Ansett Cup GF - thoughts anyone?

[Dave]

I can't remember seeing a pre-season game played with such intensity. I also can't recall seeing Nth look as dis-interested as they did in a long time, with the notable exceptions of Bell & Archer.

Good to see the Bombers stand up, particularly after being on the end of some pretty physical stuff from North over the years. Nice to get some back Good hit on Blakey despite Robbo's waffling on about it on the telly. Not a bad one on Hardwick either, though it didn't do quite the same damage.

Great duel between Lloyd & Martyn. Finsihed just about even, Lloyd started off well in the first half, a bit stiff not to get a fifty on one occasion. Martyn played him a lot closer in the second. Top stuff. Did anyone actually see what he was reported for? The replays (both at the 'G & on ch7) were inconclusive.

Interesting to see that the players weren't too hyper after the game either. A team on a mission (ala Nth after '98) perhaps? I hope the team aren't as cocky as some of the supporters. Hopefully we can take the good form into round one and beyond!

seeya

Dave

Carn'a Bombers!

 

[Bomber]

Yea, pretty well put.

North like to dish out the rough stuff, but dont worry, they have a few players who dont like it much coming the other way. We hit em hard, and instead of coming right back at us like I expected, they let us control them. Reminds me a bit of the typical school bully, at last somebody stands up to him, and he goes to water.

This is a good psychological win, this is 3 comprehensive wins in a row for us over north.

Gotta find some room for Long, Lucas and Moorcroft as well.

 

[Dan26]

Yeah, I think it is very important that the players retain the respect for their opponents, and don't start believing their own publicity. Sheedy won't let that happen. He'll keep a lid on it.

I remember in 1985, after having won in 1984, Essendon was flag favourite the whole year. But the players didn't let it go to theor heads. In fact, they won 19 H&A games on their way to a 78 point GF victory over Hawthorn. Sheedy will be reminding the players of what happened in 1999, as a reminder to not count their chickens before they've hatched.

Having said that, there is no reason, why they shouldn't be confident. There is no reason, why us supporters shouldn't be confident either. I'd rather be over-confident than under confident, I can tell you......

The fact that there is quite a bit of depth at the club will have players performing just to keep their place in the team.

 

[Shinboners]

I agree with most of what Dave wrote....credit to Essendon. The main point that I disagree with him is that to me, North did look interested and did try. On the night, Essendon just had that edge in executing their game plan.

From a North perspective, it was a strange game. On the one hand, the team still played to the game plan and they still did the little things...chasing, harassing, running to position. But on the other hand, North were not able (or more precisely, allowed) to create the loose man.

I'm not sure why the media made out the Johnson bump on Blakey to be such a bad thing though....I thought the bump was fair. If he gets reported for that, well, the game is just getting too soft.

Anyway, we over at Arden Street aren't too bothered by it. See you guys in round 13, and in the finals.

[This message has been edited by Shinboners (edited 28 February 2000).]

 

[rafter]

As neither a Bomber or a Roo, I loved the match.
It looked to me like the Bombers rattled the Roos when they the Bombers fought back. Just an observation.
I did see a little incident that I hope the video umpire does see as well. It involved Mick Martin and Lloyd,they were on the ground with Lloyd face receiving rather a lot of close attention.

 

[Dave]

Shinboners, yeah can't wait! I agree with what you said about the bumnp on Blakey, it was perfect.

As for Nth, maybe I should have used the term "flat" instead of disintersted

seeya

Dave

 

[Longjohn]

Rafter, you sound like a Brisbane Cry Baby.

 

[Shinboners]

Dave

It would be a shame if the shirtfront was eliminated from the game....let's face it, we all love that stuff if it's OUR team doing it......and it's a good reason to whinge if we're on the receiving end.

I remember in the '95 Prelminary Final vs. Carlton, Schwass shirtfronted Peter Dean and someone else took out Williams. A Carlton fan near me remarked, "I used to like North...they played fairly, but now they're such a dirty team" (a bit rich coming from someone who barracked for a side with Greg Williams in it, I know, but anyway). I pointed out that I'd prefer my team to dish out the tough stuff and win, than be pushed around and lose. We lost anyway ;-)

That is why I have so much respect for Kevin Sheedy as a coach. He was right in '98 when he said that people had a perception that Essendon were soft. They were up until '98. He fixed the problem and Essendon are not soft now (okay, on Saturday I saw Mercuri pull up from a ball in the pocket when Archer was chasing him, but hell, if Archer was chasing me, I'd do the same too).

Anyway, while it's all fine and good to be a tough team, the problem that Essendon will face is to keep it up all season. In the last couple of years, North has tended to look tired by September....playing hard football is a physically punishing way to play. Glenn Archer last year said that they needed that one weeks rest in the finals. In '98, the team looked drained after the preliminary final. So, apart from a bad run with injuries, that will be one thing that Essendon will have to watch out for this season. On the plus side, Essendon's hard nuts are young, so they could carry them through. I guess we'll all find out in September.

Cheers

 

[Dave]

Shinboners,
yeah, I love dishing out a good h&s & seeing someone hit the ground more than anything else, but they aint so much fun to cop!

I think a lot of the stuff about Essendon being soft came from the fact that they blooded a lot of young kids in 97/first half of 98 like Caracella & Heffernan who are fairly skinny little runts. The last year or so they've gone for the more solid type like the Johnson boys and Solomon, who are quite a bit harder at the pill.

BTW, I don't know whether Mercuri knew Archer was coming or not, when I watched the game on tape it looked like he had his eye on the ball the whole time but just couldn't get a handle on the bloody thing. Still, I wouldn't like to have Archer bearing down on me at a rate of knots either!

Playing that style certainly can leave you with a few scars at the end of the year (I know, I've been there, surburban footy aint that graceful!), but as you say hopefully the fact that they are fairly young will help. Fingers crossed we'll have a decent year injury wise, Lord knows we're due one!

Anyway, I'm looking forward to what's shaping up to be a good year. Hopefully we'll play some good footy & we'll see what happens at the end of it.

seeya

Dave

 

[Dan26]

Shinboner,

As a religious Essendon fan (but a keen fan of the game and a knowledagble supporter), I taped the game on Saturday night, and watched it when I got home.

When Mercuri had the ball on the outer wing, on his own, he looked UP a moment beofre he took posession. He looked up at the goal. It was almost as if, he was thinking one move ahead of where his body was. He is a player of such class that he could often do this and get a way with it. I actually saw his head. He wasn't even looking at Archer. He simply had too much time, if that is possible.

About Archer, I thought he was North's best player on the night. The thing I like about Archer is that he plays it tough, but he doesn't mouth-off like Bell, and Carey, and McKernan, and others. He is a silent achiever. He just plays the game hard but fair. This will probably prevent him from ever being captain, but it won't bother him. He is not suited to the captaincy, just like Wanganeen should have never been given the job at Port.

But Archer is a great player.

Let me just also squash a myth. Denis Pagan is more important to North Melbourne than Wayne Carey. No doubt about it. If Denis didn't come to the club in 1993, they would not be where they are now, even with Carey.

 

[Shinboners]

Dan24

Stick to watching Essendon. Archer, is usually one of the louder mouths in the North defence. And speaking of mouthing off, I suppose all those Essendon players who surrounded Martyn after Lloyd ran around him were just there to console our gorgeous Mick. Your players like Wallis (hee hee), Barnard, and Johnson aren't exactly angels either (and who was that Essendon player who ran past the knocked out Blakey and said "COP THAT!"?). So what if players sledge their opposition? This is football, not tennis or golf.

Anyway, the one point you almost got right is Pagan. To my mind, he is just as important to North's success as Carey...not more, not less, just AS important. As a man manager, he convinced the likes of Archer and McKernan to play football. He saw the potential of players like Bell, Abraham, and Pike when no-one else did (although I have to add that Sheedy wanted Pike too, but was over-ruled). And he ressurected the Hafey long ball game, refined it a little, and stuck with it when most people in '93 thought that it would never work.

Still, I reckon that Pagan would not be the coach he is without that one year at Essendon. It seemed to give him a different perspective on coaching, just added to his education. Sometimes a different view can add so much to what you know.