What issues haven’t been resolved that you speak of?Sorry disagree entire on Essendon. Their issues have not been resolved and they’re 2021 season was hard to watch . They literally fell into the 8 as other sides stumbled for a variety of reasons . When playing in the finals showed their true abilities. I’m An convinced they’ll be bottom 6 in 2022 . They’re only as good as the herald sun makes them out to be , the disappointment that will be 2022 will only be more painful by the absolute propaganda piece aired on Fox.
But Carlton , it’s worried me for a long time that they’ll come good . Two big reasons they will deliver this year: McKay and Curnow on the park at the same time , and if Fisher gets his sh$t together that’ll spell bad news for me ! I hate Carlton so much but if properly coached , man they will be an excellent team . Big if , but with new coaching regimen, the opportunity for improvement is obvious . Top 6 minimum 2022 IMO , with the sky the limit 2023 onwards.
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Again, repeating myself. They arguably over achieved in 2021 and played finals. They were widely tipped to be bottom 4. They exceeded expectations as a result of many factors. Whether they fell into the eight, or were hard to watch is your subjective view but has no bearing on Essendon’s progress in 2021 relative to its expectations. I doubt they will finish bottom 6 in 2022, however it’s still a very young and inexperienced list and if it encounters significant injuries to its core of experienced players, anything is possible. Injury largely saw Richmond go from 1st to 10th in 2021. Melbourne went from 4th to 17th in 2019. Essendon could go from 8th to 13th in 2022 if things don’t go it’s way. Does that mean all the work rebuilding its culture, improving its coaching set up, player development, strengthening its list profile etc was for nothing? No. If it stays on cause and doesn’t get distracted, a bottom 6 finish in 2022 will be a set back on its journey but that’s it.
I agree the media pumped them up. Read my post again. A stronger club doesn’t deviate, and it will be interesting to see how they manage that scenario. Compared to prior years, it has a much stronger head of football (Mahoney), much stronger coaching group with a skill set that aligns with the clubs list demographic and development and a stronger higher purpose and sense of meaning.