Essendon 2006

[Alexis Logan]

Hello all Bomber fans.

Watching the Bombers the past three weeks I have several worries about the side. Its quite obvious that they will struggle this year, as many "experts" predicted, but really I think there underachieving.

Dean Rioli, is a disgrace. Dustin is loosing his cool more than ever, and the younger players really are not stepping up.

Where do you believe they will finish this year?

 

[Longy413]

If Dustin Fletcher didn't play last night we would have lost by 15 goals.
And Dean Rioli didn't make a mistake with the footy. Every team has a player in the side that spends a lot of time on the bench, that happens with a four man interchange bench. But if that player can create 3-4 scoring opportunities then you gain from it.

We'll finish 17th.

 

[Daytripper]

Hello all Bomber fans.

Watching the Bombers the past three weeks I have several worries about the side.

Thanks for your concern, Luke. I know I feel much better knowing that intelligent minds such as yourself are thinking about us.

Where do you believe they will finish this year?

I disagree with Longy here.
I think we'll finish first.

 

[windyhill]

I said 10-12 , maybe a little too ambitious.

 

[Sam the RAMA fan]

Thanks for your concern, Luke. I know I feel much better knowing that intelligent minds such as yourself are thinking about us.


I disagree with Longy here.
I think we'll finish first.

Tripper all right
I agree with Longy...17th!!! hehe

 

[bossco]

I have given myself nearly 24 hours. I was angry last night. I’ve composed myself, calmed down and decided we are an absolute joke. Mark Johnson is pathetic, runs around being the toughest bloke he can be without actually getting a kick or beating his opponent. Jobe, you’ve improved but your footskills are woeful. Hirdy, please fake an injury, you are too good to be embarrassed playing with this rabble. Take the rest of the year off and play on again next year. Gus, I like you. Solomon, has to go. Does he even know he is meant to have an opponent. He is a joke. An undisciplined stupid footballer who drinks his own bath water. Winder? The best work you did was at 11pm when you were doing sprints by yourself on a dimly lit G. Why??? McVeigh? You have never given us anything. Never! He is just a passenger. Welsh, a sheedy favourite. You are slow and think you are better than you are. Lovett, you could be so good but you are so lazy defensively, this game is 2 way. Jason Johnson, thank you for your service but you are dead set finished, you have lost the impact. Kepler? ? ? We have to admit it’s the worst waste of a high draft pick since bolts. Campo, I say bring back Murphy, enough said. Hille, congrats on the captaincy but you have to do more. Slats, please play him more. Courtney Johns, don’t listen to Sheedy, face it he can’t play. Bolts, well we know about him. Stanton, well played last night, you let your first game opponent Polo have 30 touches and kick 3. Still a way to go. Lucas, such an under rated player your whole career, could tell last night you were embarrassed to play with this group. Heff, you do ok, but that is it, ok. Laycock, you are a part of the future I like you. Dustin, I hate to think what we will be like when you’re gone, you save us 8 goals a week. Smoky, you’re dinking your own bath water too mate, the 2004 b&f went to your head. Stop thinking you’re tough and just play. Lovett Murray, a great improver, keep it up. Rioli, get stuffed and just retire. You have done nothing but tease us and we are sick of it. Your career will be known as lots of lazy games with silky skills.
And now comes our coach. Stop believing the rubbish he speaks. His spin, his diversions. Its about football. This dreamtime at the G rubbish I’m sick of it. Think about the football game. You are finished. I love you and it hurts to say it but I’ve had enough.
Only thing we have to look forward to is pick 1 and bryce gibbs.

 

[nipst@r]

Draft pick city hey,

i actually wouldnt mind struggling this year with such a strong draft. Because lets be realistic WE ARE NOT GOING TO MAKE FINALS. And there is nothing at all respectable or commendable about finshing from 10 to 14th for the essendon football club, we are a prouder club than mid range finishes. So as wrong as it is, this is the year to bottom out.

Hirdy must play on next year just because hird deserves to play finals in his last year and if we dont lose stupid close games at the start of next year we are more than capable of finals.

 

[Longy413]

If it's a strong draft, isn't it a little redundant where we finish? Especially with no priority picks up for grabs.

Let's just win as many games as possible and take the picks we are given.

 

[essendon]

To anyone is there a problem finishing last? We win a wooden spoon? Big deal if we do. I want a No1 pick for once, i would love to see a Cooney, Deledio,Murphy, Hodge type in our team - a gun midfielder. If this Gibbs guy in Adelaide is a star i hope we can get him, i couldnt give a stuff about finishing last as long as we develop our young kids give them the game time and go for it in 2007
Heay Longy, what do you know of our recruiting officer, whats his football background, b/c if we get first choice I hope he picks the right one.

 

[Longy413]

I'd rather win games and draft another Monfries.

 

[Nuts4Bolts]

If it's a strong draft, isn't it a little redundant where we finish? Especially with no priority picks up for grabs.

Let's just win as many games as possible and take the picks we are given.

You are so positive Longy. It's blokes like you that keep our players thinking they are better than they are. We are rubbish. Hence 1-5. I love us, but we aren't any good. It's that simple. 1-5!!!!!

Great post Bossco.

 

[Longy413]

You are so positive Longy. It's blokes like you that keep our players thinking they are better than they are.

Believe it or not I don't have a lot to do with our current state. And I don't think attitude is our problem at the moment, we are having a crack, we just aren't really good.

But I'll be buggered if I'll accept that this club should lie down and finish last so we can get a good pick. I want our players to have a crack, I want to win games. If that takes us to 1st, 8th, 14th or even 16th I don't care.

But if my club, the club I love because we strive, demand and only accept success, stops doing everything in its power to win football matches so we can get better draft picks, then it is no longer the club I love.

So as I said, I'd rather we win games, even if its only 5 or 6 and put the faith in our recruiters to find another Angus Monfries, Brent Stanton or Paddy Ryder.

 

[Daytripper]

To anyone is there a problem finishing last? We win a wooden spoon? Big deal if we do. I want a No1 pick for once, i would love to see a Cooney, Deledio,Murphy, Hodge type in our team - a gun midfielder. If this Gibbs guy in Adelaide is a star i hope we can get him, i couldnt give a stuff about finishing last as long as we develop our young kids give them the game time and go for it in 2007
Heay Longy, what do you know of our recruiting officer, whats his football background, b/c if we get first choice I hope he picks the right one.

I have a massive problem coming last. Its shameful.
And I hope everyone at our club does too.

Draft picks don't mean everything. Mostly its all hype and no substance.

Has Goddard helped St Kilda ?
Has Wells helped Kangaroos ?
Has Brennan helped Brisbane ?
Has Walker helped Carlton
Have Ray, T Walsh and Williams helped the Bulldogs ?
Has Tambling helped Richmond ?
Has Franklin and Roughhead helped Hawthorn ?

All these players are top 6 picks over the past 3 seasons and all are fringe players (with the possible exception of Wells) at their respective clubs.

There are players that can make a difference like Deledio, Cooney, Griffin and Thomas but they are the exception not the norm.

If you want to succeed through failure these days you need two or even three seasons of consistently picking up priority picks.
There are no priority picks any more so following that strategy is now moot.

 

[Nuts4Bolts]

But I'll be buggered if I'll accept that this club should lie down and finish last so we can get a good pick. I want our players to have a crack, I want to win games.

I want to win games as well. But we will finish last if we keep playing the players we are. We don't need to lie down. As great as Solomon, Welsh, the Johnson's, McPhee and Bolton have been for us, they are the one's that are letting us down. Although Bolts hasn't been great at any stage.
So the way I see it is, unless we change, we will finish last regardless.

 

[Longy413]

I want to win games as well. But we will finish last if we keep playing the players we are. We don't need to lie down. As great as Solomon, Welsh, the Johnson's, McPhee and Bolton have been for us, they are the one's that are letting us down. Although Bolts hasn't been great at any stage.
So the way I see it is, unless we change, we will finish last regardless.

McPhee has played three good games in a row, Welsh was good on Saturday night and Jason Johnson is getting back into it. 31 disposals on Saturday night, 22 the week before. They aren't at the peak of their powers but they are worth sticking with.

Solly and MJ and battling and no doubt now need to go back. I thought Solly might have been turning things around in the first quarter, he was fantastic.

The thing is we don't need to make drastic change to start winning games. We've just got to find the right mix.

 

[Nectarine Surprise]

Hello all Bomber fans.

Watching the Bombers the past three weeks I have several worries about the side. Its quite obvious that they will struggle this year, as many "experts" predicted, but really I think there underachieving.

Dean Rioli, is a disgrace. Dustin is loosing his cool more than ever, and the younger players really are not stepping up.

Where do you believe they will finish this year?

I think we'll finish somewher between 13-16. This week will tell us a lot more. If we can't beat Carlton, the spoon is a real chance.

Athough I disagree with the statement above about younger players not stepping up. Watson, Stanton, Lovett-Murray, Lovett, etc were all amongst our best on Saturday and have been decent all year. Laycock also showed a bit on Saturday. Its the mid age group that are severly disappointing. I know some have excuses (injured during pre-seaon) but we are getting nothing from Solomon, Johnsons, Welsh, that ex Carlton player (when he plays), Peverill (although now in 2s). These blokes should be the core of the sidfe given their age and experince level yet are clearly struggling. If Solomon gets picked again this coming week, questions must be asked.

 

[Philzsay]

Yes, we are all hurting. Noone wants to start a season 1 - 5 down, especially when a lot of us were optimistic about a much better season this year. But I dont think it is time for mass panic. It will get us nowhere. We just need to have a realistic look at where we are at.

I think we currently paying for low quality of talent drafted from 99 to 2002. We made some poor drafting decisions, lost picks in 99 due to salary cap penalties and had later picks to begin with due to our onfield success. These players would now be 22 to 27. I know its easy in retrospect but to think that Daniel Kerr was pick 18 after we just used our first pick, no 17 on James Davies who only played three games for us just plain sucks.

Drafting takes a while to make a strong influence a club onfield, and those relativly barren years are hurting us right now. We have a lost generation IMO. We have tried to make up for it by trading for McPhee for example, but there is still that gap. However I think that our drafting since, from 2003 to now, has been much better. Players like Stants, Bradley, Dyson, Monfries, Slats and Ryder will be good players for us, but it is still too early for them to be carrying the rest of the team.

With this gap in the 23 to 27 age group, we really need our senior players to stand up. And the simple fact is that collectively they have had a massive drop in form (ie MJ, JJ, Solomon etc) or are not playing (Lloyd, Rama, Rioli etc). This is the major reason I feel we have been losing these games we should have or could have won.

So where to for now? Well we simply need the senior players to lift if we want to win games this year. Failing that we need to continue to develop our younger players. We need this younger group to become better and more consistant very fast. If they can do that we may have a chance to win a flag in 07 and 08 while Lloyd, Fletch and Lucas are still playing. When these 3 retire (and the johnsons etc will be much older/slower) our current young players will then be the senior players of the club. Lets hope they will be ready for it.

 

[red+black]

So where to for now? Well we simply need the senior players to lift if we want to win games this year. Failing that we need to continue to develop our younger players. We need this younger group to become better and more consistant very fast. If they can do that we may have a chance to win a flag in 07 and 08 while Lloyd, Fletch and Lucas are still playing.

Herein lies the difference between fiction and reality. At the start of the season, I thought we were odds on for bottom 8. Now without Lloyd, and a poor start, we're odds on for bottom 4.

I do not believe that we are a chance at making the finals next year, let alone a flag. That's just silly talk. Finals in 2008 is a possibility but at this stage, I see quite a bit of pain for Essendon.

However, if we do plan to make finals next year, we have to focus on that RIGHT NOW. Forget this year, don't worry about where we finish, how strong the draft is, make the hard decisions now, if it means we finish 5-17, so be it, as long as we prepare a platform to work from. I fear that Essendon cannot make the tough decisions and it could be 2009 or beyond before we see finals action.

 

[jules101]

I have a massive problem coming last. Its shameful.
And I hope everyone at our club does too.

Draft picks don't mean everything. Mostly its all hype and no substance.

Has Goddard helped St Kilda ?
Has Wells helped Kangaroos ?
Has Brennan helped Brisbane ?
Has Walker helped Carlton
Have Ray, T Walsh and Williams helped the Bulldogs ?
Has Tambling helped Richmond ?
Has Franklin and Roughhead helped Hawthorn ?

All these players are top 6 picks over the past 3 seasons and all are fringe players (with the possible exception of Wells) at their respective clubs.

There are players that can make a difference like Deledio, Cooney, Griffin and Thomas but they are the exception not the norm.

If you want to succeed through failure these days you need two or even three seasons of consistently picking up priority picks.
There are no priority picks any more so following that strategy is now moot.

Wells is a good player...

 

[nipst@r]

i dont want to see essendon tank as such but i was more saying if this is the year it has to happen (bottom 3-4) or even not win five games and finsh last then at least we picked a good year to suck. Lets face it with the eveness of the competiton due in no small part to the AFL's laws, every team will spend time at the top and at the bottom. I'm just glad it appears our time at the bottom may come when it will prove most beneficial in the long run.

We chose a good year to struggle by the looks of things.

 

[Longy413]

Wells is a good player...

So is Angus Monfries.

 

[jules101]

McVeigh? You have never given us anything.

Bit harsh on someone thats job was to tag Deleidio and he did an awesome job at that...
Soloman, Welsh and MJ have to go. Should have traded all 3 when we had the chance. bradley needs to find a position because he cant play forward cant play back and on the wing he is way too slow.
Bossco you said something about Lovett not being good defensively, I couldnt disagree more. How often do you see him chase down a player and get a holding the ball decision or like on Sat force the player to kick in a hurry resulting in a free kick.

 

[Daytripper]

Wells is a good player...

He's okay. No world beater.

My question is though, has he helped the Kangaroos ?
Are they going to win the flag because he was a number 2 pick ?

The answer is of course, no.

Don't overestimate the importance of draft picks and underestimate the significance of coming bottom.

 

[Nuts4Bolts]

Welsh was good on Saturday night

Welsh wasn't good. Handballing to a team mate 2 meters away who is not in a better postion, is not good. He looks like a rabbit in headlights when he get's it.
Granted was a bit tough on McPhee and J.J.

 

[Longy413]

Welsh wasn't good. Handballing to a team mate 2 meters away who is not in a better postion, is not good. He looks like a rabbit in headlights when he get's it.

In a game where every single player made mistakes, why isolate Welsh?
Hird dropped 3 marks and turned over a handball in the back 50 that cost us a goal. He rebounded 50, 8 times. Only Fletcher had more.

He found the footy, and he used it better (not every time) than he had in past weeks. He was far from our worst.