Could Essendon be big improvers

[anth22]

What the same team topping up with lemons from other clubs to lead their ruck divsion?

At least theres some variety from where the players come from ..... so how is Matty Allan and Justin Murphy going? Campo must be enjoying his move from the bottom side in the comp to second bottom.

 

[anth22]

I think its halirious how optimistic, hopeful, forgetful and forgiving these essendon supporters are of their current list and coach. Bulldogs, Hawks, Tigers and Blues have all started their rebuilding campaigns well in advance of the Bombers and have made a lot more drastic changes over the past 5 years yet all these Essendon supporters think they have a better chance of making finals than any of these teams.
QUOTE]

Ah would that possibly be because those teams have been crap for a lot longer????? Just a thought to ponder. Do you think WC & Sydney should forget about next year & concentrate on a full re-build for 2010? Well thats exactly what your saying Essendon should have done.

By my calculations we've got 7 players left from our 2000 flag side. Do you think we should have just delisted Lloyd, Lucas, Hird, Fletcher & the Johnsons in 2002 & picked up 17-18 year olds - is that your recipe for success is it? Gee how stupid of the club to give each season the best go we can. All this time they should have simply tanked like the example clubs you've used. Failure breeds success doesn't it?

First of all you have missed the point of what I was trying to say. I don't think you continuely rebuild for no reason (ie. when you are a successful side such as West Coast) but the fact that rebuilding itself takes more than a year.

I count Carltons rebuilding stage from 2005 onwards. (We all know what the AFL had done in 2001 to hold us back) but other teams like Tigers and Hawks havent played finals since 2001 and hit rock bottom in 2004. I'm not suggesting everyones rebuilding cycle is the same as many teams can avoid "bombing" out (eg. Adelaide, Sydney) which havent spent too many years in the past decade in the bottom 4.

But when you have been down there for more than a year (Essendon has for the past 2 years) it is a good indication your current list needs some drastic change or improvement and as observed once you reach the stage it is not a simple process. Especially considering how competitive the competition has become. There are 15 others teams topping up their list with the best young talent every year and getting better at judging talent.

 

[Jex]

At least theres some variety from where the players come from ..... so how is Matty Allan and Justin Murphy going? Campo must be enjoying his move from the bottom side in the comp to second bottom.

You bluebaggers know all about variety don't you...with rejects from the saints, the roos, the hawks, the bombers, the power, the pies, the crows, the cats, the dockers and the eagles (have I forgotten anyone??) all within the last 5 years.

 

[Bluebear]

You bluebaggers know all about variety don't you...with rejects from the saints, the roos, the hawks, the bombers, the power, the pies, the crows, the cats, the dockers and the eagles (have I forgotten anyone??) all within the last 5 years.

Still determined to take this off topic and talk about the blues eh Jex?
Must be close to the bone with some points here.

 

[anth22]

You bluebaggers know all about variety don't you...with rejects from the saints, the roos, the hawks, the bombers, the power, the pies, the crows, the cats, the dockers and the eagles (have I forgotten anyone??) all within the last 5 years.

Yes we sure have but then again im not the one talking my club up. We will definetely not make finals ... my point is Essendon will be in a similar boat a little further down the ladder

 

[mediumsizered]

Collingwood 2006 = Bombers 2007

They certainly wont finish higher than 5th though.

Jeez, its not Rocket Science knowing they'll imrpove

The difference between Collingwood circa 2006 & Essendon 2007 lies in playing personnel. Collingwood still had the following players on their list from the 2003 GF team: Johnson, Wakelin, Clement, Presti, Holland, Buckley, Lonie, O'Bree, Burns, Tarrant, Fraser, Licuria, Didak, R Shaw & L Davis.

On the other hand Essendon has the following players left over from their 2001 GF side: M Johnson, Fletcher, Heffernan, Lucas, Lloyd, Hird, J Johnson, M McVeigh.

The majority of the Collingwood players listed are in the prime years of their careers, only Buckley, Wakelin & Burns were in their twilight years at the commencement of 2006. Essendon have Hird & Fletcher nearing the end of their careers. A question mark over how Lloyd will return. Heffernan is not a shadow of his former self & Jason Johnson was close to being let go. At this stage Essendon do not have enough A & B level players to be realistic finals contenders in 2007.

 

[Jex]

Still determined to take this off topic and talk about the blues eh Jex?
Must be close to the bone with some points here.

Just not sure why you ladies are so concerned about us when you clearly have major worries of your own. Bomber fans aren't talking us up too much, but have every right to feel confident about improving in 2007. Btw, an Eagle supporter, not a Bomber, started this topic.

Why should we feel confident about 2007???

* Firstly, we’ve “recruited” AA quality bookends in Michael and Lloyd.

* Injured/out of form players from last year include McPhee (an AA defender), Lovett (our best small fwd), Jason Johnson (our no.1 mid) and Laycock (our 2nd ruck). We expect an improved return from these guys in 07. Other clubs will get back injured talent in 2007 as well, so may feel similarly optimistic.

* We've drafted well and expect a good first year contribution from Hislop, Gumby, Houli and Jetta...they obviously won't dominate, but they should add to our depth and show signs of the players they'll eventually be. Davey at 22, should be ready to roll straight away. Other clubs may have similar expectations or hopes for their draftees.

* We saw great improvement in 2006 from Watson, Stanton and Monfries and expect (or hope) Bradley, Winderlich, Dyson, Nash and Slattery will show similar improvement in 07. Other clubs will expect their youngsters to evolve with each passing year too.

The Hawks and Tigers have some great youngsters, but I still think we have better established players on our list than either of them. It’s not unfeasible to think we could leapfrog both of them and possibly the Roos, Lions and Port as well. There’s not much separating all of these clubs. Then there’s Carlton. As we all know, they cheated the cap and are way behind in their rebuild as a result. Youngsters wise, the blues look good...but the over 23 portion of their list is very poor.

 

[Slattery_20]

Only if they can win a few early games , including the pre-season...To Mentally get them in the right frame of mind of WINNING. Losing takes your second efforts, your mental thinking away..

All last year, they seemed to stop running here and there and look to the team-mate next to them when something got through..

And Lloyd can't do alll.....Sheedy has got to coach them as a well oiled machine,,,,and Not rely on Individual Performances...like the earlier successful years....He needs to have a look at Neil Craigs book of how to make No Names play or seem to play like Super-Stars....


But I hope they can...But I doubt it......I think Carlton is the One...to go up.

very well oiled - but it still runs out of fuel at the start of September
Adelaide will be the big drop next season - no ruckmen + the continued deterioration of their aging, slow midfield (I know they're the 2nd most favoured bandwagon these days - but Goodwin, Ricciuto, Burton ,Edwards and McLeod are not getting any younger - just more injury prone) will soon show up their iffy goal to goal line.
Essendon's midfield is our strongest part of the ground - the amount of games where we'd shoot the ball out of defence and the pace of NLM, Stanton (gee he travels a lot of ground - FAST!) and co would have the ball entering our 50 within two or three kicks - just too often it'd come straight back out. I'm confident that with a certain full forward back, we'll straighten up a bit, sort out who leads where, and shoot for goal more accurately.
Anybody who thinks James Hird is (still) a midfielder is deluded and should not even bother to offer their opinion on Essendon's team. They don't know about it.

What really gets me about the whole "Essendon is old" contention is how Hawthorn, Kangas, Carlton go about "rebuilding". If only the fools would realise that doing things quietly lends one major, scary advantage: the element of surprise. I don't know if it will be this year, I don't know if it will be Sheeds, but the Essendon rise will happen quicker than most of the above posters seem to grasp. Be scared when it does.

 

[OB1]

First of all you have missed the point of what I was trying to say. I don't think you continuely rebuild for no reason (ie. when you are a successful side such as West Coast) but the fact that rebuilding itself takes more than a year.

I count Carltons rebuilding stage from 2005 onwards. (We all know what the AFL had done in 2001 to hold us back) but other teams like Tigers and Hawks havent played finals since 2001 and hit rock bottom in 2004. I'm not suggesting everyones rebuilding cycle is the same as many teams can avoid "bombing" out (eg. Adelaide, Sydney) which havent spent too many years in the past decade in the bottom 4.

But when you have been down there for more than a year (Essendon has for the past 2 years) it is a good indication your current list needs some drastic change or improvement and as observed once you reach the stage it is not a simple process. Especially considering how competitive the competition has become. There are 15 others teams topping up their list with the best young talent every year and getting better at judging talent.

Just out of interest what is it you think Essendon should do or should have done? What are these drastic changes you talk about? If you think Carlton's re-build started in 2005 then perhaps you can tell us what the difference in the 2 clubs approaches has been. The only difference I can see is that in 2005 Carlton were worse than Essendon & therefore qualified for a priority pick before the draft (along with Collingwoon & Hawthorn). As a result of this misguided policy by the AFL the best we could obtain was pick 7. We used this as best we could on Ryder (I'm pretty sure we have never given up a 1st round pick) as well as picking up Dempsey, Lonegan, Neagle & Lucy. We also drafted several rookies. What exactly did Carlton do that was so different? Did we do anything different this year? Please share your insite into the true road to success because I'm sure every club wants to know it - especially your own.

 

[laskey14]

They'll improve, but not to a 'devastating' effect.

Lloyd & Michael aren't exactly young and have had their fair share of injuries and whatnot. Michael is becoming a lumbering type too, so I wouldn't be counting on him to hold down the best forwards these days.

They still lack quality pace. Dyson has it, but his skills are ordinary. Same with Winderlich. They don't exactly strike fear into the opposition. Hird's a year older, so what input he has nobody knows. Lucas, again, a year older so I doubt he'll have a great as year as 2006.

Johns is OK but again, I don't think he's capable of winning a game. Lloyd back will help, but I wouldn't think he'd be carving up defenders next year at the same time.

Johnson's are older again, and lack pace. Against The Eagles, Dogs, Dees & a number of other sides with decent midfields, they'll struggle.

I have them finishing somewhere between 9th-12th. They aren't good enough to make the Finals, but they won't bottom out, as they are injecting some quality players into the lineup allbeit some a bit older & some not AFL ready.

They won't be able to keep up with the better sides, as I don't their defence & midfield will be able to hold up. Their attack could go well next year, but I just can't see the mids & defenders getting on top of too many sides at this stage.

Yeah mate everyone in the AFL is one year older so you could say things like that about any side, age doesn't mean they can't have an impact. Also if a few people took the time to look at a lot of the margians the Bombers lost by in o6 then you will see it won't take much for a lot of those to be reversed. We were quite close on many occasions.

 

[Casey]

Will they improve............? YES
Will the make the eight....? Probably NOT
Is this style of reply irritating...? Deffinately

 

[tigerdan]

I think it is more important to look at the other teams around Essendon and see which are going to do worse this year.

Carlton may finally be turning the corner, but are starting from an atrocious starting point. North may well pay for a few years of topping up and struggle (as a Tiger supporter I can empathise). The only other team I wouldn't be surprised to see flounder is Brisbane.

All the other clubs above Essendon could legitimately expect to improve this year. So do essendon have enough 'ins' to overtake the other clubs in the bottom 8?

I don't think so. Bottom 4 if you ask me.

 

[Bollox]

You'll find the answer in the draw underneath the cutlery.

 

[the real crowbar]

Can you believe Essendon' s decision on Mal Michael?
When are they ever going to learn, You can't tell me there is not a more skilled agile young defender in the draft who will be around for 12 years or so .
Catch up with some of the more skilled up to date decision makers in the league Essendon or remain down the bottom for ever.

all the best

Mitch

 

[OB1]

Can you believe Essendon' s decision on Mal Michael?
When are they ever going to learn, You can't tell me there is not a more skilled agile young defender in the draft who will be around for 12 years or so .
Catch up with some of the more skilled up to date decision makers in the league Essendon or remain down the bottom for ever.

all the best

Mitch

Please tell me your not serious about you Michael comments. I CAN & WILL tell you there is a 99.9% probability that there isn't a kid who even comes close to Michael left in the PSD or rookie draft (you do realise of course we are picking him up for virtually nothing in the PSD don't you). IF we had of traded away draft picks for him you might have a case but as it stands you're simply full of crap.

Who are these more skilled decission makers you speak of? What are their credentials that make them more skilled?

 

[sgbn77]

Fact: I'm a Hawthorn supporter.
Fact: I hate the Bombers with a passion.
Fact: I will now attempt to give an honest opinion of their list without inciting violence and hatred from other posters.

Will the Bombers improve this season? Definately.
Why? Inclusion of a very good FF. Inclusion of a FB with 3 premierships. Inclusion of a Best and Fairest winner who will have completed a full preseason. That allows you to shuffle Lucas and Fletcher to perhaps CHF and CHB, and then put some pace into your midfield, without those new players being expected to do TOO much (just get some experience).

Will the Bombers sustain this improvement? IMHO no.
Why? When you talk "coming back from injury" with older players, it's not as easy as saying, "they missed most of 2006, so they'll be good for 20 or so rounds this season". Take the Hawks for example. We haven't had much to brag about for a long time, but back in 2000 and 2001, Barker and Holland were pretty damn good. They got injuries, and it just never really went away. With Barker, it was almost comical. They are getting older, and just like you and me, when you get a knock these days, it hangs around a lot longer than it did when I was 18. That said, maybe your Lloyd's can't be banked on to play all year, and that means your captain out. Hird will retire soon, he's said that. And just based on age, Michael and Fletcher sooner or later. Michael has also said he'd like to train less. That makes it harder to recover as well, and be at your peak, but it might be ok if you park him in a goalsquare. You could argue your case for the longevity of JJ, Lucas, etc. I personally think the influence of Mark Johnson is waning already. Now, you lose those players, and you've lost the spine I was talking up before. The longer those guys are in, the less time you have for your Gumbleton's, etc. So if they are playing, they are occupying flanks, etc, and not the position you want them to play. But that isn't the end of the world.
I personally don't think that Essendon has drafted brilliantly in the last few years, with the exception of Monfries and Stanton, who I rate highly. I think they have gone for 'top ups' on a couple of occassions, for an assualt on the flag, when I think a good hard look at the list was in order. I think the pick ups from Carlton failed, and that can't be glossed over.
It's also hard when you try to draft to "fix" a component of your team, such as pace, because you pick up a swag of pacey guys, who no doubt will be exciting to watch, but I feel many of your recent picks have been of the smaller variety, and the guys most likely to retire are KPPs. This, again, points to problems in future years.

My opinion anyway. No viciousness intended.

 

[Bombersfc]

Fact: I'm a Hawthorn supporter.
Fact: I hate the Bombers with a passion.
Fact: I will now attempt to give an honest opinion of their list without inciting violence and hatred from other posters.

Will the Bombers improve this season? Definately.
Why? Inclusion of a very good FF. Inclusion of a FB with 3 premierships. Inclusion of a Best and Fairest winner who will have completed a full preseason. That allows you to shuffle Lucas and Fletcher to perhaps CHF and CHB, and then put some pace into your midfield, without those new players being expected to do TOO much (just get some experience).

Will the Bombers sustain this improvement? IMHO no.
Why? When you talk "coming back from injury" with older players, it's not as easy as saying, "they missed most of 2006, so they'll be good for 20 or so rounds this season". Take the Hawks for example. We haven't had much to brag about for a long time, but back in 2000 and 2001, Barker and Holland were pretty damn good. They got injuries, and it just never really went away. With Barker, it was almost comical. They are getting older, and just like you and me, when you get a knock these days, it hangs around a lot longer than it did when I was 18. That said, maybe your Lloyd's can't be banked on to play all year, and that means your captain out. Hird will retire soon, he's said that. And just based on age, Michael and Fletcher sooner or later. Michael has also said he'd like to train less. That makes it harder to recover as well, and be at your peak, but it might be ok if you park him in a goalsquare. You could argue your case for the longevity of JJ, Lucas, etc. I personally think the influence of Mark Johnson is waning already. Now, you lose those players, and you've lost the spine I was talking up before. The longer those guys are in, the less time you have for your Gumbleton's, etc. So if they are playing, they are occupying flanks, etc, and not the position you want them to play. But that isn't the end of the world.
I personally don't think that Essendon has drafted brilliantly in the last few years, with the exception of Monfries and Stanton, who I rate highly. I think they have gone for 'top ups' on a couple of occassions, for an assualt on the flag, when I think a good hard look at the list was in order. I think the pick ups from Carlton failed, and that can't be glossed over.
It's also hard when you try to draft to "fix" a component of your team, such as pace, because you pick up a swag of pacey guys, who no doubt will be exciting to watch, but I feel many of your recent picks have been of the smaller variety, and the guys most likely to retire are KPPs. This, again, points to problems in future years.

My opinion anyway. No viciousness intended.

decent review but i dont agree with you on a couple of points
firstly you say that age means that the effect of lloyd and fletch etc. will probably wane
but fletch this year i think conceded like the 4th or 5th least goals for a full back and this despite the ball coming into his defensive 50 a lot more than other teams
i think we had 250 more entries into our defensive 50 than adelaide
also i think he was like 2nd and 3rd respectivelyfor defnesive counterattacks and set-up for goals from kick outs
so he had a pretty good year
same with lucas for example he is getting better as he is getting older
im hoping llyd does the same
he has claimed to have goptten faster and said that he has undergone the most gruelling pre-season till now to be in prime shape for round 1.

as far as our recruting goes i reckon the past three years we have finally got it right after trying to just top up for many years
i mean our midfield is ridiculously young
monfries and stanton who you rate
watson had a gun year last year
then there is dyson, winderlich, lovett and dempsey who have all shown glimses
from this year we have jetta, davey, hislop, houli who are all pretty much quick midfielders
also we have JJ who will actually havea pre-season and hopefully campo's hammy's hold up
and we also have hird, Mcveigh, McPhe etc. to rotate thru there
i reckon that is a pretty good midfield maybe not this year but for the future

i reckon our fortunes this year comes down to whether that midfield can step up this year
last year they werent too bad considering JJ was out for half of the year and also campo
i mean it was very very young
but we were still like 6th in the league for clearances

other than the midfield the rest isnt too bad

the forward line is llloyd, lucas, hird. gumbleton, lovett, monfries, laycock...

the backline is michael, fletcher, McPhee, Lovett-murray, Mcveigh, welsh...

overall i reckon our fortunes this year just comes down to the midfield cause ir eckon the backline and the forward liner are pretty decent

 

[The Kipster]

No worries mate......no offence taken

Still can't believe I had nice things to say about that mob actually. Tip them to perhaps slide into the bottom half of the 8 at year's end. Whether they have a rash of retirements after that who knows, but I think this old list things is a fallacy.
Agree, has some old players that people recognise thats all.

Strangely Bulldogs supporters have been amongst the most vocal about Essendon's list age, and what a mistake to recruit Michael when they should be rebuilding.
They probably wanted him as well and are bitter

I'd be more concerned with Rohan Smith having retired, and the team's best players still being West, Grant, Johnson, Darcy. Pull out the 06 Brownlow favourite, the leading goalkicker and their best KPP, all of whom are no spring chickens and for all the highly rated youngsters I think the Dogs are in trouble.

To a point they had a heap of injuries, throw in Murphey and co they will be OK, I am tipping a top 8 for them.....but a bottom 8 for the bummers...IMO

 

[sgbn77]

decent review but i dont agree with you on a couple of points
firstly you say that age means that the effect of lloyd and fletch etc. will probably wane
but fletch this year i think conceded like the 4th or 5th least goals for a full back and this despite the ball coming into his defensive 50 a lot more than other teams
i think we had 250 more entries into our defensive 50 than adelaide
also i think he was like 2nd and 3rd respectivelyfor defnesive counterattacks and set-up for goals from kick outs
so he had a pretty good year
same with lucas for example he is getting better as he is getting older
im hoping llyd does the same
he has claimed to have goptten faster and said that he has undergone the most gruelling pre-season till now to be in prime shape for round 1.

as far as our recruting goes i reckon the past three years we have finally got it right after trying to just top up for many years
i mean our midfield is ridiculously young
monfries and stanton who you rate
watson had a gun year last year
then there is dyson, winderlich, lovett and dempsey who have all shown glimses
from this year we have jetta, davey, hislop, houli who are all pretty much quick midfielders
also we have JJ who will actually havea pre-season and hopefully campo's hammy's hold up
and we also have hird, Mcveigh, McPhe etc. to rotate thru there
i reckon that is a pretty good midfield maybe not this year but for the future

i reckon our fortunes this year comes down to whether that midfield can step up this year
last year they werent too bad considering JJ was out for half of the year and also campo
i mean it was very very young
but we were still like 6th in the league for clearances

other than the midfield the rest isnt too bad

the forward line is llloyd, lucas, hird. gumbleton, lovett, monfries, laycock...

the backline is michael, fletcher, McPhee, Lovett-murray, Mcveigh, welsh...

overall i reckon our fortunes this year just comes down to the midfield cause ir eckon the backline and the forward liner are pretty decent

Yeah, you make some really good points there. Fletch, personally I don't think plays in a FB role the same as many others in the league, sorta more a drifter/counter attack role. That will only strengthen having Michael down there. I totally forgot about McPhee! Classy player, not a player I particularly like, but class nonetheless.
I don't rate Winderlich, and don't know much about Dempsey, but I think Dyson looks like a classy player, and Watson has looked good since he trimmed down.
I thought that Jetta was a forward? And Gumbleton a backman? Obviously either could change quite easily, but I've just noticed it repeated verbatim, and thought they played different possies. In the TAC Cup game I saw of Jetta, he was forward for sure.
Clearances. I had no idea you guys did so well, but obviously there was a massive break down somewhere in the chain, 'cos scoring goals or not, you lost so many games. Where was the issue? Back or forward. I think we've highlighted the returns this year should alleviate some issues, but I guess it's how the rest of the chess board is spread out that determines it eventually.
My big question mark remains the use of Lucas. No doubt, stellar season this year, but would he be as effective with Lloyd back around. More importantly, where do you put Johns if he's at CHF. I'd say, in a similar way, does Fletcher play CHB, generally directing play, with the addition of Michael at FB, and if so, does that mean Lucas stays in the forward line? Obviously a good problem to have, just as its finally nice at Hawthorn to not have some immediate names spring to mind for delistings!!

 

[don4eva]

Yeah, you make some really good points there. Fletch, personally I don't think plays in a FB role the same as many others in the league, sorta more a drifter/counter attack role. That will only strengthen having Michael down there. I totally forgot about McPhee! Classy player, not a player I particularly like, but class nonetheless.
I don't rate Winderlich, and don't know much about Dempsey, but I think Dyson looks like a classy player, and Watson has looked good since he trimmed down.
I thought that Jetta was a forward? And Gumbleton a backman? Obviously either could change quite easily, but I've just noticed it repeated verbatim, and thought they played different possies. In the TAC Cup game I saw of Jetta, he was forward for sure.
Clearances. I had no idea you guys did so well, but obviously there was a massive break down somewhere in the chain, 'cos scoring goals or not, you lost so many games. Where was the issue? Back or forward. I think we've highlighted the returns this year should alleviate some issues, but I guess it's how the rest of the chess board is spread out that determines it eventually.
My big question mark remains the use of Lucas. No doubt, stellar season this year, but would he be as effective with Lloyd back around. More importantly, where do you put Johns if he's at CHF. I'd say, in a similar way, does Fletcher play CHB, generally directing play, with the addition of Michael at FB, and if so, does that mean Lucas stays in the forward line? Obviously a good problem to have, just as its finally nice at Hawthorn to not have some immediate names spring to mind for delistings!!

Gumbleton is a natural CHF who is capable of playing in the ruck or in defense.
Lucas should be played at CHF with Lloyd obviously at FF. I'd have Johns play off the bench rotating with Lloyd/Lucas.
Jetta will probably play in the forward pocket with some bursts in the midfield now and then.
If we get Michael, he'll most likely play at FB with Fletcher playing at CHB.

Should be a good year for us, hopefully.

 

[DaSawx]

Clearances. I had no idea you guys did so well, but obviously there was a massive break down somewhere in the chain, 'cos scoring goals or not, you lost so many games. Where was the issue? Back or forward.

The midfield did do well, it is underrated, although the skills still need improving. We turned the ball over quite a bit which put our defense under the pump, think we may have had the worse points allowed per indside 50 ratio, Fletch being in and out of the side at times didn't help.

We were top 6 for inside 50's but the forward structure was poor and frustrating at times, Lucas couldn't do it all on his own. Johns was in and out, was difficult to watch Joel Reynolds, especially kicking for goal, delivery didn't help either at times but it is on the improve.

We did lose a lot of close games, if we improve a few little things and gain some confidence back we'll win a few more games. Obvioulsy Lloyd and Michael will straighten us up a bit.

 

[DaSawx]

Jetta will probably play in the forward pocket with some bursts in the midfield now and then.

Davey could get a game in the FP ahead of Jetta IMO

 

[don4eva]

I've never seen Davey play, you could be spot on.
It's great to know we have a number of options.

 

[ant555]

I think we will win 6 or 7 games more in 2007. We could be the big improvers as far as wins go but it may not equate to a big leap in ladder position.

 

[sgbn77]

Gumbleton is a natural CHF who is capable of playing in the ruck or in defense.
Lucas should be played at CHF with Lloyd obviously at FF. I'd have Johns play off the bench rotating with Lloyd/Lucas.
Jetta will probably play in the forward pocket with some bursts in the midfield now and then.
If we get Michael, he'll most likely play at FB with Fletcher playing at CHB.

Should be a good year for us, hopefully.

Oh ok. I really wanted Gumbleton, knowing full well he'd NEVER slip til 6th, but because I'd heard he was a key defender. But really, where you played as a junior is not really a pre-requisite to where you'll enjoy success as an AFL player (however I wish Clarkson would give Dawson a go as a forward, to see if he was better there!! Feels harsh playing him out of position AND against 100kg + opposition!).

Jetta would be great if he lives up to the hype. Obviously, even with the best FP's, they come under scrutiny at times in their careers for going missing. But when they are on, they are fantastic.