marcuz
Norm Smith Medallist
Player #16
Kepler Bradley 198cms 86kgs
Strengths:
Kepler for a man 198 cms has tremendous agility, moves very well across the ground. Much like fellow big men Matthew Richardson and Daniel Bandy Kepler is an amazing endurance athlete and can run hard all day. Kepler also has a tremendous work ethic as he seems prepared to not only run forward of the ball but also run hard back and play defensively. For a man of his size he has no problems grabbing the ball below his knees. Can pick it up like a rover. I think he can make a terrific centre half back or roaming half forward. Let him use his running power to his advantage.
Weaknesses:
Kepler is pencil thin, he makes Lara Flynn-Boyle look like The Rock. He will put on some weight as time goes on but I can’t see him putting on much with his “Dustin Fletcher” like body shape. Although Kepler is an outstanding endurance athlete he is far from explosive. As Mark Harvey said recently on the Essendon website Kepler may move like Dustin but he isn’t as explosive and fast as Dustin is. This may preclude Kepler from playing full-back which is such a pace and power position these days. I think you are wasting a kid like Kepler there anyway so it may be a blessing in disguise. Kepler’s kicking is ordinary. He drops the ball on the boot awkwardly. From what some posters from WA on bigfooty tell me he does tend to rush his kicks. When he settles down and balances up his kicking improves out of sight
.
Prediction for 2004:
I can’t see him playing a lot of senior footy this year. We don’t need him to. Kepler just needs to bulk up and settle in this year by playing some good footy with Bendigo, Such is Sheedy’s way expect him to give the kid a game somewhere along the line. We have plenty of height in the reserves and as I stated before I’d like to see him play centre half back. His endurance and agility will allow him to stay tight on his man and have the ability to run off. Some bomber fans want to turn him into a midfielder but his skills would hurt us more than help us. And he hasn’t a great goal kicking record so close to goal isn’t an option yet. Stewart Loewe turned himself into a decent kick for goal so maybe Kepler can do the same. He is only 19 and has plenty of improvement in him. If he can put it all together over the next few years then pick 6 in the 2003 draft might be one of the most inspired picks in any draft by the Essendon Football club.
Player #17
Darren Walsh 184cms 79kgs
Strengths:
Pace, pace and more pace. There are plenty of players in the league who are super quick like Darren. But a lot of them don’t use it enough, Ramanauskas is a good example of that. Walsh though loves to back himself and take blokes on and that is what makes him exciting to watch. Darren has fantastic balance. I said this a year ago when I first saw him play and I’ll say it again and that is he reminds so much of a young Wanganeen in the way he moves and they way he plays, a very instinctive footballer. Generally his foot skills are quite good on both sides of his body. Works hard defensively to chase and tackle which is good to see from a kid who is so good offensively. Although he did spend the majority of his TAC cup football as a back pocket and on a back flank so I shouldn’t be too surprised that his defensive game is as good as it is.
Weaknesses:
Still very lean. Needs to add more muscle but according to reports he is well on his way to doing just that. Needs to find more of the ball. Darren doesn’t get enough of the ball as yet to really hurt teams. He did spend a hell of a lot of time up forward last year for Bendigo so it will be interesting to see him further up the field where he can be a lot more dangerous and give him a chance to get more of the pill.
Prediction for 2004:
Glandular fever has held him back a little for this year but I have no doubt he will play some footy in the seniors. 10-12 games maybe would be a good year for Darren. His pace and ability to back himself and run the lines is exactly what we need in the seniors. Another pre-season and some more experience in the seniors will all point to a big 2005 when I expect Walsh to really make an impact in the big time.
Player #18
Matthew Lloyd 191cms 94kgs
Strengths:
His leading from full forward is the best in the business. He times his leads to perfection. Very rarely do you see him run under the ball. Sometimes he does it intentionally to turn his man around but as a rule he times his leads better than anybody I’ve seen since Dunstall. Has great hands on the lead, once he gets a break and the ball is kicked to his advantage then it invariably gets swallowed in his vice like hands. Doesn’t drop any easy chances and rarely lets the tough chances out either. I wouldn’t say body strength is strength of his but it certainly isn’t a weakness. He is not a naturally powerful athlete but what he has done is bulked up to a point where he can hold his own with any full back in the comp. He is a very intelligent footballer and a natural footballer, quite often beats his opponent by out thinking him. By that I mean knowing where a ball is going to land. Reading the play quicker than his direct opponent and running to the right spot. Knowing whether to soccer off the ground or pick it up. Whether to tap the ball on or take possession, little things that can add up to goals for his team. Lloyd is a magnificent kick for goal. In my opinion only plugger was a better kick for goal in my time watching footy and not by much either. Any where inside 50 is money for jam with Lloyd and outside 50 he can be just as effective. Matty has developed a physical side to his game which has coincided with him putting on some bulk. I don’t think it comes natural to him but he certainly doesn’t have any fear crashing packs and it would make some of the younger blokes walk taller. Unselfish to a fault is Lloyd. Loves nothing better than to give off and bring other players into the play, again another trait he and Dunstall share. Also going by this seasons time trials Lloydy has fantastic endurance finished forth in one 3.2 km run which surprised me. It means playing out of full forward he can make numerous leads and not lose much pace therefore giving the full back nightmares trying to keep up. Or maybe he can play up the ground. He certainly has the windtank for it.
Weaknesses:
Lloydy loses his feet to many times in marking contests whether it be on the lead or a one on one wrestle. Most of the time he is playing for a free kick, which annoys me. But after seeing how many obvious holding frees the umpires don’t pay him I really can’t blame him for looking for a cheap free kick as he bloody deserves it. Other times he loses his footing for no reason which puts him out of the contest. Other than that there isn’t much to fault with Lloyd’s football ability. Probably the reason why he is such a superstar.
Prediction for 2004:
Another big year in store for Lloydy, 80- 90 goals he can get easily. If he is injury free and the midfield improves then 100 isn’t out of the question. Sheeds has already sounded out that Lloyd may play CHF. Take those words with a grain of salt. Sheeds loves to spin **** and all this CHF talk is a great Way to get the newspapers to write about Essendon in a positive light. Why move the best Full-forward away from where he causes so many problems for the opposition and where he is so valuable for Essendon. Lloydy has formed a great duo with Cupido. If we can get another tall forward to stand up(assuming Lucas is playing CHB) and help out Lloyd who is good for 4-5 goals every week then we might get back to that 99-2001 type firepower that used to make opposition defences **** themselves. Big year coming up for the EFC’s next captain.
Player #19
David Hille 202cms 110kgs
Strengths:
David is extremely mobile for a man his size. Reports have David at 110kgs and at that weight I can’t see him being monstered in any ruck contests anymore. Hille has no fear in marking contests. He is a terrific pack mark. Even if he doesn't mark it he is willing to crash packs and cause a spillage with no concern for his own safety. The game against the lions at the dome last year when he crashed the pack and left Mal Michael lying on the ground in pain is a perfect example of the type of damage this big fella can cause when he feels like it. Loves to push forward and kick a goal. He is a thumping kick when he kicks through the footy and he usually does that further out and is more accurate because of that fact. Get him closer to goal and he freezes up and misses way more than a kid with his kicking ability should. David has a very good leap, no doubt attributed to his very successful junior volleyball background.
Weaknesses:
Goal kicking. For F*** sake David, kick through the f****** ball. Too many times he stabs at the ball only to have it miss and sometimes by quite a margin. Ruckwork is not the best but he improved out of sight last year under the guidance of the great Simon Madden. I’m pretty confident that next year if I still have this much time on my hands and do these profiles again that his ruckwork will be in the strength area. Endurance was a question mark as most times during games he looks like he is having an asthma attack. But it seems going by the running results this pre season his endurance is pretty good.
Prediction for 2004:
Getting Matthew Allan to the club will do wonders for Hille’s game. He basically had to ruck on his own last year and to get somebody to the club who can not only give Hille a chop out in the ruck but make sure we lose nothing while Hille is resting is a bonus. Look for an improvement in his ruck work helping our on-ballers get first use out of the middle. Hopefully a much more successful year in front of goal as an on target David Hille resting in the forward line will cause plenty of headaches for the opposition and stop a lot of double and triple teams on Lloydy as Hille will demand a quality defender. As silly as it may sound David is nearly our most important player. If he has a big year in the ruck then I would expect the team to mirror that form.
Player #20
Ted Richards 192cms 90kgs
Strengths:
Ted has a marvellous work ethic, prides himself on his second and third efforts. Ted uses his good endurance to run far and wide to present up to the ball and often to run the other way and crumb to a contest. Not bad for a kid who is of key position size. Marking is also a strong point of Ted’s football. He has terrific hands combined with a great leap which makes him a dangerous target in the forward half. Ted moves very well in terms of his agility and pace. He often loses his man with either being too fast or beating him with hard running. He has all the makings of a very good third tall whether that be forward or back. I don’t think he has what it takes to hold down a key position though.
Weaknesses:
The Bear’s kicking needs some work. His field kicking isn’t so bad and he often hits targets but he does have more than his share of clangers. Goal kicking is where he struggles. He seems to be the opposite of David Hille in that the closer he is the more accurate he is. Get him around 40-50 metres out and he struggles quite badly. Ted’s not a natural footballer. Does not read the play as good as some, he makes up for it though through his athleticism and sheer hard work.
Prediction for 2004:
Ted was a horny man at a strip club last year…..STIFF!!!!. Often played some good games only to be rewarded by getting the arse from the match committee. Ted has the opportunity to make the third tall position his own, forward or back. I think back may be his position. He does struggle to convert his set shots into goals so to have him down back that fact becomes a non-factor. He deserves to play more senior games than he did last year and I think he will certainly get that chance. Expecting for a solid year for Essendon’s new cult figure.
Kepler Bradley 198cms 86kgs
Strengths:
Kepler for a man 198 cms has tremendous agility, moves very well across the ground. Much like fellow big men Matthew Richardson and Daniel Bandy Kepler is an amazing endurance athlete and can run hard all day. Kepler also has a tremendous work ethic as he seems prepared to not only run forward of the ball but also run hard back and play defensively. For a man of his size he has no problems grabbing the ball below his knees. Can pick it up like a rover. I think he can make a terrific centre half back or roaming half forward. Let him use his running power to his advantage.
Weaknesses:
Kepler is pencil thin, he makes Lara Flynn-Boyle look like The Rock. He will put on some weight as time goes on but I can’t see him putting on much with his “Dustin Fletcher” like body shape. Although Kepler is an outstanding endurance athlete he is far from explosive. As Mark Harvey said recently on the Essendon website Kepler may move like Dustin but he isn’t as explosive and fast as Dustin is. This may preclude Kepler from playing full-back which is such a pace and power position these days. I think you are wasting a kid like Kepler there anyway so it may be a blessing in disguise. Kepler’s kicking is ordinary. He drops the ball on the boot awkwardly. From what some posters from WA on bigfooty tell me he does tend to rush his kicks. When he settles down and balances up his kicking improves out of sight
.
Prediction for 2004:
I can’t see him playing a lot of senior footy this year. We don’t need him to. Kepler just needs to bulk up and settle in this year by playing some good footy with Bendigo, Such is Sheedy’s way expect him to give the kid a game somewhere along the line. We have plenty of height in the reserves and as I stated before I’d like to see him play centre half back. His endurance and agility will allow him to stay tight on his man and have the ability to run off. Some bomber fans want to turn him into a midfielder but his skills would hurt us more than help us. And he hasn’t a great goal kicking record so close to goal isn’t an option yet. Stewart Loewe turned himself into a decent kick for goal so maybe Kepler can do the same. He is only 19 and has plenty of improvement in him. If he can put it all together over the next few years then pick 6 in the 2003 draft might be one of the most inspired picks in any draft by the Essendon Football club.
Player #17
Darren Walsh 184cms 79kgs
Strengths:
Pace, pace and more pace. There are plenty of players in the league who are super quick like Darren. But a lot of them don’t use it enough, Ramanauskas is a good example of that. Walsh though loves to back himself and take blokes on and that is what makes him exciting to watch. Darren has fantastic balance. I said this a year ago when I first saw him play and I’ll say it again and that is he reminds so much of a young Wanganeen in the way he moves and they way he plays, a very instinctive footballer. Generally his foot skills are quite good on both sides of his body. Works hard defensively to chase and tackle which is good to see from a kid who is so good offensively. Although he did spend the majority of his TAC cup football as a back pocket and on a back flank so I shouldn’t be too surprised that his defensive game is as good as it is.
Weaknesses:
Still very lean. Needs to add more muscle but according to reports he is well on his way to doing just that. Needs to find more of the ball. Darren doesn’t get enough of the ball as yet to really hurt teams. He did spend a hell of a lot of time up forward last year for Bendigo so it will be interesting to see him further up the field where he can be a lot more dangerous and give him a chance to get more of the pill.
Prediction for 2004:
Glandular fever has held him back a little for this year but I have no doubt he will play some footy in the seniors. 10-12 games maybe would be a good year for Darren. His pace and ability to back himself and run the lines is exactly what we need in the seniors. Another pre-season and some more experience in the seniors will all point to a big 2005 when I expect Walsh to really make an impact in the big time.
Player #18
Matthew Lloyd 191cms 94kgs
Strengths:
His leading from full forward is the best in the business. He times his leads to perfection. Very rarely do you see him run under the ball. Sometimes he does it intentionally to turn his man around but as a rule he times his leads better than anybody I’ve seen since Dunstall. Has great hands on the lead, once he gets a break and the ball is kicked to his advantage then it invariably gets swallowed in his vice like hands. Doesn’t drop any easy chances and rarely lets the tough chances out either. I wouldn’t say body strength is strength of his but it certainly isn’t a weakness. He is not a naturally powerful athlete but what he has done is bulked up to a point where he can hold his own with any full back in the comp. He is a very intelligent footballer and a natural footballer, quite often beats his opponent by out thinking him. By that I mean knowing where a ball is going to land. Reading the play quicker than his direct opponent and running to the right spot. Knowing whether to soccer off the ground or pick it up. Whether to tap the ball on or take possession, little things that can add up to goals for his team. Lloyd is a magnificent kick for goal. In my opinion only plugger was a better kick for goal in my time watching footy and not by much either. Any where inside 50 is money for jam with Lloyd and outside 50 he can be just as effective. Matty has developed a physical side to his game which has coincided with him putting on some bulk. I don’t think it comes natural to him but he certainly doesn’t have any fear crashing packs and it would make some of the younger blokes walk taller. Unselfish to a fault is Lloyd. Loves nothing better than to give off and bring other players into the play, again another trait he and Dunstall share. Also going by this seasons time trials Lloydy has fantastic endurance finished forth in one 3.2 km run which surprised me. It means playing out of full forward he can make numerous leads and not lose much pace therefore giving the full back nightmares trying to keep up. Or maybe he can play up the ground. He certainly has the windtank for it.
Weaknesses:
Lloydy loses his feet to many times in marking contests whether it be on the lead or a one on one wrestle. Most of the time he is playing for a free kick, which annoys me. But after seeing how many obvious holding frees the umpires don’t pay him I really can’t blame him for looking for a cheap free kick as he bloody deserves it. Other times he loses his footing for no reason which puts him out of the contest. Other than that there isn’t much to fault with Lloyd’s football ability. Probably the reason why he is such a superstar.
Prediction for 2004:
Another big year in store for Lloydy, 80- 90 goals he can get easily. If he is injury free and the midfield improves then 100 isn’t out of the question. Sheeds has already sounded out that Lloyd may play CHF. Take those words with a grain of salt. Sheeds loves to spin **** and all this CHF talk is a great Way to get the newspapers to write about Essendon in a positive light. Why move the best Full-forward away from where he causes so many problems for the opposition and where he is so valuable for Essendon. Lloydy has formed a great duo with Cupido. If we can get another tall forward to stand up(assuming Lucas is playing CHB) and help out Lloyd who is good for 4-5 goals every week then we might get back to that 99-2001 type firepower that used to make opposition defences **** themselves. Big year coming up for the EFC’s next captain.
Player #19
David Hille 202cms 110kgs
Strengths:
David is extremely mobile for a man his size. Reports have David at 110kgs and at that weight I can’t see him being monstered in any ruck contests anymore. Hille has no fear in marking contests. He is a terrific pack mark. Even if he doesn't mark it he is willing to crash packs and cause a spillage with no concern for his own safety. The game against the lions at the dome last year when he crashed the pack and left Mal Michael lying on the ground in pain is a perfect example of the type of damage this big fella can cause when he feels like it. Loves to push forward and kick a goal. He is a thumping kick when he kicks through the footy and he usually does that further out and is more accurate because of that fact. Get him closer to goal and he freezes up and misses way more than a kid with his kicking ability should. David has a very good leap, no doubt attributed to his very successful junior volleyball background.
Weaknesses:
Goal kicking. For F*** sake David, kick through the f****** ball. Too many times he stabs at the ball only to have it miss and sometimes by quite a margin. Ruckwork is not the best but he improved out of sight last year under the guidance of the great Simon Madden. I’m pretty confident that next year if I still have this much time on my hands and do these profiles again that his ruckwork will be in the strength area. Endurance was a question mark as most times during games he looks like he is having an asthma attack. But it seems going by the running results this pre season his endurance is pretty good.
Prediction for 2004:
Getting Matthew Allan to the club will do wonders for Hille’s game. He basically had to ruck on his own last year and to get somebody to the club who can not only give Hille a chop out in the ruck but make sure we lose nothing while Hille is resting is a bonus. Look for an improvement in his ruck work helping our on-ballers get first use out of the middle. Hopefully a much more successful year in front of goal as an on target David Hille resting in the forward line will cause plenty of headaches for the opposition and stop a lot of double and triple teams on Lloydy as Hille will demand a quality defender. As silly as it may sound David is nearly our most important player. If he has a big year in the ruck then I would expect the team to mirror that form.
Player #20
Ted Richards 192cms 90kgs
Strengths:
Ted has a marvellous work ethic, prides himself on his second and third efforts. Ted uses his good endurance to run far and wide to present up to the ball and often to run the other way and crumb to a contest. Not bad for a kid who is of key position size. Marking is also a strong point of Ted’s football. He has terrific hands combined with a great leap which makes him a dangerous target in the forward half. Ted moves very well in terms of his agility and pace. He often loses his man with either being too fast or beating him with hard running. He has all the makings of a very good third tall whether that be forward or back. I don’t think he has what it takes to hold down a key position though.
Weaknesses:
The Bear’s kicking needs some work. His field kicking isn’t so bad and he often hits targets but he does have more than his share of clangers. Goal kicking is where he struggles. He seems to be the opposite of David Hille in that the closer he is the more accurate he is. Get him around 40-50 metres out and he struggles quite badly. Ted’s not a natural footballer. Does not read the play as good as some, he makes up for it though through his athleticism and sheer hard work.
Prediction for 2004:
Ted was a horny man at a strip club last year…..STIFF!!!!. Often played some good games only to be rewarded by getting the arse from the match committee. Ted has the opportunity to make the third tall position his own, forward or back. I think back may be his position. He does struggle to convert his set shots into goals so to have him down back that fact becomes a non-factor. He deserves to play more senior games than he did last year and I think he will certainly get that chance. Expecting for a solid year for Essendon’s new cult figure.
