Essendon players and their fresher legs....?

[pazza]

Expecting Essendon to name a very strong 22 even if it is underdone this week.

As for Hawthorn, there wasn't that much between them and us last year, despite the pressure on us via the saga, so it'll be an interesting contest.

 

[Pessimistic]

Expecting Essendon to name a very strong 22 even if it is underdone this week.

As for Hawthorn, there wasn't that much between them and us last year, despite the pressure on us via the saga, so it'll be an interesting contest.

Keep believing that. We also lost to geelong port and sydney during the year

 

["The Roar Is Back"]

Essendon's side shouldn't be underdone they haven't been given any penalty , whilst they have known their fate for many months .
I am sure Gillian will ensure there season is given every opportunity to succeed .
Which I'd suggest is the reason they have got sides they are unlikely to beat early on .
They'll get more than their fair share rub of the men in green, sneak into the finals and play off in the grand final .
The script has long been written .

 

[Bomberblitzer]

I'm not sure what we missed out on in the NAB Challenge. Surely there can't be that much value in playing a VFL St Kilda side at half-intensity.

There are no excuses come round one - win or loss. In any case, I'm just looking forward to the footy.

 

[schmuttt]

We don't play them till round 15, that is when the wheels normally fall off.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

I'm more concerned about the impact not having played will have on the percentages and potentially points the teams will have in their first few matches.

Sydney and Hawthorn will be the biggest beneficiaries and if they either make top 4 or top 8 due to 4 points and/or a small percentage difference than I think the season will be tainted.

Essendon usually start the season strong and they could win either of those matches.

To be honest though Essendon have really stuffed the AFL since 2013.

Little known fact: percentage is quite possibly the single most overrated thing in the AFL. Realistically, percentage would only truly matter when it's the difference between playing finals and not playing finals (8th/9th), a home final and an away final (6th/7th, 2nd/3rd) or the double chance and an elimination final (4th/5th). So how many times has percentage come into play to decide those spots in the past five years? Twice. And it hasn't happened at all since 2011, when St Kilda got the 6th/7th home elimination final against Sydney (and lost).

 

[blitzer]

Just sticking to the OP's premise - I don't think we will have fresher legs at the tail end of the season. Whatever game time the players would have played would be more or less balanced off by additional match practice in training. Plus preseason games are much lower intensity with a longer break before round 1 so everyone comes in fresh in round 1 if they have no injuries.

Whether we will be worse in the first few rounds than otherwise - maybe, maybe not. Against Sydney in Sydney and Hawthorn we would have gone in major underdogs anyway. Even after the game people probably won't know the affect of missing those preseason games. I don't think it will have any significant impact on the competition whatsoever.
I also doubt we will get belted in either game against last years grand finalists. I expect we will be a very competitive outfit this year and will play finals.

 

[floodbuster]

A hypothetical.... as that's all we can do before the season proper starts. I don't want to go in to the ASADA findings as that would deem this thread to be in the wrong place, and it's not.

Now that it appears Essendons 34 players are legal to play (save for any appeal), is there anyone else here feeling that Essendons slow start to the season could actually prove beneficial come August, September?

Think about it. They've had a lot less lead up and are probably ill-prepared compared to many others clubs. This may be a deficit in the first few weeks of competition, but playing Sydney and Hawthorn mean that they're clubs they would likely lose against anyway. If Essendon lost to Brisbane and St Kilda early on due to being unprepared you would have reason to be upset, but against Sydney and Hawthorn you take that on the chin.

Could Essendon come out fresher at the end of the year and put rights to a Hollywood blockbuster plot line?

More likely there are 17 sets of hamstrings ready to ping in a few days time.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

The other thing is I'd rather win lots early, secure a top 4 place and be able to rest guys through the back end of the season than lose early and have to play hard down to the wire late in the season even if guys started a few weeks later.

That's how Geelong has tended to do it since 2007 (with only 2012 not following that blueprint). Hot start, lull from about round 12-18 and then finish reasonably strongly.

 

[4tone]

If they employ Dank and Robinson this month, they will be cherry ripe by September.

 

[ItsAllAboutMe]

Sydney lost to GWas last year round 1, they notoriously take pre season with a grain of salt and only rock up properly at about round 5..

 

[HTPunter]

Keep believing that. We also lost to geelong port and sydney during the year

I think that was the point of the post...Hawks beat them by what, 3 points? In round 2 as well?

No implication was ever made about Essendon being close to Hawthorn overall.

 

[Dan26]

I could be way off the mark, but I have a sneaking suspicion, the Essendon players will be walking on water a bit, and will come out of the blocks 100 miles and hour.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

Don't be surprised what the emotional drop could do
A full strength essendon are 50/50, but, add the emotion fatigue, and they could be 0 wins at the halfway point

 

[Boppo]

Yeah nah Essendon will take far too long to get going.

Yep, will have the lowest number of possessions for Q1 for the year

 

[Doss]

We'll be short of a gallop and I can't see us getting close to either Sydney or Hawthorn.

 

[kolchak]

Syndey are generally slow starters so I reckon Essendon will win round 1.

 

[Ambrosia]

Syndey are generally slow starters so I reckon Essendon will win round 1.

Essendon winning seems like a long shot but I wouldn't be surprised if we are leading for big parts of the game. Surely the fact that over 50% of our side isn't match fit will stop us from being any chance.

 

[Sydney Bloods]

the risk is being too underdone.

the fact is the you need match fitness, without game time it isn't so much losing matches as it is suffering injuries from trying to keep up with tested bodies. thats match fitness, these guys are professionals they're not going to have an issue running out games or even kicking goals.

the problem thy face is an increased risk of injuries. Going against teams that are strong is worse. try keeping up with hawthorns kicking game. trying to take Sydney's heavy tackles. there's going to be some really sore bodies down essendon way.

apart from carlton fans, nobody wants to see an essendon player tear a quad as they try to out run cyril or compete with tippett in the goal square.

 

[Slax]

Actually think they might run out of puff and struggle to finish the match, which is why the AFL gave them Sydney first up. It's a game they didn't expect them to win so knowing the players would be provisionally suspended until just before round 1 meant that it would give a team a win they wouldn't of expected.

 

[Caj]

Expect them to be 0 - 2 with a % of about 35%, going to be hard to make that up later in the year

 

[HBF]

Yeah nah Essendon will take far too long to get going.

This.
The preseason is for building match fitness, not for saving players.
Can see them struggling in the second halves in at least the first month of footy.

 

[Pessimistic]

Little known fact: percentage is quite possibly the single most overrated thing in the AFL. Realistically, percentage would only truly matter when it's the difference between playing finals and not playing finals (8th/9th), a home final and an away final (6th/7th, 2nd/3rd) or the double chance and an elimination final (4th/5th). So how many times has percentage come into play to decide those spots in the past five years? Twice. And it hasn't happened at all since 2011, when St Kilda got the 6th/7th home elimination final against Sydney (and lost).

Sydney got the friday night prelim and extra day with a miniscule percentage difference last year.

Wouldntmatter if the afl had stuck to a saturday day prelim

 

[Pessimistic]

In all this, I dont see anyone thinking the swans might have a point to prove after last years result ?

 

[FlowersByIrene]

I am fully comfortable theyll be banned by the end of the season and if not theyre not a good enough side to make finals anyway