What do we still need?

[bombermick]

This season has been a great ride and though it came to an inglorious end, there remains much promise. I think there are still many holes in our list, that is stopping us from becoming a serious challenger. What do you think we need?

-Someone to help Jobe with the clearances. We can't have a midfield that relies almost soley on a guy with questionable pace and skills, even if he is a gun.
-Slattery tries his heart out and I think has been good, but we need someone to shut down the small forwards more effectively.
-Our ruck depth is questionable. Ryder and Hille will be a great combination but Bellchambers is servicable at best and Laycock has shown little, even before injury.
-We lack a good medium/small leading forward. Someone like Morton, LeCras or the Porpoise.

Thoughts?

[zen dice man]

- Another clearance gun to assist Jobe like a Mitchell or Sewell

- A gun medium sized fwd like Delidio

- A gun specialist rebounding small defender who can also negate his player

I reckon thats all we really need. Get two out of three of these things fixed and I think that we could be a top 6 team next year. Play Hurls at CHF. Ryder on the wing/Ruck rover/ Hooker at CHB/ Pears FB/ a super fit Neagle at FF ( only if fit )/ Hillie & Laycock to ruck/ same mids plus new extraction gun/ Gumby on the wing/ Dyson in the midfield/ Myers through the middle / back flank/ Houli fwd flank / Dempsy BP / Slatts BP / Davey FP / Monfries F Flank / Mcphee & NLM to swtich forward & back flank / Hocking & Loners on the bench with Prizza & the new gun BP player

Quinn/ Atko / Daniher / T Slatts / Jetta / Bellie as spares

[tubbis]

-Someone to help Jobe with the clearances. We can't have a midfield that relies almost soley on a guy with questionable pace and skills, even if he is a gun.
-Slattery tries his heart out and I think has been good, but we need someone to shut down the small forwards more effectively.
-Our ruck depth is questionable. Ryder and Hille will be a great combination but Bellchambers is servicable at best and Laycock has shown little, even before injury.
-We lack a good medium/small leading forward. Someone like Morton, LeCras or the Porpoise.

Thoughts?

1. Not everyone needs to be the fast athlete. We can't have a midfield full of small-bodied, quick defenders. Watson's skill is getting there. That said, point taken and I always hopedHocking or Longergan could develop into that type of in-and-under player.

2. Slats has been okay at shutting down players. Had some shockers and blinders. I hope Houli doesn't get used in that role- he's a midfielder through and through. If only Atkinson or Dempsey could tighten up their defensive games, we'd be okay in this department.

3. Our ruck depth isn't questionable. It's just that we've had a horrific run with injuries to ruckmen. I mean it's very rare for your top 3 ruckmen to be out of action. Also, we have Belly and Bock, who are both young. There's no need for more than 5 ruckmen on a list.

4. Ryan O'Keefe damnit! Absolute gun who plays this role perfectly. Plus he has the engine to play in the Midfield. We currently have Angus Monfries as the small-mid lead up forward but having another one would be mighty handy :thumbsu:

[zen dice man]

4. Ryan O'Keefe damnit! Absolute gun who plays this role perfectly. Plus he has the engine to play in the Midfield. We currently have Angus Monfries as the small-mid lead up forward but having another one would be mighty handy :thumbsu:

Agree 100 % - isn't he also a local Essendon boy ?

[efcboy]

looking at the wish list above i'd say the only way we'll get all these things is to merge with geelong!

however personally i'm quite happy with the balance our list currently has and the age of players on it. i believe essendon are in a very strong position going forward and i'm quite content to just take the best player available at all draft choices.

we have plenty of coverage in ruck.
we have plenty of key position players some of which can be swung from end to end.
i'd expect myers to emerge as another clearance player and tyson slattery as a medium defender.

in terms of winning premierships next decade i wouldn't swap our list for anyone elses.

[Knight Ryders]

Time.

The Frog and the Porpoise are freaks with their skill and don't come around every two seconds. Monfries can do the job and will be even more effective once we get a more stable forward line.

[SDR223]

-Someone to help Jobe with the clearances. We can't have a midfield that relies almost soley on a guy with questionable pace and skills, even if he is a gun.
Definetly need a Kerr, Sewell, Bartel type of player
-Slattery tries his heart out and I think has been good, but we need someone to shut down the small forwards more effectively.
Agree with this also - Another Damian Hardwick would be great
-Our ruck depth is questionable. Ryder and Hille will be a great combination but Bellchambers is servicable at best and Laycock has shown little, even before injury.
Might not be too bad if we can get most of the season out of Hille and laycock.
-We lack a good medium/small leading forward. Someone like Morton, LeCras or the Porpoise.
We've got a few lead up forwards - Monfires, Zaharakis, Daniher so if we can get some good performances out of these guys we should be right.

Thoughts?

See above

[strategy]

constant goal kickers and a backman

[Giggidy Giggidy]

-Someone to help Jobe with the clearances. We can't have a midfield that relies almost soley on a guy with questionable pace and skills, even if he is a gun. Hocking; Lonergan & Myers coming through. Welsh & McVeigh are okay. Not a huge issue, but needs attention.
-Slattery tries his heart out and I think has been good, but we need someone to shut down the small forwards more effectively. Agree. Cannot see us progressing with H Slatts as our number #1 lockdown defender. Has the heart, but not the pace, skill and most importantly footy smarts.
-Our ruck depth is questionable. Ryder and Hille will be a great combination but Bellchambers is servicable at best and Laycock has shown little, even before injury. Not an issue
-We lack a good medium/small leading forward. Someone like Morton, LeCras or the Porpoise. Monfries shouldn't have to play as a small CHF next year and will excell in this role. Not an issue.

Thoughts?

See above

[adii_7]

james hird.

[daffo]

Gun outside mid.

[HighettBomber]

I don't think we are lacking anwhere in particular, we just have too many players whose skills and decision making crumble under pressure. We need some more skillful and mentally tough players.

[stay true]

To me, it's glaringly obvious that we need another extractor in the veign of Watson.

[warney7]

Team needs: Time

Supporters need: Patience

[Smokin]

I honestly think we "only" need a gun clearance hard bodies midfielder or 2, and the squad can pick up the remainder of the rest.

For example, allowing McVeigh to play predominantly as a small defender is a huge plus. He killed the porpoise first game, and was doing a great job in the final until he was put into the midfield. Myers with his bigger body may be an option from within, lets hope. Like Watson, outside roles perhaps are doing him extremely little justice. I have liked his inside work at Bendigo at times.

I think that is his position quietly. Lets forget about him in the midfield, he can be extremely valuable in a lockdown role. This releases Slattery to take the 2nd best smaller defender. Add in running backs in Dempsey, atkinson if he improves with another pre-season under the belts of Pears/Hurley/Hooker/Daniher we have a truckload of options to go with (or without when the time comes) Fletcher.

It also means we dont need to rely upon perhaps Reimers and Winder as much in the midfield, who can be extremely effective speedy lead up options in the forwardline, when fit even more so. We only got a slight tease this season with these 2.

The only other area of concern I have is the crumbing offensive small forward. I dont think Davey/Jetta etc really give us enough offensively in this area. We need bite when the keys dont take the mark. They dont seem to have the crumbers mentallity instrinsictly built in. I think Davey has the ability to learn it though, next year will be interesting for him a year after the knee. I think Zaharakis may be an option here as he develops in the next year or 2.

I think we have to go with the best available mid with pick 10.

Id also look at a trade to get a crumber, or perhaps trade up our 2nd pick to pick a crumbing type who may be doing well over in Perth at the moment.

Imagine a Rioli (or even a Betts for that matter), or Milne type to go with Davey in our forwardline. So much bite there. I feel we really lack in this area, and can make our forwardline look a bit uncreative at times.

[bombersrbest05]

Imagine a Rioli (or even a Betts for that matter), or Milne type to go with Davey in our forwardline. So much bite there. I feel we really lack in this area, and can make our forwardline look a bit uncreative at times.

Agreed 100%, this is what we have been lacking in the forward line and I don't think Davey is that sort of player. It would be great if we could get a creative crumbing forward in the draft or even one of north's like Matt Campbell or Lindsay Thomas if they were willing to trade

[DaSawx]

Agreed 100%, this is what we have been lacking in the forward line and I don't think Davey is that sort of player. It would be great if we could get a creative crumbing forward in the draft or even one of north's like Matt Campbell or Lindsay Thomas if they were willing to trade

Exactly what I want, a goal kicking small forward, Davey just doesn't do enough offensively, and if we want to move forward and win some finals over the next few years we need a consistent, dangerous forward line.

Reimers could kick 30+ goals if he played 22 games but I'm not sure the coaches would want to keep him in the goal square all year.

[Bambino]

As the season has ended, for us anyway, we all start thinking what we need for the future years to come. We all know that stars like Kerr, O'Keefe and Haselby all seem chances, however slight they may be, to move onto other clubs.

My questions is would you want someone to come in for a few years in those positions or would you prefer for Essendon to "keep the faith" in their youngsters and get them to develop as a group to push for the next flag?

I would prefer to keep faith in the midfield group as I think a number of them have potential to develop into a really crack team. In saying this, the temptation to push quick half back flankers into the middle (ie Dempsey, Atkinson) needs to be ignored and make them own that back half.

If any trades I would like to see would be O'Keefe come to help the forward line. In the other footy areas I would trade little and let the group come on as I think they will.

[HFF_07]

1) Thomas German, a rookie i now, and only a slight 177cm, but he is an in and under type player who showed something at times this year at Bendigo.

2) David Myers, played a large chunk of the latter part of the year as an inside midfielder at Bendigo and really excelled, and with a booming left boot like he has I can see him becoming an extremely valuable member of our side next year.

3) Another inside midfielder would be nice, but time and patience with Hocking and Lonergan, and even German and we may unearth ourselves a gem, Hocking showed at times this year what he is capapble of, so give him time, he is only 21, another pre season and he will be hitting his prime.

4) I think our ruck stocks are very thin, with Hille coming back from a knee, can we guarantee 22 games from him next year? Does Bellchambers have the commitment and the tenacity to push himself to become a very good ruckmen, Bock is an unknown and Laycock is unknown with what lies ahead for him.

5) Slatts does his job, but who is going to do his job if he was not there? he is the best we have but if we could get Jacob Surjan from Port then hell yeah, apart from that, we have good coverage across the board I must admit.

6) I personally think that we are ok with what we have, with maybe another ruckmen required as Laycock I feel is dead wood. Draft is the key now, pick up players who are going to be very good players and we will begin to push top 4 again.

[tubbis]

I'd only consider O'Keefe. He was obviously disgruntled at Sydney, seeking a trade and subsequently denied. Major talent, big engine and a good skill set to boot. Proven performer who still has a good few years left in him.

Aside from him, I'd stick with what we have and take our chances with the draft.

[Windas_Magic]

O'Keefe will finish his career at the Swans, i'm pretty sure he signed a 3 year contract last year.

I personally would chase Shaun Burgoyne, class midfielder and would love him at the Bombers.

[DaSawx]

I'd like Daniel Kerr, I think he'd really complement Jobe well, I just think the Weagles would only deal if they are clear winners, which is quite off-putting

[NathanS]

Of the players that are in the firing line of being delisted are Jetta (FWD), Skipworth (FWD), Williams (FWD), and Nash (BACK).

To me it's obviously up forward where we need new talent. Throughout this year (particularly the second half) it became apparent how disfunctional our forward line is.

Our back-line is emerging beautifully - Pears, Hooker, Hurley, Dempsey. As for our forward line - the greatest promise is Hurley - a player originally pencilled into our back-half.

I do not believe Davey will ever regain the pace he's lost. Jetta doesn't seem to have the attitude and pace to replace him. If we only had drafted Cyril Rioli.

With Nash not looking the goods another player who can help Slattery out would be nice (Houli hasn't come up as I expected him to).

And finally an inside midside mid who can be developed to help Watson out.

[The Donners]

Agreed 100%, this is what we have been lacking in the forward line and I don't think Davey is that sort of player. It would be great if we could get a creative crumbing forward in the draft or even one of north's like Matt Campbell or Lindsay Thomas if they were willing to trade

I'd persevere with Jetta if you're looking at Campbell or Thomas.

[Kong]

This has already been covered, but my view is:

1) Small forward to provide genuine crumbing quality. (i.e. Betts, Thomas)
2) Extra inside midfielder to compliment Jobe (I have a feeling either or both of Hocking and Myers will have breakout years next year)
3) Extra defender able to play on the dangerous forwards.
4) Our attacking midfielders (Stanton, Prismall, Winderlich, Lovett) to greatly improve their defensive side.

Of these four needs, I feel we're capable of producing the last three.

2) As mentioned, I feel we have the players on our list. Hocking or Myers can hopefully fill this position. Any young player we draft to potentially fill this position is a bonus.
3) Would like to see McVeigh moved permanently down back. Combining with Slattery, I feel these two are more than capable.

Daniher is the wildcard, here; he has the pace, marking ability and potential ability to play on both the third tall and small forwards.
4) I honestly believe that Stanton's still improving in this area; his tackle counts in some games this year were very encouraging. He has the work ethic, and feel if Knights drives the point home, he'll pick this area of his game up. Prismall is in the same boat, while Winderlich has time on his side. Lovett is the genuine worry here.

Which brings me back to #1.

I really hope that we recruit some genuine crumbing talent to our club this summer. I've seen a few names thrown about in regards to the national draft, and the Rookie Draft has proven a goldmine for the small, pacey Aboriginal types. North Melbourne did brilliantly to land Lindsay Thomas and Matt Campbell a few years ago.

[The Donners]

No one above the age of 25. If we're looking at a 2011 premiership at the earliest, Kerr at 28 may be done for phsycially, he's already injury prone.

[Call Me Cake]

All we need, is a good run with injuries.

[zen dice man]

I really hope that we recruit some genuine crumbing talent to our club this summer. I've seen a few names thrown about in regards to the national draft, and the Rookie Draft has proven a goldmine for the small, pacey Aboriginal types. North Melbourne did brilliantly to land Lindsay Thomas and Matt Campbell a few years ago.

Ahh the diamond in the rough..

I had my eye on Jurrah before the season started & thought we should have taken him ahead of Skippy. Sometimes when I am in Melb with a Dees game on Sunday, I head to the G to watch this guy turn it on.

Remeber the name, Jurrah will be bigger than J Watts IMO.

[essendon2008]

O'Keefe will finish his career at the Swans, i'm pretty sure he signed a 3 year contract last year.

I personally would chase Shaun Burgoyne, class midfielder and would love him at the Bombers.

Yeah you're right about O'Keefe. He signed a contract after not being traded. I thought it was 2 but now you say 3 that sounds right.

[the soup]

just off topic a bit but how is the progress with gumby going, any chance of gettin through a pre season? and should we stick with him if he fails again to get up for next year, thanks

[the soup]

O'Keefe will finish his career at the Swans, i'm pretty sure he signed a 3 year contract last year.

I personally would chase Shaun Burgoyne, class midfielder and would love him at the Bombers.

have to agree there, would love the polish of a burgoyne to compiment our hard inside mids, pushing him forward aswell as a medium forward, who can crumb and provide as a marking target, ideal imo. what would we be willing to give up for him?

[Windas_Magic]

have to agree there, would love the polish of a burgoyne to compiment our hard inside mids, pushing him forward aswell as a medium forward, who can crumb and provide as a marking target, ideal imo. what would we be willing to give up for him?
Would have to be pick 10 + a player.

[banta]

james hird.

haha. i think we have about 15 years or so until we have a couple hird jnr's potentially at our disposal.:)

[Valve Bounce]

We need Alwyn Davey to get his old form back. He appears to have gained a few kilos and lost some zip after his injuries. I want the old Alwyn back!! :(

I don't know about Gumbleton, and I suppose nobody does. I can only keep my fingers crossed for him to recover fully.

WE need both Ryder and Hille in the team.

And I agree: we definitely need another strong midfielder to help Jobe out.

[Call Me Cake]

Ahh the diamond in the rough..

I had my eye on Jurrah before the season started & thought we should have taken him ahead of Skippy. Sometimes when I am in Melb with a Dees game on Sunday, I head to the G to watch this guy turn it on.

Remeber the name, Jurrah will be bigger than J Watts IMO.

IMO, Jurrah only seems so good at Melbourne because everyone else in the team is shit.

Yes, even Watts.

[bombre-boy]

We need the selection committee to stop ballsing up team selections...
I reckon they had a hand in losing us 3 games this year..
Pillicks..

[jsd09]

Bachar Houli in the midfield may solve our problems he is awesome.

[ohhhBigMalcho]

you guys definatly need another strong inside contested ball winner to help out watson so how about shane tuck? he led the comp in clearences up until round 17 which is very impressive and it is stilll unknown why he was dropped to the vfl after that.
richmond have an abundanc of these sorts of midfielders such as foley and jackson so if we were to ask for pick 27 or maybe bachar houli as a trade would u consider it?

(he is 27 though he is a tuck afterall and could play until hes 40...)

[AFL LEGEND]

you guys definatly need another strong inside contested ball winner to help out watson so how about shane tuck? he led the comp in clearences up until round 17 which is very impressive and it is stilll unknown why he was dropped to the vfl after that.
richmond have an abundanc of these sorts of midfielders such as foley and jackson so if we were to ask for pick 27 or maybe bachar houli as a trade would u consider it?

(he is 27 though he is a tuck afterall and could play until hes 40...)

We dont need Tuck, we already have Welsh (who is Essendon's version of Tuck, just not as good) and have a couple of young kids coming through who are able to play an inside midfield role in Hocking and Lonergan, Hocking showed at times this year that he is going to be more than capable of playing thie role with Watson.

[Tailypo]

Myers is also being groomed to play an 'extractor' role alongside Watson and, from all reports, is quite good at it in close.

[Darealrath]

Myers is also being groomed to play an 'extractor' role alongside Watson and, from all reports, is quite good at it in close.

That would be massive if he can become that player. We desperately need to add a top class midfielder to contend, just hoping he's already on the list or we fluke one in this years draft.

An opportunistic, consistent small/medium forward would be very nice too. I like Monfries a lot, but he doesn't have the ability to create goals from nothing.

[Giggidy Giggidy]

An opportunistic, consistent small/medium forward would be very nice too. I like Monfries a lot, but he doesn't have the ability to create goals from nothing.

Has a rare ability to buckle at the kness at the right moment and earn a free kick to create goals from nothing! :D

In all seriousness, I think once we get some stability with our KPFs and Gus can move away from being the pseudo-CHF we will have a pretty special small-medium forward on our hands.

[zen dice man]

you guys definatly need another strong inside contested ball winner to help out watson so how about shane tuck? he led the comp in clearences up until round 17 which is very impressive and it is stilll unknown why he was dropped to the vfl after that.
richmond have an abundanc of these sorts of midfielders such as foley and jackson so if we were to ask for pick 27 or maybe bachar houli as a trade would u consider it?

(he is 27 though he is a tuck afterall and could play until hes 40...)

We could use a very good clearance player like Shane Tuck. But I am not willing to offer Houli given Tucks age, or pick 27. He would be worth it for a team closer to a flag, like a Collingwood or a Bulldogs.

I would be happy to offer Skippy, Jetta, Nash, Atko but some how I cant see this deal happening for us.

[Smyth94]

Would love to have a medium forward who can kick 30-50 goals a season - I'm not confident that Monfries is the answer.

Geelong - SJ
Dogs - Higgins, Aker, Johnson
Saints - Scneider, Milne
Collingwood - Medhurst, Davis
Carlton - Betts
Adelaide - Knights, Porps, Burton

All the top sides have small/medium forwards who kick 30+ goals, we're definitely missing this, Monfries kicked just a pinch over 20 goals this season - although injuries don't help.

I'm very confident Reimers + Zaka could end up kicking 30+ goals - we've got the raw talent, we just need time and patience.

That being said, I'd like to see how Gus would go in a side with a lot more I50's and better delivery.

Another inside mid with reasonable skill would definitely help us - between Lonergan, Hocking and Myers we've got some talent in that department - IMO we need to be patient, there's not a great need to break the bank and chase an established mid (unless he comes at the right price of course)

[TheDon35]

Here's a few,

Slattery's position to be given to Welsh or McVeigh

Lovett Murray and Skipworth to make way for the likes of T Slattery & Myers and for those 2 guys to show significant improvement which I think they will.

Gumbleton to play most of the year. Our half forward line is screaming out for his type of player. Please god allow this guy to play

The emergence of a gun mid (Selwood type). Where from I don't exactly know. I hope Myers can play more in there next year. Surely we'll draft a genuine mid with our first round.

Another full pre-season into Prismall and IMO he could well be in the 40 man AA squad next year.

David Hill back.

More games from Houli and Reimers.

A mid size half forward ala Steve Johnson.

A good run with injuries,

Neagle to loose 5kg's and have a good look at it.

[windyhill]

The ability to consistently perform at interstate venues. This is our No.1 problem.