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[eth-dog]

An update for the crew - had a great night at the event tonight! Some big questions asked by eth-dog such as the background behind "Mingma".

Did love the answer as well

 

[jmoo wan]

Did love the answer as well

well go on...

edit: oh you did! nice one!

 

[Beerfish]

So any other stories from last night anyone wants to share publicly?

 

[boncer34]

Broad summary of my interactions with players.

Draper - Didn't really spend much time with him, everyone was getting around him a lot. Still feels like he's finding his feet at AFL level, Gawn was a big challenge on Saturday night and he felt he came up shorter in performance than he'd have expected, was happy to tick off the win to shut the rest of the playing group up. Got slammed by Parish in the Q&A "Melbourne midfield probably the best we've played against especially with Maxy giving them first use most of the time" though all the players were smirking at that one so light hearted.

Parish - Caldwell and Shiel gave him more opportunity in the middle but him and Truck had already discussed how his role would've increased as the season wore on, so he thinks he would've got the chance anyway.

Langford - Disappointed on himself early, think's he needs to work on his start to the seasons a little more, likes playing a HFF/Mid hybrid role

Smith - Admitted he probably needs to work back from the edge of pushing things to far, has incredible white line fever though, is already sick of "stop yelling at me." Seriously I think anytime I walked past the poor bloke someone was saying it like it was a huge joke he'd never heard before. Knees feeling fine.

Caldwell - Expects to be back in 4 weeks time. Said the standard things ie. really enjoyed GWS but just wanted to come home, noticeable difference in supporters between the clubs etc.

Merrett - Didn't speak to him personally but listening to the Q&A make him captain and forget about it. Spoke really well though most of it was the cliched "on the road was tough, great crowd in Launceston, missed the big crowd Saturday night though felt like more was there due to noise etc."

Shiel - Bit of confusion on this one because he mentioned to someone else he was still out due to a set back to his good knee and wasn't sure when he'd be back and then said to me he thought he'd be back in 3 weeks.

Cutler - Was at our table eth-dog spoke to him more though so he can summarize

Ridley - Feels like he's been a little down this year compared to last, is looking forward to the big challenge Friday night. They had discussed moving him up the ground a little more this year but probably wont happen "I'm happy where I am for the team structure"

Perkins - Sat next to him. Ripping bloke, was a really good speaker in the smaller groups but got a little more nervous up on the stage in front of the whole room. Hawthorn had told him they had him in their top 5 and he was likely to be their first pick so thought he was going there, GWS and Collingwood had also told him they'd grab him with their firsts if he was available but once Hawthorn picked DGB he was confident with us having 3 picks he'd end up here after his chats with Dodoro. Found last year really weird, after his bottom age year he though he was a late 2nd round early 3rd round pick but his stocks rose without him playing footy which he still doesn't really understand. He thinks part of it was the blokes in other states played and maybe didn't come on as well as expected so his "projections" held true. Its been nice for him, Cox and Reid to be drafted a group as it dilutes the first round pick pressure, especially with the hype for Cox. VFL football wasn't to much of an adjustment but AFL was a crazy pick up in pace. Going to study commerce start this semester. Is starting to get the occasional request for photos and autographs in public but its not to bad just yet.

He was really just a genuinely nice bloke to talk to.

Hind - Noticeable difference between St Kilda fan base and ours being just that much bigger. Melbourne tried to grab him as well as us but was never going anywhere else but here. Went to primary school with Stringer who used to beat him in sprints, thinks he might have Jake covered now though.

Wright - Generic standard "so much more noticeable playing for Essendon crowds as opposed to GC." Didn't expect to play ruck but really enjoyed the challenge, ideally would like to play mainly forward but will ruck as required and does like the freedom of moving around the ground it brings. Reckons he'll probably get Blicavs on Friday night and if Blicavs switches into the ruck from defense he'll just follow him.

Reid - Feeling good now, keen to get back to the Seniors but knows he just needs to build up, doesn't think he'll be a swing player is purely focused on full back work at the moment

Ham - Again eth-dog might offer more but was a bit sore after Saturday night with a calf.

McBride - Much rather play as a forward than a back but likes playing back to give him some ideas on what to do when he goes forward. Reid chimed in they can swap roles anytime he wants.

Hird - Ripping young bloke, tried to not ask about his old man because every time I walked past it seemed like someone was reminiscing about something miraculous his Dad did on the field. His mum would rather he's still playing soccer because she doesn't want to see him getting hurt. Played footy as his main sport till 14, tried the soccer thing in Europe and didn't like it just wanted to come back to AFL. Said soccer feels like there's more room for individual brilliance so blokes were competing against each other rather than playing with each other, where as AFL its very much a team focused game. Believes the younger 2 brothers will both end up playing football, Alex is having a similar soccer/AFL thought process he went through and he's trying to push him to just jumping on the AFL rather than taking a soccer detour. Reckons Alex has potential to be a gun so he's hoping he joins him at Essendon.

There's probably more I've missed that I'll post later if I remember.

 

[eth-dog]

Broad summary of my interactions with players.

Draper - Didn't really spend much time with him, everyone was getting around him a lot. Still feels like he's finding his feet at AFL level, Gawn was a big challenge on Saturday night and he felt he came up shorter in performance than he'd have expected, was happy to tick off the win to shut the rest of the playing group up. Got slammed by Parish in the Q&A "Melbourne midfield probably the best we've played against especially with Maxy giving them first use most of the time" though all the players were smirking at that one so light hearted.

Parish - Caldwell and Shiel gave him more opportunity in the middle but him and Truck had already discussed how his role would've increased as the season wore on, so he thinks he would've got the chance anyway.

Langford - Disappointed on himself early, think's he needs to work on his start to the seasons a little more, likes playing a HFF/Mid hybrid role

Smith - Admitted he probably needs to work back from the edge of pushing things to far, has incredible white line fever though, is already sick of "stop yelling at me." Seriously I think anytime I walked past the poor bloke someone was saying it like it was a huge joke he'd never heard before. Knees feeling fine.

Caldwell - Expects to be back in 4 weeks time. Said the standard things ie. really enjoyed GWS but just wanted to come home, noticeable difference in supporters between the clubs etc.

Merrett - Didn't speak to him personally but listening to the Q&A make him captain and forget about it. Spoke really well though most of it was the cliched "on the road was tough, great crowd in Launceston, missed the big crowd Saturday night though felt like more was there due to noise etc."

Shiel - Bit of confusion on this one because he mentioned to someone else he was still out due to a set back to his good knee and wasn't sure when he'd be back and then said to me he thought he'd be back in 3 weeks.

Cutler - Was at our table eth-dog spoke to him more though so he can summarize

Ridley - Feels like he's been a little down this year compared to last, is looking forward to the big challenge Friday night. They had discussed moving him up the ground a little more this year but probably wont happen "I'm happy where I am for the team structure"

Perkins - Sat next to him. Ripping bloke, was a really good speaker in the smaller groups but got a little more nervous up on the stage in front of the whole room. Hawthorn had told him they had him in their top 5 and he was likely to be their first pick so thought he was going there, GWS and Collingwood had also told him they'd grab him with their firsts if he was available but once Hawthorn picked DGB he was confident with us having 3 picks he'd end up here after his chats with Dodoro. Found last year really weird, after his bottom age year he though he was a late 2nd round early 3rd round pick but his stocks rose without him playing footy which he still doesn't really understand. He thinks part of it was the blokes in other states played and maybe didn't come on as well as expected so his "projections" held true. Its been nice for him, Cox and Reid to be drafted a group as it dilutes the first round pick pressure, especially with the hype for Cox. VFL football wasn't to much of an adjustment but AFL was a crazy pick up in pace. Going to study commerce start this semester. Is starting to get the occasional request for photos and autographs in public but its not to bad just yet.

He was really just a genuinely nice bloke to talk to.

Hind - Noticeable difference between St Kilda fan base and ours being just that much bigger. Melbourne tried to grab him as well as us but was never going anywhere else but here. Went to primary school with Stringer who used to beat him in sprints, thinks he might have Jake covered now though.

Wright - Generic standard "so much more noticeable playing for Essendon crowds as opposed to GC." Didn't expect to play ruck but really enjoyed the challenge, ideally would like to play mainly forward but will ruck as required and does like the freedom of moving around the ground it brings. Reckons he'll probably get Blicavs on Friday night and if Blicavs switches into the ruck from defense he'll just follow him.

Reid - Feeling good now, keen to get back to the Seniors but knows he just needs to build up, doesn't think he'll be a swing player is purely focused on full back work at the moment

Ham - Again eth-dog might offer more but was a bit sore after Saturday night with a calf.

McBride - Much rather play as a forward than a back but likes playing back to give him some ideas on what to do when he goes forward. Reid chimed in they can swap roles anytime he wants.

Hird - Ripping young bloke, tried to not ask about his old man because every time I walked past it seemed like someone was reminiscing about something miraculous his Dad did on the field. His mum would rather he's still playing soccer because she doesn't want to see him getting hurt. Played footy as his main sport till 14, tried the soccer thing in Europe and didn't like it just wanted to come back to AFL. Said soccer feels like there's more room for individual brilliance so blokes were competing against each other rather than playing with each other, where as AFL its very much a team focused game. Believes the younger 2 brothers will both end up playing football, Alex is having a similar soccer/AFL thought process he went through and he's trying to push him to just jumping on the AFL rather than taking a soccer detour. Reckons Alex has potential to be a gun so he's hoping he joins him at Essendon.

There's probably more I've missed that I'll post later if I remember.

My interactions with Cutler was brief but it was mostly about the differences in size between Brisbane and Essendon (ala Wright), said he enjoyed playing half back on the weekend and "prefers whatever position gets him games in the seniors".

Alec Waterman was great to talk to as well, said it felt really weird playing against his brother and running out against West Coast he almost forgot who he was playing for.

Tom Hird also prefers playing forward than back and says he doesn't really feel the pressure of being a Hird thankfully.

Dylan Clarke was really nice to speak to as well, will play a half within the next fortnight for the VFL side and then gradually build up before he's hopefully ready to play seniors.

 

[Beerfish]

he doesn't really feel the pressure of being a Hird thankfully.

I'd like to believe that stays the same but we all know how the media are going to go once he starts getting a game.

Great summaries though. Thanks for posting for those who couldn't make it.

Anything to add Slice and Dyson?

 

[Lore]

Hind - Noticeable difference between St Kilda fan base and ours being just that much bigger. Melbourne tried to grab him as well as us but was never going anywhere else but here. Went to primary school with Stringer who used to beat him in sprints, thinks he might have Jake covered now though.

ya think

 

[boncer34]

ya think

Jake doesn't

 

[Lore]

Hird - Ripping young bloke, tried to not ask about his old man because every time I walked past it seemed like someone was reminiscing about something miraculous his Dad did on the field. His mum would rather he's still playing soccer because she doesn't want to see him getting hurt. Played footy as his main sport till 14, tried the soccer thing in Europe and didn't like it just wanted to come back to AFL. Said soccer feels like there's more room for individual brilliance so blokes were competing against each other rather than playing with each other, where as AFL its very much a team focused game. Believes the younger 2 brothers will both end up playing football, Alex is having a similar soccer/AFL thought process he went through and he's trying to push him to just jumping on the AFL rather than taking a soccer detour. Reckons Alex has potential to be a gun so he's hoping he joins him at Essendon.

Love that. Glad you didn't bombard the kid with 'your dad' memories though. He must be thoroughly sick of it after an entire lifetime. As Beery said, it'll probably get turn up to 11 once the media starts taking more notice of him and the general supporter base realises he exists (beyond the hardcore fans on here and fb groups and stuff).

 

[Lore]

Jake doesn't

I seriously wish that the grand final sprint was legitimately the fastest guys at each club over that distance and not just a random representative.

 

[boncer34]

Love that. Glad you didn't bombard the kid with 'your dad' memories though. He must be thoroughly sick of it after an entire lifetime. As Beery said, it'll probably get turn up to 11 once the media starts taking more notice of him and the general supporter base realises he exists (beyond the hardcore fans on here and fb groups and stuff).

Someone asked him how his Dad was recovering now after the "incident." Direct quote. Tom played it nicely, I wanted to pour my beer on their head.

 

[eth-dog]

I seriously wish that the grand final spring was legitimately the fastest guys at each club over that distance and not just a random representative.

We always put up people who are no chance too. FFS we had a genuinely good sprinter on our list for 4-ish years and he never ran the sprint in Dalgleish!

 

[DERO]

Nicely done boncer34 and eth-dog

 

[Sanj48]

I'd like to believe that stays the same but we all know how the media are going to go once he starts getting a game.

Great summaries though. Thanks for posting for those who couldn't make it.

Anything to add Slice and Dyson?

Nothing much more of substance other than some comical comments.

Hooker - Specifically told me to have his 2018 Shiraz as it was "the best of the bunch"

Reid - A little disappointed that he's only played the one game and it was up in Brisbane. Was telling me how tough it was to get going. Pre-game it was sunny and by the time the game started, the rain was coming in horizontal and he couldn't see a thing. Given the defence is settled he doesn't anticipate playing anytime soon but is super excited to play his first AFL game in Melbourne (whenever that may be). Really wholesome boi.

Cutler - Similar interaction to eth-dog - he played a very straight bat to a few of my questions and particularly said he'd be happy to play 1 minute as the medi-sub at AFL level than be playing in the VFL (as being the medi-sub means he's getting closer to best 22). He is a best mate of one of my workmates so spent a little bit of time talking about post footy career intentions (work in corporate...).

Outside of that, another highlight was during the panel discussion with Darcy, Archie and Zac - Archie was discussing how exciting it is playing with the guys and how much he's enjoying it. A woman in the crowd yelled out "The rising star nomination shows that" *awkward silence* Archie: "Yeah...I haven't got one yet...

 

[DapperDon]

Someone asked him how his Dad was recovering now after the "incident." Direct quote. Tom played it nicely, I wanted to pour my beer on their head.

We really do have some thick as s**t supporters

 

[boncer34]

Oh Hepp said the umpiring was bullshit too.

 

[Mercurial89]

Someone asked him how his Dad was recovering now after the "incident." Direct quote. Tom played it nicely, I wanted to pour my beer on their head.

We really do have some thick as sh*t supporters

I get being a little awkward talking to people but by god that Is horrendous.

 

[jmoo wan]

Perkins - Sat next to him.

How many dirty looks did you get from everyone else?

 

[boncer34]

How many dirty looks did you get from everyone else?

The Woman sitting next to eth-dog seemed ready to rumble for the seat.

Though maybe the draw card was sitting to Eth's left and she was shitty about being on his right?

 

[Mercurial89]

The Caldwell and Shiel stuff is interesting.
Would love if we could get a few games with both of them, Langford, stringer, parish and Merrett.

 

[Lore]

Shiel - Bit of confusion on this one because he mentioned to someone else he was still out due to a set back to his good knee and wasn't sure when he'd be back and then said to me he thought he'd be back in 3 weeks.

According to the performance update he's "in a holding pattern with his running loads while he builds up his strength work" or some such, but last we heard he was 2-3 weeks away, potentially available for the North Melbourne game? So maybe it's just one extra week, so 3-4 weeks.

 

[jmoo wan]

The Woman sitting next to eth-dog seemed ready to rumble for the seat.

Though maybe the draw card was sitting to Eth's left and she was shitty about being on his right?

Understandable, Eth's left side is his best side

 

[jmoo wan]

According to the performance update he's "in a holding pattern with his running loads while he builds up his strength work" or some such, but last we heard he was 2-3 weeks away, potentially available for the North Melbourne game? So maybe it's just one extra week, so 3-4 weeks.

yeah, I'd probably stick with Boncer's info over Sean Murphy

 

[Lore]

yeah, I'd probably stick with Boncer's info over Sean Murphy

I mean both of Boncer's versions and Sean Murphy's info are pretty well in alignment..

 

[Megabattimus]

Really curious how we handle Caldwell if he does come back in a month.