Review 2017 Expectations - Time to reflect

[Killer_Mike]

10 wins for me - It's the quality of play and the system implemented which is more important.

Managed to get 2 more wins.

I think the quality of play and systems have both been a big tick.

 

[Killer_Mike]

In a way, I feel like the 2017 season may be a bit like the 2014 season.

There will be an adjustment period for the banned players coming back as they work to a new game plan along with a few positional shifts - much like 2014 where Bomber switched a few players around and went with his high possession game style.

If everything clicks perfectly, I'd expect us to finish in a similar spot to 2014 (i.e. around 7th). However, the realist in me sees us around 9-12th.

Bang on the money.

 

[boncer34]

Flag

/thread.

Also don't any of you dare reply to the dumb campaigner above. Don't feed the troll.

4 games to go

 

[Whispering_Jack]

#loltigs

 

[Doss]

#sheepish

 

[Whispering_Jack]

#sheepish

I had them bottom 4 - all good

 

[hurlygurdy]

Thought i'd revisit this thread seeing we now know something about how it is panning out...
So far it seems to be going roughly along the lines that i expected, given i thought we would be very competitive but also thought we could start a bit rusty. Big surprise for me is just how good Walla and Fantasia are, while i would have expected more from Stanton, Bags, Gleeson and Langford. I'm still stunned that McNeice snuck in!
How the old school in the team settle in, is still yet to be determined. Hurley is a great example of shining in some areas while looking really off the pace in others. Same goes for Watson and Heppell. I wouldn't write off Hocking yet, as i would fully expect him to start seriously smashing the VFL in coming weeks. He is too good for VFL (even if he doesn't suit our current needs). Colyer is also still settling, but i think we can all see the player he is becoming. How all these guys go late in the season will be crucial. I do think there is a serious risk of the team fading as a result of the year off. TRB would know more than me, but i wouldn't be opposed to them managing the loads of these guys particularly given the list depth at our disposal. Trouble is that there is never a good week to rest a required player.
All in all i think we will peak mid year and be looking every inch a top four side, only to fade back to 6th to 9th by finals.

Reasonably happy with my predictions. Don't know what happened to Colyer's hands though

 

[Dave]

#sheepish

#jadeish

 

[Mercurial89]

number 17 in 2017. It is known.



In all honesty though im thinking 11th-10th. What yaco55 said is correct though, it will be more about how we play which will give us an idea of where we are at.

Could still happen.

 

[SherbertLemon]

LOL. Orazio would have been our leading goal kicker for these 6 years on his 2017 tally. On one hand I love our forwards now, but FMD we were shit then

 

[citizen-erased]

By game:
Rd.1 - Win. Hawks can be slow starters and are on their way down. We should be raring to go and pumped.
Rd.2 - Win. We may be away, but we should beat the Lions
Rd.3 - Win. Its Carlton. just beat them
Rd.4 - Loss. Adelaide are a good team. Even better at home. Would be an upset if we win
Rd.5 - Win. Sick of losing Anzac Day & we should be better than the Pies
Rd.6 - Win. 5 day break not ideal and Melbourne are up and about. But they'll be favourites, so we should win. its how it goes
Rd.7 - Loss. Hard to say what Freo will be like, but over there, i can't see us winning
Rd.8 - Loss. Cos its geelong and when do we ever beat them
Rd.9 - Loss. Tipping the Eagles to be top 4 & despite being in Vic, we will struggle
Rd.10 - Win. Should be better than Richmond, who I'm tipping for bottom 4 in 2017
Rd.11 - Loss. GWS @ Home. Can't see us competing
Rd.12 - Win. Port aren't much chop, esp in Vic.
Hit the Bye 7-5, maybe 8-6 if we can get over West Coast or Geelong.
Rd.14 - Loss. Swans @ SCG. Cant remember when we last beat them there
Rd.15 - Win. Lions shouldn't beat us here
Rd.16 - Win. Should be better than the Pies at this stage still
Rd.17 - Win. We owe the Saints a belting too
Rd.18 - Win. Expect us to leapfrog the Roos
Rd.19 - Loss. Could be 50/50 against the Dogs. I think we match up well. Could be an upset
Rd.20 - Win. See Rd.3
Rd.21 - Loss. Adelaide don't play Vic that badly, but they could be ripe for an upset here. Esp @ Etihad
Rd.22 - Win. Gold Coast in QLD shouldn't be that difficult an interstate win.
Rd.23 - Win. Freo in Melbourne. We have a good record against them here.
Expectation: 14-8 win-loss record.
That can be better with an upset or two.
This is such a soft draw. i want to see us capitalise.

dropped 2 i thought we'd win. picked up 2 i thought we wouldn't.

even at 14-8, with our % we'd still be 7th.
so all id be spared was weekends where i was in a bad mood.

 

[JayJ20]

I decided to take a day to analyse the situation so that any emotion is taking out of it. Whilst I was more positive about our prospects after the game, I started comparing our season to other seasons and I find that there is no difference.
I know we're likely to improve and all, but this season has been exactly the same as any of our other seasons for the last 10 years. It really did make me reassess my original judgment of what a successful season is for us. I wouldn't say that this season is a success. I say that it's borderline scraping a pass. Maybe even that is being generous.
Sure we have plenty of young players, but the concerning thing for me is that it was our senior players that folded like a pack of cards when the pressure was on. McGrath, Daniher and Parish were 3 of our best yesterday.

Reviewing the season, all the hallmarks of an ordinary mid-table Essendon was present this year.

- Throwing away wins against bottom 4 sides and therefore, giving away a home final. FYI, our last home final was in 2002.

-Destroying some top 8 teams to give us some perspective of what they are capable of.

- Blowing out close games when we decide that it is all too hard. Fremantle round 7, Bulldogs, Melbourne, Adelaide at Etihad etc. Yesterday, they gave up in the second quarter when things were too hard. That quarter should be played very often over the off season because that sums up our last 10 years. I think I saw one ruck contest where TBC wasn't even there. The Sydney ruckman literally had no opponent. It might have even been a centre bounce from memory.

- Playing a brand that doesn't stand up to finals football. When was the last time Essendon had a midfield capable of competing in the contest for 4 quarters? Why has it taken so long to realise that contested footy is the way to win in September?

- Of course getting demolished in an EF yet again. Must it always be over by half time? We only competed in one final in the last 13 years. 2014 against North Melbourne. The rest were all over by half time.

Thing is, I didn't watch the game yesterday and say "wow Sydney are the best side I've ever seen". That second quarter was as much about us being terrible as it was about Sydney being good.

Hmmm. Unfortunately, nothing shows me that the current group will naturally progress in finals next year unless huge changes are made, both list wise and the way we play the game. The gap between our best and worst is too large for us to assess which way we are heading. Whilst a million excuses were made for the playing group this year (which I honestly don't agree with), there will be no excuses next year.

 

[pazza]

The first step back to greatness. Next is one is arguably just as big, if not bigger.