Preview Round 3, 2024: Essendon v St.Kilda - Marvel Stadium, Saturday 30th March, 4:20PM AEDT *HASTIE DEBUT*

[stavro#4]

Looks like Sandi might struggle this week.

Not much we can do about that.

It’s again probably the worst injury list in the league at current

 

[stfan]

Sharman was moving up and down with the play too. Filled in that mobile marking target role that Wood does. Be interesting to see if that’s a one off.

Sharman did that last season at times.

Sharman has turned into a bit of Mr Fixit for RTB giving him a range of roles including Offensive Forward, Defensive Forward, Defense and Wing

Start of last season RTB asked players where they saw themselves playing and would they play other roles.

Sharman, yes sir!

 

[True Believer]

WE need to get to the point where guys coming back are not re-injured, would be very hand to have Dow come in, with Clark, Crouch and Henry all fit......then we're starting to have real competition for spots.....

Effectively now, Windhager is replacing Crouch rather than rotating with him - how much better would we look with Windy, Dow, Crouch, Steele, Byrnes, Pou, Owens all rotating through the mids.......

 

[stfan]

Expecting to see Sinclair closer to his best. Looked like he needed the run last week. A nine day break should help him. Bonner was below his best too but I felt he improved a bit as the game went on. If the two of them and NWM can gel well, it's an incredibly potent trio. Easily our biggest weapon and unparalleled in the league really.

Plus Battle is quite a good kick too.

 

[stfan]

Team selection is rapidly become what it was last season.

Rather than picking our best 23, it is more do we have a fit 23 that can get on the park?

 

[Dard Ball Get]

On the surface level playing Crouch while he was injured was dumb as shite. Surely there’s something else to it?

6-8 weeks stings.

 

[Otiman]

On the surface level playing Crouch while he was injured was dumb as shite. Surely there’s something else to it?

6-8 weeks stings.

I'm no expert on sports injuries but he was clearly compromised in the latter part of the preseason. Did we just get greedy and risk it?

The surgery was probably required 6-8 weeks ago.

 

[Otiman]

Team selection is rapidly become what it was last season.

Rather than picking our best 23, it is more do we have a fit 23 that can get on the park?

Interesting that those were the games where we won last year.

 

[Saintbloke]

Sharman did that last season at times.

Sharman has turned into a bit of Mr Fixit for RTB giving him a range of roles including Offensive Forward, Defensive Forward, Defense and Wing

Start of last season RTB asked players where they saw themselves playing and would they play other roles.

Sharman, yes sir!

This week's team: FF Sharman, Wing Sharman, HB Sharman, Ruck Sharman

 

[Dard Ball Get]

 

[Dr Spaceman]

 

[Diehard Saint]

Did I just hear Crouch knee surgery 6 weeks?
Seriously?
Over to you Windy.
Jones had better stay fit too. Midfield looking a trifle thin right now

 

[Miha]

Did I just hear Crouch knee surgery 6 weeks?
Seriously?
Over to you Windy.
Jones had better stay fit too. Midfield looking a trifle thin right now

We’ve got some coverage for now, hopefully Dow come back in he’ll be underdone but needed

 

[Winmar2Lockett]

We’ve got some coverage for now, hopefully Dow come back in he’ll be underdone but needed

Dow 1-2 weeks away according to the injury report (same as Jack Hayes).

No one else available inside the next month.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[StFly]

Ok, now I am going to rank my top 10 Essendon player gifs.

Coming in at number 10:

Bit of a weird one to start us off this one, I get the impression that it wasn’t actually on the agenda for the gif maker to make, but rather an improvisation from the Essendon player depicted. Truthfully, I think it’s rather creepy, which is a running theme with this particular players’ gifs, so keep an eye out for this player in future gifs.

Coming in at number 9:

The speed, the smile, the randomness. This one has a place in my heart, I wonder why the gif maker chose the running pose, but this rather youthful looking player certainly delivered on the assignment. I can almost imagine that’s him running on the wide open plains of the McG. Delightful.

Coming in at number 8:

Back again! I think it’s fair to say some players are a lot better at this gif business than others, and this player especially catches the eye again and again. I was frightened when this gif first popped up in the search results, I thought to myself, who is this man short of stature but large in biceps, flexing himself in my general direction. Maybe Essendon edge is real?

Coming in at number 7:

One underrated component of this curated collection of Essendon player gifs is the acting acumen of the players, or should I say, thespians, involved. In this gif we can see the blonde dreaded man appear to look into the sky, mouth agape. He then looks towards the camera, and raises two thumbs. For me, through my critical lens, I’d say the brilliance of this gif is found in its ambiguity. Both the nuance of the performance, and its context, is truly left up to the interpretation of the viewer - and we are all better off for it.

Coming in at number 6:

The lip bite, the little hop step and fist twirl, the rotatory elegance of those hips and subsequent buttocks. This gif, personally, transports me to a dance floor, perhaps at an esteemed and very untacky venue such as the Espy. I’m dancing away, and suddenly between the crowd I catch a glimpse of this man staring at me, almost as if nobody else is there. The music drops and he does this move, eliciting every component of myself to be drawn towards him and the innate, primal complexities of his swagger and groove. For me, this gif is transportive, and for that, I appreciate it. Well done.

Coming in at number 5:

Another brilliant gif, and again I’d really like to draw our attention and eye towards the acting performance that is occurring here. Blink and you’d miss it, but in fact this is a performance, I dare even posit that nothing is on that phone screen, the Essendon player instead imagines that maybe a funny photo or short form joke is on the screen, mind you, a joke so quickly effective that the time from observation to laugh emittance is indistinguishable. Draw your eye to the complexities here, the arm raise, the head rise and fall with the laugh, the gut being tensed. Terrific!

Coming in at number 4:

The duality of man. Is this Essendon player trying to punch me? Or proffer a friendly fist bump greeting as sometimes is done in modern colloquial parlance. The ambiguous binaries on display in this very special gif leave me, but a humble critic, dismayed, wondrous, wordless above all else. I think he is trying to punch me. Again, contextual evidence points towards Essendon edge.

Coming in at number 3:

The dreaded blonde man is back! Working his way into the highly esteemed top 3, this particular player has a knack for theatrics. In this piece, he does two hand gestures with immense chirality and grace, almost as if to elude a sense of coolness and chill. Truthfully, I must concede that in my research, I found not peer reviewed pieces on the meaning of this hand gesture, and as such, this gif has made itself into my top 3 for its enigmatic attributes. What is the dreaded blonde man trying to tell me? Is it a call for help wrapped in the facade of chiral grace and a wry forced smile? It reflects the deepest question I have on humanity as a whole. Astonishing.

Coming in at number 2:

Where to begin with the runner up? My first thought seeing this gif, was oh yay, Essendon fc have done something good to elicit a positive response from this player, conveyed by the leant back posture, flexed arms and mouth mouthing the words “come on!” and I felt at peace and very jovial about the celebration, but then, as all good art does, it twists your perception of reality, and for me in this piece, that is represented in the sudden presence of this players gaping tongue. My joviality immediately turned into discomfort, as I came to grips with the harsh reality of human nature - a very dark and revealing piece that breaches the very sanctity I have naively came to expect in textual representations human kind, and the Essendon football club. In my research, I also found it bearing resemblance to this fellow, attached below for addition cross examination in the human form.

View attachment 1939764
The video for reference for any fellow researchers out there

Honourable Mentions:

Here are some honourable mentions I’d like to acknowledge before revealing my personal number 1 favourite Essendon gif.

I call this one the smack, in brief, allow me to draw your attention to the accompanying smile, very evocative, very off putting for some reason.

Our first non-human, in a series where I have called upon humanity numerously, I though it apt to include this alien like creature, spinning turntables in the first gif I believe, as important context to the range of Essendon gifs out there. The second gif adds to the undeniable discomfort of all Essendon gifs out there, and the repeat themes I have touched on in this ranking, humanity and non-humanity. Go explore for yourself, there is much to be discovered and felt through Essendon gifs, and these gifs remind me of that.

Another “come on!” style gif, which is a personal favourite of mine, very applicable in many contexts, but on a deeper level I am really drawn to the fake exasperation in his eyes.

The weirdest nod I’ve seen. Another case for the non-human. This player in particular, seems to have a lot of weird gifs, if I knew anything about them beyond them as Essendon player gif, I would think they were fairly suspect.

And finally, drumroll please…..

Coming in at number 1!!!!!

I’d like to think that out of all the gifs I have
ranked here, that this is the only one which speaks for itself. This is Essendon.

——

Thank you for going on this journey with me as I attempt to provide a critical contemporary lens on the Essendon gifs, I hope you have equally gone though the ups and downs of this list as I have, touching upon every possible human emotion and really digging into what it means to be human, and what it means to be Essendon, sometimes known as Essington, injectingon, depressingdon etc. And worry not, I will continue to only post Essendon gif related content in this thread.

Disagree with my list? Make your own top 10s and share them below! Continuing discourse is an important part of the process, and we all deserve to enjoy Essendon gifs together.

Hird provides!

We have here the man the myth the legend that was "pick them please" who has spent more time on an exercise bike than on the field, however, since he's still being paid regardless we have this forced half arse smile about being happy at being a mediocre clone of Luke Dunstan. Only he had s**t shoulders, not s**t legs you Peter Andre wannabe.

Here we have a previous seagull in his natural habitat of being told to stand somewhere specific, look at something else and just hang. Only, like a good seagull, he cracked the sads and ran away from that responsibility which then lead to his pseudo retirement. No one is buying it you weak seagull.

I have no strong feelings about this one, just, their culture is s**t and they should have fed the man.

This is just the preamble to the mugshot for punching the cabbie for being a s**t bloke. Apparently. Don;t want to be dresding up old wounds that the club might be cavorting with junkies and criminals oh no.

To follow on from s**t blokes, here's the previous captain now homeless bum throwing gang signals. What a guy!

This one is just, I swear when he opens his mouth he's like one those "This was Disney and I swear they weren't racist and it was just a coincidence" creations from animation where someone probably got fired. Him and Gresh should have an eyebrow off, they can then compare s**t mustaches.

This is just to highlight that as much as we all might want to stick the boot into Essendon, there are moments of clarity that shine through where they make the correct decision, such as telling BT to piss off.

Only, most of it is s**t because of this guy, so you can only give so much leeway to correct decisions. Never quit dodo, never quit, you are the gift that keeps on giving to the rest of the comp.

But in the end, no one really knows why they are still in the competition after what they did, I mean sure they have history, but, they also gave no shits about 40+ young men and what they put into their bodies. How anyone at all was OK with this on any level is a travesty "just because it's AFL" doesn't cut it, like the CTE instances, no one knows how any of that is going to react as previous players grow old or other things happen to them as they age. Unlike the Blues with their money instances, that is clean as a do better and cop your whack for it, but what the Dons did, the question becomes how can you ever forgive them for giving that little s**t about the young men under their charge where they then piss off the head doctor and instead go "hey random chemist operator working out of a van, you step in".

More heads should have rolled, instead the corrupt org topped up using the Blues virtue of "but money..." to prolong their corpse.

 

[Tommy Wigs]

So available for selection outside of the current side:

Caminiti
Shoenmaker
Garcia
Collard
Hastie
Heath
Hotton
Keeler
McLennan
Campbell


And Butler who comes straight back in.

Yikes that is slim pickings. Effectively in debut territory from here.

Yuck!

Every fn year.

 

[Dr Spaceman]

 

[FQFjt]

So available for selection outside of the current side:

Caminiti
Shoenmaker
Garcia
Collard
Hastie
Heath
Hotton
Keeler
McLennan
Campbell


And Butler who comes straight back in.

Yikes that is slim pickings. Effectively in debut territory from here.

Garcia and Hotton are the only two midfielders on that list and Garcia might already be into the 23 this week. If someone else goes down we are really going to be struggling. Hotton is no where near ready by all reports...

 

[PoppedCorn]

This thread sucks, but nowhere near as much as the Essedon version. Sad.

Nothing will live up to the 150th anytime soon imo


Crouch:
Why ffs
He was clearly underdone by not playing the practice matches...and we throw him in round one.


Windy will step up full time and dominate.

 

[SaintersUnite]

Ok, now I am going to rank my top 10 Essendon player gifs.

Coming in at number 10:

Bit of a weird one to start us off this one, I get the impression that it wasn’t actually on the agenda for the gif maker to make, but rather an improvisation from the Essendon player depicted. Truthfully, I think it’s rather creepy, which is a running theme with this particular players’ gifs, so keep an eye out for this player in future gifs.

Coming in at number 9:

The speed, the smile, the randomness. This one has a place in my heart, I wonder why the gif maker chose the running pose, but this rather youthful looking player certainly delivered on the assignment. I can almost imagine that’s him running on the wide open plains of the McG. Delightful.

Coming in at number 8:

Back again! I think it’s fair to say some players are a lot better at this gif business than others, and this player especially catches the eye again and again. I was frightened when this gif first popped up in the search results, I thought to myself, who is this man short of stature but large in biceps, flexing himself in my general direction. Maybe Essendon edge is real?

Coming in at number 7:

One underrated component of this curated collection of Essendon player gifs is the acting acumen of the players, or should I say, thespians, involved. In this gif we can see the blonde dreaded man appear to look into the sky, mouth agape. He then looks towards the camera, and raises two thumbs. For me, through my critical lens, I’d say the brilliance of this gif is found in its ambiguity. Both the nuance of the performance, and its context, is truly left up to the interpretation of the viewer - and we are all better off for it.

Coming in at number 6:

The lip bite, the little hop step and fist twirl, the rotatory elegance of those hips and subsequent buttocks. This gif, personally, transports me to a dance floor, perhaps at an esteemed and very untacky venue such as the Espy. I’m dancing away, and suddenly between the crowd I catch a glimpse of this man staring at me, almost as if nobody else is there. The music drops and he does this move, eliciting every component of myself to be drawn towards him and the innate, primal complexities of his swagger and groove. For me, this gif is transportive, and for that, I appreciate it. Well done.

Coming in at number 5:

Another brilliant gif, and again I’d really like to draw our attention and eye towards the acting performance that is occurring here. Blink and you’d miss it, but in fact this is a performance, I dare even posit that nothing is on that phone screen, the Essendon player instead imagines that maybe a funny photo or short form joke is on the screen, mind you, a joke so quickly effective that the time from observation to laugh emittance is indistinguishable. Draw your eye to the complexities here, the arm raise, the head rise and fall with the laugh, the gut being tensed. Terrific!

Coming in at number 4:

The duality of man. Is this Essendon player trying to punch me? Or proffer a friendly fist bump greeting as sometimes is done in modern colloquial parlance. The ambiguous binaries on display in this very special gif leave me, but a humble critic, dismayed, wondrous, wordless above all else. I think he is trying to punch me. Again, contextual evidence points towards Essendon edge.

Coming in at number 3:

The dreaded blonde man is back! Working his way into the highly esteemed top 3, this particular player has a knack for theatrics. In this piece, he does two hand gestures with immense chirality and grace, almost as if to elude a sense of coolness and chill. Truthfully, I must concede that in my research, I found not peer reviewed pieces on the meaning of this hand gesture, and as such, this gif has made itself into my top 3 for its enigmatic attributes. What is the dreaded blonde man trying to tell me? Is it a call for help wrapped in the facade of chiral grace and a wry forced smile? It reflects the deepest question I have on humanity as a whole. Astonishing.

Coming in at number 2:

Where to begin with the runner up? My first thought seeing this gif, was oh yay, Essendon fc have done something good to elicit a positive response from this player, conveyed by the leant back posture, flexed arms and mouth mouthing the words “come on!” and I felt at peace and very jovial about the celebration, but then, as all good art does, it twists your perception of reality, and for me in this piece, that is represented in the sudden presence of this players gaping tongue. My joviality immediately turned into discomfort, as I came to grips with the harsh reality of human nature - a very dark and revealing piece that breaches the very sanctity I have naively came to expect in textual representations human kind, and the Essendon football club. In my research, I also found it bearing resemblance to this fellow, attached below for addition cross examination in the human form.

View attachment 1939764
The video for reference for any fellow researchers out there

Honourable Mentions:

Here are some honourable mentions I’d like to acknowledge before revealing my personal number 1 favourite Essendon gif.

I call this one the smack, in brief, allow me to draw your attention to the accompanying smile, very evocative, very off putting for some reason.

Our first non-human, in a series where I have called upon humanity numerously, I though it apt to include this alien like creature, spinning turntables in the first gif I believe, as important context to the range of Essendon gifs out there. The second gif adds to the undeniable discomfort of all Essendon gifs out there, and the repeat themes I have touched on in this ranking, humanity and non-humanity. Go explore for yourself, there is much to be discovered and felt through Essendon gifs, and these gifs remind me of that.

Another “come on!” style gif, which is a personal favourite of mine, very applicable in many contexts, but on a deeper level I am really drawn to the fake exasperation in his eyes.

The weirdest nod I’ve seen. Another case for the non-human. This player in particular, seems to have a lot of weird gifs, if I knew anything about them beyond them as Essendon player gif, I would think they were fairly suspect.

And finally, drumroll please…..

Coming in at number 1!!!!!

I’d like to think that out of all the gifs I have
ranked here, that this is the only one which speaks for itself. This is Essendon.

——

Thank you for going on this journey with me as I attempt to provide a critical contemporary lens on the Essendon gifs, I hope you have equally gone though the ups and downs of this list as I have, touching upon every possible human emotion and really digging into what it means to be human, and what it means to be Essendon, sometimes known as Essington, injectingon, depressingdon etc. And worry not, I will continue to only post Essendon gif related content in this thread.

Disagree with my list? Make your own top 10s and share them below! Continuing discourse is an important part of the process, and we all deserve to enjoy Essendon gifs together.

This is post of the year so far for me.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[SaintersUnite]

So available for selection outside of the current side:

Caminiti
Shoenmaker
Garcia
Collard
Hastie
Heath
Hotton
Keeler
McLennan
Campbell


And Butler who comes straight back in.

Yikes that is slim pickings. Effectively in debut territory from here.

Probably a bad way for me to look at it, but I’m excited by this. Watching new youngsters get their debuts always gets me giddy.


Sent from my iPhone using BigFooty.com

 

[Grav]

Although Caminiti only had a so,so game for the Zebs, I would promote him for this game. Type of player who performs well in front of a crowd & would step up if Essington try their niggling behind play tactic's. Bring it on!

 

[seesalswigs44]

tbh crouch out doesn’t really concern me. Glad he’s getting it right was a niggling issue the whole preseason but I also think we can’t play both crouch and Ross in the same midfield. It’s too one paced. Last week was the best our midfield has looked for a long time with the injection of windy’s pace and mitchito’s strength. Dow in will also be huge.

 

[Plugger35]

We don't rotate midfielders off the bench like other teams, we rotate them off the injury list.

When one of our midfielders returns from injury like Jones, we lose another one like Crouch.

Our midfield would actually look pretty good if we could get all of our best midfielders fit and firing but that never seems to happen.

 

[Saint Watto]

This is post of the year so far for me.

Yet another home run from the Doc.