Ben the Gooner
7 Apr 2010, 23:09
We don't like them. They don't like us. In our softer moments, we pity them. But normally, we just enjoy the fact that they haven't beaten us since Denis Pagan (remember him?:D) was coach. Dubbed RatZer0 in Bay 13, Essendon, as the bastions of all that is good, continue that legacy, with a 5-0 record against Ratten's Carlton. Matty Knights has been coach for 4 of those, including some truly memorable encounters. It's starting to get to the point where we have a serious mental advantage over Carlton. Put simply, they are our bitches.:)
http://www.essendonfc.com.au/images/09/rd13_2009_16.jpg
But that doesn't mean we're shoe-ins for number 6 in a row. Put simply, the performance against Fremantle was shithouse. We started OK, but poor footskills meant we didn't turn our tactical advantage (and it was definitely there in the first half) into any sort of scoreboard advantage. When Freo inevitably stepped it up in the second half, our still poor footskills and unwillingness to run in both directions were our downfall. Unfortunately, these aren't minor oversights. Footskills and defensive running are probably the two most important aspects of any team's game when it comes to preventing the opposition from scoring. The side that beat Geelong comprehensively, to the point of forcing them to lose composure at times, for three quarters looks markedly different to the team which utterly capitulated for its last five quarters. But the personnel haven't really changed. Reimers and Neagle for Myers and McVeigh isn't really a huge difference either way. Yet something clicked (or didn't) for them to turn a promising start to the season into a steaming pile of shit.
There's positives and negatives in that situation. The positive is that with a little mental application, we can become the side which played so well early against Geelong. The talent is there, and we've seen first hand that it's there, so there's always the chance that it'll all click again. The downside is that we seem to be up for big games, but not for "lesser" sides like Freo. We found out to our detriment on Sunday that there are no lesser sides. We lost 4 points because of that. The flipside to that is that this team seems to find an extra 10% against the old rival. We're capable of giving them an absolute touching up, even with their talisman in:
http://www.essendonfc.com.au/images/09/rd13_2009_10.jpg
So let's leave the diabolical start behind us, and focus on the task at hand: kicking our season off while ****ing theirs up.
We have the better talls. This is indisputable fact. I defy parrot to disagree with me. Tayte Pears and Cale Hooker are at the start of their third year, Pears as a bottom aged player. Not only are they holding down FB and CHB in a finals team, they are doing so with aplomb. Again, I defy anyone to name two young key defenders with as much promise as well as AFL form. Jamison and Bower need not apply. That's not to mention that Michael Hurley bloke, who goes all right. He can be a back-up defender. The absence of anyone good from their forwardline will play right into the hands of these two, who are more than willing to run forward.
Up forward, we have less exposed AFL form, and probably less potential, but the latter is still there in bucketloads. Anyone with a clue who has watched Neagle will tell you that he has pace on the lead, a good pair of dukes, and a lovely set shot. If he can find the fitness and confidence to match the talent, he'll be a very handy full forward. Scott Gumbleton is a 2 metre stick of hype. After a poor return from a 2 year layoff, Gumby showed what everyone was hoping he would. Contested marks, strong leads and goals and assists were just what the doctor ordered. With a bit of confidence, this young man will show why we used pick 2 on him, not Joel Selwood. Maybe they won't do much this year, but long term I hold plenty of hope for these two. Aided and abetted by M. Hurley, of course.
Fortunately, we have cover for the short term. Mark "Shotgun" Williams is a laconic footballer, and put in two Barry Crockers to open the season. Any laconic footballer worth his salt gets up for the big games. And how many games are bigger than Essendon and Carlton on a Saturday night at a packed out MCG? I'd argue that Willo's GF and PF appearances were the two main ones which rival this sort of match. He was best on in one, and second best on in the other. Very good footballers don't have three bad games in a row. Williams is a very good footballer, and he's had two bad ones.
http://www.essendonfc.com.au/images/09/rd13_2009_8.jpg
The midfield is an odd one. On paper, theirs is unquestionably better. Judd (albeit suspended), Murphy and Gibbs are better than our midfielders. Yet whenever the two midfields go head to head, ours comes out on top. I put that down to depth. Yes, Murphy and Gibbs are better than Watson and Stanton. But Prismall, Welsh, Winderlich, Hocking and co. tear McLean, Scotland, Carrazzo, Simpson and Walker a new one.
Add in the physical dominance of David Hille over young gun ruckmen Warnock and Kreuzer, and you have the formula for a victory over Carlton.
But they will be up for this game. So we have to be too. As simple as that. If we play at 100%, we win. If we don't, or if we're not allowed to, we lose.
But what is boils down to is this. Carlton are scum. Filthy, horrible, cheating, mercenary scum. Essendon are not scum. We have to smash these pricks because not smashing them would mean letting them beat us. We have to smash them, and we will smash them. We're the good guys. This is Essendon, and I'll tell you something: I ****ing love this club.
http://www.essendonfc.com.au/images/09/rd13_2009_28.jpg
Essendon by 17 points
http://www.essendonfc.com.au/images/09/rd13_2009_16.jpg
But that doesn't mean we're shoe-ins for number 6 in a row. Put simply, the performance against Fremantle was shithouse. We started OK, but poor footskills meant we didn't turn our tactical advantage (and it was definitely there in the first half) into any sort of scoreboard advantage. When Freo inevitably stepped it up in the second half, our still poor footskills and unwillingness to run in both directions were our downfall. Unfortunately, these aren't minor oversights. Footskills and defensive running are probably the two most important aspects of any team's game when it comes to preventing the opposition from scoring. The side that beat Geelong comprehensively, to the point of forcing them to lose composure at times, for three quarters looks markedly different to the team which utterly capitulated for its last five quarters. But the personnel haven't really changed. Reimers and Neagle for Myers and McVeigh isn't really a huge difference either way. Yet something clicked (or didn't) for them to turn a promising start to the season into a steaming pile of shit.
There's positives and negatives in that situation. The positive is that with a little mental application, we can become the side which played so well early against Geelong. The talent is there, and we've seen first hand that it's there, so there's always the chance that it'll all click again. The downside is that we seem to be up for big games, but not for "lesser" sides like Freo. We found out to our detriment on Sunday that there are no lesser sides. We lost 4 points because of that. The flipside to that is that this team seems to find an extra 10% against the old rival. We're capable of giving them an absolute touching up, even with their talisman in:
http://www.essendonfc.com.au/images/09/rd13_2009_10.jpg
So let's leave the diabolical start behind us, and focus on the task at hand: kicking our season off while ****ing theirs up.
We have the better talls. This is indisputable fact. I defy parrot to disagree with me. Tayte Pears and Cale Hooker are at the start of their third year, Pears as a bottom aged player. Not only are they holding down FB and CHB in a finals team, they are doing so with aplomb. Again, I defy anyone to name two young key defenders with as much promise as well as AFL form. Jamison and Bower need not apply. That's not to mention that Michael Hurley bloke, who goes all right. He can be a back-up defender. The absence of anyone good from their forwardline will play right into the hands of these two, who are more than willing to run forward.
Up forward, we have less exposed AFL form, and probably less potential, but the latter is still there in bucketloads. Anyone with a clue who has watched Neagle will tell you that he has pace on the lead, a good pair of dukes, and a lovely set shot. If he can find the fitness and confidence to match the talent, he'll be a very handy full forward. Scott Gumbleton is a 2 metre stick of hype. After a poor return from a 2 year layoff, Gumby showed what everyone was hoping he would. Contested marks, strong leads and goals and assists were just what the doctor ordered. With a bit of confidence, this young man will show why we used pick 2 on him, not Joel Selwood. Maybe they won't do much this year, but long term I hold plenty of hope for these two. Aided and abetted by M. Hurley, of course.
Fortunately, we have cover for the short term. Mark "Shotgun" Williams is a laconic footballer, and put in two Barry Crockers to open the season. Any laconic footballer worth his salt gets up for the big games. And how many games are bigger than Essendon and Carlton on a Saturday night at a packed out MCG? I'd argue that Willo's GF and PF appearances were the two main ones which rival this sort of match. He was best on in one, and second best on in the other. Very good footballers don't have three bad games in a row. Williams is a very good footballer, and he's had two bad ones.
http://www.essendonfc.com.au/images/09/rd13_2009_8.jpg
The midfield is an odd one. On paper, theirs is unquestionably better. Judd (albeit suspended), Murphy and Gibbs are better than our midfielders. Yet whenever the two midfields go head to head, ours comes out on top. I put that down to depth. Yes, Murphy and Gibbs are better than Watson and Stanton. But Prismall, Welsh, Winderlich, Hocking and co. tear McLean, Scotland, Carrazzo, Simpson and Walker a new one.
Add in the physical dominance of David Hille over young gun ruckmen Warnock and Kreuzer, and you have the formula for a victory over Carlton.
But they will be up for this game. So we have to be too. As simple as that. If we play at 100%, we win. If we don't, or if we're not allowed to, we lose.
But what is boils down to is this. Carlton are scum. Filthy, horrible, cheating, mercenary scum. Essendon are not scum. We have to smash these pricks because not smashing them would mean letting them beat us. We have to smash them, and we will smash them. We're the good guys. This is Essendon, and I'll tell you something: I ****ing love this club.
http://www.essendonfc.com.au/images/09/rd13_2009_28.jpg
Essendon by 17 points