next year, which in all fairness is likely, then he will be a useful midfielder for us. Not going to be a star, thats probably why we got him in a trade :rolleyes:
I think you were harsh on Welsh and Davey, who both had their injury concerns this year.
I probably dont share the optimism on Hooker either. Not as a CHB anyway....but I do like his endeavour and his audacity. Jury is still out for mine.
I'd argue a leaky midfield.
Agree. IMO, most of our bad losses this year have been a result of a diminished workrate in the midfield, which gets shown up particularly on large 'foreign' grounds like AAMI and Subiaco. While this can be partly attributed to the lack of preseason for about half of our mids, increased workrate in games like R13 v. Carlton and R20 v. Saints might suggest otherwise...
lemon chicken
9 Sep 2009, 01:54
Good
Lovett in the first half of the year
Dyson. Went from hanging from a thread to reliable contributor.
Hurley, Ryder, Pears. Build a side around em.
Dempsey got through most of a season, and looked the goods.
Bad
Lovett in the second half of the year.
Neagle. Still dont know what we've got.
Ruck depth.
Ugly
Allowing a kid to play senior football while he was still learning the basics. Forget the result it shouldnt of happened.
Gumbleton 0 matches.
lemon chicken
9 Sep 2009, 01:57
Judging on Myers' form for Bendigo in the last month of the season, he is definitely being groomed for a midfield role, which IMO plays to his strengths.
Hopefully he pushes Welsh out or at least puts enough pressure on to perform better. Id take Myers kicking 50m to a contest over Welsh chipping 15m sideways and turning it over.
Ruck depth.
Personally I don't think our ruck depth was the issue, moreso the injuries we had. We have five ruckman on our list, unless you're the Kangas thats normal. We just had a shocking run with injuries.
Good : Performance of Ryder in the ruck, Hurley and Pears showing we have some great young KPP
Bad : Houli not getting many oppurtunities this year
Ugly : The choice to not use a ruckman in our final. Knights wrote our death notice before the game even started.
nighthawk
9 Sep 2009, 09:37
Hopefully he pushes Welsh out or at least puts enough pressure on to perform better. Id take Myers kicking 50m to a contest over Welsh chipping 15m sideways and turning it over.
There was one passage of play on Friday where he got the ball at a stoppage and through pressure banged it 50m into the forward line. He must've done that 5 or 6 times a game last year, but it's the first time I remember seeing it this year. I know it's not always a great tactic, but as you say, better than a 15m sideways turnover.
Next year I tip him to be back to where he should be. If he has a pre-season and stays injury free I see no reason why he shouldn't get back to his best.
zen dice man
9 Sep 2009, 10:12
Good
Lovett in the first half of the year
Dyson. Went from hanging from a thread to reliable contributor.
Hurley, Ryder, Pears. Build a side around em.
Dempsey got through most of a season, and looked the goods.
Bad
Lovett in the second half of the year.
Neagle. Still dont know what we've got.
Ruck depth.
Ugly
Allowing a kid to play senior football while he was still learning the basics. Forget the result it shouldnt of happened.
Gumbleton 0 matches.
Agree - Lovett was very good at the start of the season. He really fell away midseason. Good to see some one else think this too. I cant recall any one else mentioning this issue. IMO he needs a kick in the ar$e again.
nighthawk
9 Sep 2009, 10:52
Agree - Lovett was very good at the start of the season. He really fell away midseason. Good to see some one else think this too. I cant recall any one else mentioning this issue. IMO he needs a kick in the ar$e again.
You have got to be kidding. It must be the number one talked about issue on here.
zen dice man
9 Sep 2009, 11:32
You have got to be kidding. It must be the number one talked about issue on here.
Pffftt...
Prizza's has been the most talked about issue in this thread.
Lovett's poor second half has only been mentioned specifically by Lemon Chicken & myself. Boucks mentioned his bad game on Friday night...
Otherwise, Kelvin mention him as a positive..
But then you already knew all this because you read it all ;)
nighthawk
9 Sep 2009, 11:51
Pffftt...
Prizza's has been the most talked about issue in this thread.
Lovett's poor second half has only been mentioned specifically by Lemon Chicken & myself. Boucks mentioned his bad game on Friday night...
Otherwise, Kelvin mention him as a positive..
But then you already knew all this because you read it all ;)
Slight exaggeration and not meant to offend, but I am just a bit suprised since he seems to be bagged alot. Perhaps not in this thread though.
Good =
- Improved win/loss ratio on last year when our injuries at time were probably worse than last year. If we can win another 3-4 games more next year and hopefully put in some better performances against the cellar dwellers, we will be well on the way.
- During the H&A season in 2008, we lost three games by more than 90 points and another four games by over 50 points. This year our biggest H&A loss was only 64 points and that was to a rampaging Geelong in Round 10. The Elimination Final result (scoreline) was disappointing but there were several reasons for that that have already been discussed at length on these boards.
- Depth. Probably not the ideal word considering the Elimination Final result (not that we were any realistic chance anyway) but it has improved enormously this year. For most of the year we've had the likes of Houli, Daniher, Myers on the verge of selection and their form at times has probably warranted a senior recall - but haven't been quite able to crack it. Will be important next year.
- KPP depth. The potential is outstanding. Potential can be a dangerous word - but crisis created opportunity in 2009 in terms of injuries. Pears & Hurley look likely bookends and great ones at that. Got a number two draft pick as well waiting in the wings for 2010 in the form of Scott Gumbleton who is getting ready to start a full pre-season. Neagle needs a big summer as well but there's no questioning his talent. Hooker's form trailed off towards the end of the year but he also proved his worth for the majority of 2010. Fairly exciting long term prospects, all of them.
- Character building wins for the future. Carlton, Collingwood, Hawthorn, St Kilda... there was a fair few against the odds victories in 2009. Most, if not all achieved by the young crop of players and not relying on the older heads of Lloyd, Lucas or Fletcher.
- The emergence of Patrick Ryder as a ruckman. Enough said.
- Brent Prismall. A revelation and an extremely handy addition after coming off 0 pre-season and a serious leg injury. A fit and firey Brent Prismall will be an important asset in 2010. His disposal is silk.
- Jobe Watson. I don't care what anybody says about him... he is very important to us and was groomed for most of 2009 for the captaincy role, possibly next year. Yeah, sure, makes a couple of mistakes and gets criticised by all for it... but puts his heart and soul into every performance to try and get EFC over the line and there is a genuine love for the club and the players. Anybody doubting this should grab themselves a copy of the Round 20 against the Saints. Played with an irritating ankle injury for most of the second half of the year and was clearly restricted by it but will be better in 2010.
Bad =
- Complacent, lazy performances against teams at the lower end of the ladder. For us to really become a better side we need to come switched on to ALL games and not just rock up and expect everything to fall into place without putting in 100%. North Melbourne, Richmond (R16), Fremantle (R21) are all classic examples of this. Are we better sides than these three teams? YES. Our spot in the top 8 should of been sewn up weeks before Round 22 had it not been for our complacency against the lesser sides.
- Baffling team selections at times. When it works it looks great, but when it doesn't... shocking. No ruckman in the Elimination Final was a dumb risk that was never likely to pay off, especially when the replacement was a fairly inexperienced kid by the name of Michael Quinn.
- Our interstate form. For some reason whenever we fly interstate we generally leave our skills and decision making at home with the dog. The grounds are all roughly the same, there is grass and four posts at the end of each ground - why is it so hard to replicate Melbourne form on the road? The win against the Swans at the SCG was outstanding, but the other road performances were nothing short of putrid and at times against clearly inferior opposition.
- Injuries. Every team has them, some just have more impact on results than most... EFC was in that bracket. Apart from a brief patch in the middle of the year we've never had close to our full list available which makes things tough - especially when you have the 3rd youngest list in the competition.
Ugly =
- The handling of the Scott Lucas retirement. Tacky and as bad as his form was, probably deserved some sort of official farewell game from the club or something to mark his achievements.
- The fact that Matthew Lloyd is on the backpage of a Melbourne tabloid this morning in a Collingwood jumper. It's pure crap and speculation, but it should never of got down to this and Lloyd deserves to know what his future is in concrete and not through mind games played in the media.
Runknisse
9 Sep 2009, 12:27
Good: Hurley, Jobe, Tayte & Ryder
Bad: Gumbleton's injury, Lucas, Lloyd.
Ugly: Jetta, Myers.
kelvin_sheedy
9 Sep 2009, 12:39
So Lovett has an up and down 6 weeks, partly due to injury and he's had a poor second half of the year. :confused:
I think people are only looking at the last few games with him not being %100 and making a call on a lot longer for some strange reason.
According to essendonfc match reports Lovett was in the bests 7 times from round 12 onwards.
Giggidy Giggidy
9 Sep 2009, 13:39
So Lovett has an up and down 6 weeks, partly due to injury and he's had a poor second half of the year. :confused:
I think people are only looking at the last few games with him not being %100 and making a call on a lot longer for some strange reason.
According to essendonfc match reports Lovett was in the bests 7 times from round 12 onwards.
I had thought he had dropped off for much of the 2nd half of the season too, but statistics (not that they tell the full story) back you up here too when considering his first 11 matches vs his final 11 matches:
Rounds 1-11: Disposals 235; Goals 11.8
Rounds 12-EF: Disposals 224; Goals 10.9
Given the statistical similarity, and that 3 of his 4 lowest statistical impact matches were within the final 5 matches, arguably his impact was actually at its peak in the 3rd quarter of the season.
lemon chicken
9 Sep 2009, 13:48
So Lovett has an up and down 6 weeks, partly due to injury and he's had a poor second half of the year. :confused:
I think people are only looking at the last few games with him not being %100 and making a call on a lot longer for some strange reason.
According to essendonfc match reports Lovett was in the bests 7 times from round 12 onwards.
I thought his body language and defensive efforts went backwards from where he was at the start of the year. Early matches he was winning clearances, tackling, long runs through the middle. You could argue the oppositon shut him down to an extent but i really dislike when he starts to play the mediator all the time and pat the opposition on the back during games. He may have started to believe the hype.