Analysis Pass mark for 2015

[ant555]

I would be shocked if we win a flag this year, and disappointed if people at the club seriously think we will. I can't think of any example of a team that went from middling at best to genuine flag chance in the space of one season.

It is not really one season.
2014 Elim Final
2013 would have played an Elim Final, AFL penalty.
2012 missed after being in the 8 for 19 weeks.
2011 Elim Final.

They have been building for the last 4 seasons. Not saying they can win a flag but the platform to move up is there.

Pass mark for me is do what North did last year. Win finals and get to a prelim.
The other improvement needed is to beat the lower sides. If they can not stop losing to bottom 4 sides then they will not make the finals
given most of the bottom half have improved their lists and will be better this year.

 

[Jade]

Hes underperformed and already started being moved out of the best 22 and that will come into effect more distinctly in 2015

Signed a contract THIS OFFSEASON.

Yeah, they sure are moving him on.....

 

[Keystone agony]

Signed a contract THIS OFFSEASON.

Yeah, they sure are moving him on.....

Out of the best 22.

Not out of Essendon.

Hes quality depth, provides us with something unique to our other midfielders, has helped the dons football club when we needed it, is onw of the best trainers at the club and has been rewarded so with a 2 year contract.

He already got dropped mid last year didnt he? Or was he injured

I cant find a position in the team for him. Id rather start looking to J.Merrets, Kavanaghs, Melkshams, Gleesons, Dalgleish types and even then i cant find a spot for all these guys

 

[Ambrosia]

FB: Fletcher Hooker Baugley

Very even, they have us in attack and we have them in defence. Basically a battle of the midfielder IMO
Stanton=Gibson
Watson>Swallow
Colyer<Wells
Bellchambers<Goldstein
Heppell>Cunnington
Zaharakis and Dal Santo are too different to compare.

I'd match them up a bit differently to you I reckon.

Watson > Swallow - Similair ball winning ability but Watson far more damaging on the outside although Swallow makes up a lot of ground with his tackling.
Heppell > Cunnington - Heppell more consistent and much better at spreading from the contest
Stanton > Gibson - Stanton had an average year and was still better imo
Bellchambers < Goldstein - Goldstein just has too many runs on the board
Zaharakis < Wells - Wells is currently better but is unlikely to play a full year
Goddard = Dal Santo - Dal had an awesome year in 2014
Cooney > Ziebell - Cooney still better than Ziebell who has never shown real consistency
Colyer << Harvey - No explanation needed
Myers = Bastinac - Get the feeling both players would thrive with added responsibility

 

[Keystone agony]

It will be really interesting to see how the bombers and roos go this year. Everyone seems to be putting a high expectation on the roos this year as a potential team to really challenge the swans, hawks, port and to a lesser extent freo team.

We seem to be going under the radar, which i quite like.

 

[LB#16]

It will be really interesting to see how the bombers and roos go this year. Everyone seems to be putting a high expectation on the roos this year as a potential team to really challenge the swans, hawks, port and to a lesser extent freo team.

We seem to be going under the radar, which i quite like.

Under the radar is when we play our best.

 

[MightyDons4]

I'd match them up a bit differently to you I reckon.

Watson > Swallow - Similair ball winning ability but Watson far more damaging on the outside although Swallow makes up a lot of ground with his tackling.
Heppell > Cunnington - Heppell more consistent and much better at spreading from the contest
Stanton > Gibson - Stanton had an average year and was still better imo
Bellchambers < Goldstein - Goldstein just has too many runs on the board
Zaharakis < Wells - Wells is currently better but is unlikely to play a full year
Goddard = Dal Santo - Dal had an awesome year in 2014
Cooney > Ziebell - Cooney still better than Ziebell who has never shown real consistency
Colyer << Harvey - No explanation needed
Myers = Bastinac - Get the feeling both players would thrive with added responsibility

I just compared the starting 6 midfielders from each side, you comparisons are better although Myers is much better than Bastinac!

 

[Saint]

Top 4 is a realistic aim. You never know what's going to happen come finals time if you've had injuries piling up or a tough run. You just get to the best spot during the season and hope that you're in a good position when the finals start.

I don't think performance for the year should be determined by a bad finals game or two.

A pass would be to make the finals. 6th would be a C, 4th would be a B, top 3 would be an A and top 2 would be A+.

 

[BrunoV]

Under the radar is when we play our best.

Sign of a mediocre side.

 

[BrunoV]

I'd match them up a bit differently to you I reckon.

Watson > Swallow - Similair ball winning ability but Watson far more damaging on the outside although Swallow makes up a lot of ground with his tackling.
Heppell > Cunnington - Heppell more consistent and much better at spreading from the contest
Stanton > Gibson - Stanton had an average year and was still better imo
Bellchambers < Goldstein - Goldstein just has too many runs on the board
Zaharakis < Wells - Wells is currently better but is unlikely to play a full year
Goddard = Dal Santo - Dal had an awesome year in 2014
Cooney > Ziebell - Cooney still better than Ziebell who has never shown real consistency
Colyer << Harvey - No explanation needed
Myers = Bastinac - Get the feeling both players would thrive with added responsibility

Not that it is important, but Myers and Ziebel is that match I'd go for based on characteristics and the fact that he belted him while in the midfield in the final.

 

[LB#16]

Sign of a mediocre side.

Could not agree more. When we are backed heavily and win heavily, we will know we've cracked through mediocrity.

 

[Ambrosia]

Not that it is important, but Myers and Ziebel is that match I'd go for based on characteristics and the fact that he belted him while in the midfield in the final.

Thought about it but Ziebell spends a lot of time up forward and Myers never goes near the forward line

 

[BrunoV]

Thought about it but Ziebell spends a lot of time up forward and Myers never goes near the forward line

I think he will this year (he found himself in the forward half a lot in the second half of 2014, though I can't say whether he started there) as his overhead marking has improved significantly and his range makes him particularly dangerous.

 

[Whispering_Jack]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/a...-clubs-pass-mark/story-fni5f3kt-1227197333734

ESSENDON


Ben Waterworth’s analysis: THE Bombers have been threatening to break into the “premiership contender” category for the past two years. This season is when they officially do. With four players aged over 30, as well as 15 players in the peak years of 25-29, Essendon must push for a top-four spot and aim to win a final — something it hasn’t achieved since 2004. The Dons picked up Adam Cooney, James Gwilt and Jon Giles during the exchange period — all players that are ready to make an immediate impact at the club. We wait to see if — or how severely — the club will be punished for its controversial supplements program. Implications of that aside, the Bombers are primed for a top-four assault.

Pass Mark: 4th or higher

 

[mike14]

Due to the fixture ladder position can be a bit sketchy, but certainly we should be in or just outside the top four, win at least one final and hopefully be competitive in a prelim

 

[LB#16]

Call me pessimistic but I can't see us finishing in the four. With the loss of he who must not be named and the additions of Gwilt, Giles and Cooney I think our midfield will still be inconsistent at times as they adapt and inconsistency doesn't see you finish top four.

 

[daffo]

Top four is possible but we do need a lot of things going right for us. That is what we need to aim for.

 

[carnthedons]

Top four is possible but we do need a lot of things going right for us. That is what we need to aim for.

Agreed. Top 4 is a goal not a pass mark.

Pass mark is win a final.

 

[Dons4Ever]

Agreed. Top 4 is a goal not a pass mark.

Pass mark is win a final.

Agreed! We must win a final.

 

[Doss]

I'd be delighted with top four. I can't quite see it happening, but then I'm a bit of a pessimist.

 

[Stopher]

Agreed. Top 4 is a goal not a pass mark.

Pass mark is win a final.

Spot on. I'd go as far as saying I'd actually rather the team finish outside the top 4 and win a final rather than finish in the top 4 and go out in straight sets, that is how important it is to break this damn decade-long hoodoo.

You can win a flag from outside the top 4, but you can never win one without winning a final first!

 

[Bombers36]

Pass mark would be to go one better than last year and win a final. We 'should' make the 8 but there's no guarantee's, so that should be the first aim, and if we can get in there and win a final we have done pretty well I reckon given the loss of Ryder and the whole ASADA saga, anything beyond that is a bonus.

 

[BrunoV]

To me there is a comfortable distinction that can be drawn between the frustration of not winning a final and what should be expected of a team that will be as old as our will almost certainly be for most of 2015.

If we had not been topping up there would have been no less emphasis on winning a final. This is especially so given that we qualified in 2013 and 2014 and that most of the boys we were waiting for are now closer to being men.

The problem with an old team that is not at least coming withing a few kicks of a grand final is that it's generally got to take steps back to go forward again. It's why the pressure should be well and truly on.

It's not to say that I agree with the perennial development phases that some of the poor to average teams (excluding us) find themselves in but we're in a unique situation due to the supplements saga and can't afford to have gotten it wrong.

Is it really not a wasted year to finish 5th or 6th never look like it in a semi and not have gotten games into the young mids and raw forwards who are the ones that will take us forward (and potentially as soon as 2016)?

 

[frenchfri12]

We get a forward who can actually take a contested mark.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

We get a forward who can actually take a contested mark.

Tell me about.
So many times i witness the ball moving from one end of the ground to the other with good hand/foot skills only to see it fail once it enters our fwd line and rebounded by the opposition it's frustrating to watch.