Competitions Essendon All Time Draft Game

[RedmanWasHere]

Thanks for the honour of me kicking things off.

Taking it back to the '30's, I couldn't think of a better player to start this than with one Richard Sylvanus Reynolds.

Dick Reynolds for short.



Shermy's turn.

 

[Shermy]

Pick #2 - John Coleman

Bipolarbear

 

[Bipolar Bear]

Pick 3 - James Hird

The only man I've seen on the footy field be as equally graceful as he is brave, skilful and violent. He had that rare ability to slow down time. One of the AFL's greatest ever. Norm Smith, Brownlow, two premierships. He did it all.

Pweter

 

[Pweter]

Simon Madden. I worshiped this guy as a kid. Could play forward, got his hands dirty in defence and was a brilliant tap ruckman. He used his leap so well to jump early and get a ride on the opposition ruckman, and that leap served him well in taking many a hanger.


Quite the CV:
Games: 378
Goals: 575
Premierships: 84, 85
Norm Smith Medals: 85
All Australians: 83, 87, 88
VFL Team of the Year: 83, 84, 87, 88, 89, 90
Best and Fairest: 77, 79, 83, 84
Club Leading Goal Kicker: 80, 82, 91
Club Captain: 80, 81
Essendon Team of the Century: First ruck
State of Origin Games: 21
State of Origin Goals: 25
State Captain: 89, 90, 91
AFL Hall of Fame Inductee: 1996

Sporno 4 Pyros

 

[Sporno 4 Pyros]

Pick 5 - Timmy Watson



307 games
335 goals
3 x Premiership player
4 x B&F winner including a premiership year (85)
Essendon Team of the Century (Ruck Rover)
VFLPA MVP 1989 (Leigh Mathews Trophy)
Captain 1989-91
Debuted at just 15years & 305 days (4th youngest ever debut)

For those too young to have seen him he was the reason kids wanted to wear the No.32 on our jumpers/duffle coats in the 1980s.
Explosive pace, kicked goals, and just like his son he was a fan favourite.


BrunoV

 

[BrunoV]

Paul Salmon.

KPF/Ruck.

206cm, 112kg.

324 games and 561 goals. (224 games for Essendon and 520 goals, 100 games for Hawthorn and 41 goals)

• 2× VFL/AFL premiership player: 1985, 1993
• 2× Peter Crimmins Memorial Trophy: 1996, 1997
• All Australian team: 1987, 1988, 1997
• 7× Essendon leading goalkicker: 1984, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992, 1993
• 3× pre-season premiership: 1990, 1994, 1999
• Michael Tuck Medal: 1999
• Hawthorn Team of the Century
• Essendon FC Hall of Fame

Was a teenager, I think, in 1984 when he dominated the competition at full forward before a bad break of his leg. Went on to kick 509 goals from his 209 games with Essendon.

Moved to Hawthorn for a new start where he was a dual best and fairest and All Australian playing in the ruck.

At his size and with his athleticism, he would be regarded as the second coming if an 18 year old Salmon were to be running around the NAB league. An incredible specimen of a man.

Over to you Bipolarbear.

 

[jmoo wan]

I am going to select brownlow medalist and fashion icon Jobe Watson, The player Tim Watson hoped to be.
boncer34

 

[boncer34]

I mean how does the greatest goal kicker in our clubs history slide to pick 8?

Matthew Lloyd

• 3× Coleman Medal: 2000, 2001, 2003
• 12× Essendon leading goalkicker: 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009
• 5× All-Australian team: 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003
• AFL premiership: 2000
• Goal of the Year: 2007
• Mark of the Year: 2008
• Essendon Captain: 2006–2009
• Jim Stynes Medal: 2001
• AFL Rising Star nominee: 1996
• Champions of Essendon: No. 22
• Australian Football Hall of Fame

eth-dog

 

[eth-dog]

I fully intended to take two blokes that were taken before my pick in Jobe and Fish, as I couldn't imagine a scenario where these two guys slid to my pick.

Pick 9: Bill Hutchison. Bill was described by King Richard as the best player he's ever seen and was fourth in Essendon's greatest ever players. He won back to back Brownlow Medals in 1952 and 53, missing the top 10 only once from 1947 to 1955 and was the 18th "Legend" in the Hall of Fame. He was a four time Premiership player for Essendon, playing 290 games and kicking 496 goals whilst mostly playing as a rover.

Pick 10: [PLAYERCARD]Dustin Fletcher[/PLAYERCARD]. Fletch was a champion defender and as a believer of setting up your spine first I absolutely couldn't pass on him here. His ability to play on a range of opponents and also his elite field kicking has him firmly in the top 10 players Essendon's ever had in my opinion, the two time All Australian and winner of the Crichton Medal in 2000 puts his achievements into the stratasphere as far as I'm concerned.

Team:

FB: ??? - [PLAYERCARD]Dustin Fletcher[/PLAYERCARD] - ???
HB: ??? - ??? - ???
MF: ??? - ??? - ???
HF: ??? - ??? - ???
FF: ??? - ??? - ???
OB: ??? - ??? - Bill Hutchison
IC: ??? - ??? - ??? - ???

 

[boncer34]

Terry Daniher

• VFL Premiership: 1984, 1985
• VFLPA MVP (Leigh Matthews Trophy): 1983
• 3x All-Australian Team: 1983, 1985, 1988
• All-Australian Team Captain: 1985
• Essendon Best & Fairest: 1982
• 2x Essendon leading Goal Kicker: 1979, 1983
• Essendon Captain: 1983-1988
• Australian Football Hall of Fame
• Essendon Team of the Century: (Half Forward Flank)

jmoo wan

 

[jmoo wan]

pretty stunned, and a little saddened, by the lack of diversity in your teams.

Micheal Long

BrunoV

 

[BrunoV]

With my second pick I'll take the 1993 to 1999 [PLAYERCARD]Mark Mercuri[/PLAYERCARD] thanks.

178cm, 78kg.

Midfield / forward

207 games and 242 goals.

• Premiership player 1993, 2000
• All Australian 1999
• W. S. Crichton Medal 1999
• Runner-up Brownlow Medal 1999
• AFL ANZAC Medal 1999
• VFL/AFL Italian Team of the Century 2007
• AFL Rising Star nominee: 1993

He could play an inside game with the class, vision and creativity of Sam Mitchell, but with a dynamism and strength more akin to Ablett Jr and an evasiveness that was unique (even when compared to indigenous players).

Forward he could almost play as a 178cm KPP. At ground level he was dynamic.

One of the most balanced and skilful players to have played the game, he was regarded by his teammates as being on par with Hird but only really rose to claim that mantle once, while Hird was injured in 1999 and which coincided with a second place in the Brownlow. Personal tragedy and, what I suspect was ultimately, a lack of the champion's drive robbed us of a strong end to the career of someone who, if he had maintained something like the consistency of his first 100 to 130 games, was good enough to be in the discussion as one of the top 10-20 players to play for the Bombers.

He retired at 30 having coasted through 2000 and 2001 and then doing virtually nothing from 2002 to 2004. I don't think we really understand what we missed. We missed his 3 to 4 of his prime years.

 

[Sporno 4 Pyros]

Pick 14 - Gavin Wanganeen

Brownlow Medalist
2 flags (one at the dons in his Brownlow year)
Indigenous Team of the Century
Essendon Team of the Century (back pocket)
5 x All Australian
Champions of Essendon (no.19)

We were blessed to have him play for us for 127 games before the lure of home and the chance to own part of a Scottish fast food chain brought him back to Port Adelaide where he continued to build his legacy.

Genuinely broke a lot of fans hearts when he left...but we all still love him.



Pweter

 

[Pweter]

Jack Clarke - Centreman in the Essendon Team of the 20th Century. Anyone that can work their way into the centre square alongside Tim Watson and Dick Reynolds, nudging Bill Hutchison to a forward pocket, has to be more than decent. Defeating Carlton in a premiership year as captain gets extra kudos.



Games: 263
Goals: 180
Captain: 1958–1964
Premierships: 1962, 1965
Premiership captain: 1962
All-Australian: 1953, 1956, 1958
Crichton Medal 1958, 1962
Lined Them Up: 1958

FB: ??? ??? ???
HB: ??? ??? ???
C: ??? Jack Clarke ???
HF: ??? ??? ???
FF: ??? ??? ???
R: Simon Madden ??? ???
INT: ??? ??? ??? ???

 

[Bipolar Bear]

Albert Thurgood

 

[Shermy]

Pick 17 - [PLAYERCARD]Scott Lucas[/PLAYERCARD]

[PLAYERCARD]Scott Lucas[/PLAYERCARD]. The 2nd Twin Tower alongside Matthew Lloyd, Lucas was a mainstay at CHF including the all conquering 2000 premiership side. A raking left foot you always felt he was in with a chance on the run from 60 odd, and set shot from outside 50. Lucas played a small amount of football at CHB and proved a very useful defender, however CHF was his trade which he performed with aplomb. He kicked 7 last quarter goals to almost steal an unlikely victory in Sheedy and Hird's last game when coming from almost 50 points down in one of the more remarkable individual bursts of football you'll ever see.

Most notable career achievement was the only time anyone in the history of ever can recall him using his right foot to set up [PLAYERCARD]Gary Moorcroft[/PLAYERCARD]'s 2001 mark of the year.

Games: 270
Goals: 471
Premiership: 2000
Best and Fairest: 2003, 2006
Leading Goalkicker: 2006

RedmanWasHere

 

[RedmanWasHere]

I'm needing a ruckman for 18 and a defender for 19.

The best ruckman in Essendon's league history is taken so 18 = [PLAYERCARD]David Hille[/PLAYERCARD].

I said I need a defender so I'm heading back to decades before I was born so 19 = Don McKenzie.

Return to Shermy I mean sender. (Address unknown.)

 

[Shermy]

Pick 20 - Wally Buttsworth

Bipolarbear

 

[Bipolar Bear]

Ken Fraser in the third round, make that 3X CHF.
Pweter

 

[Pweter]

Tom Fitzmaurice.

Could be a case of "what if" when Tom left Essendon after 6 years at the age of 26 due to several players seemingly tanking against VFA team Footscray to lose an exhibition game played to raise funds for veterans who lost limbs in WWI.

Leaving us in his prime he'd just won back to back to back B&Fs, the last 2 in premiership sides. Starting his career as a high flying ruckman, a leg injury forced him to reinvent himself as a defender. Rarely outmarked or outbodied due to his size (192cm, 96kg in the 1920s was a serious unit) he was a force in defence and a key pillar in both flags he played in.

Games: 85
Goals: 30
Premierships: 1923, 1924
Best and fairest 1922, 1923, 1924
Team of the Century


FB: ??? ??? ???
HB: ??? Tom Fitzmaurice ???
C: ??? Jack Clarke ???
HF: ??? ??? ???
FF: ??? ??? ???
R: Simon Madden ??? ???
INT: ??? ??? ??? ???

Sporno 4 Pyros

 

[Sporno 4 Pyros]

John Birt
2 flags
3 x B&F including a flag year
#21 Champions of Essendon



BrunoV

 

[BrunoV]

Leon Baker.

centre/inside mid and half forward

183cm, 85k

1981-1983, 64 games and 100 goals with Swan Districts.
1984 - 1988, 86 games and 70 goals with Essendon

• Essendon premierships 1984, 1985
• Swan Districts premierships 1982, 1983
• Swan Medal 1983
• All Australian Team 1985
• WA State of Origin Team 1984,1985,1986

Premiership quality half forward and centreman in 4 premierships played at WAFL and VFL level. Was runner up in Essendon's best and fairest in 1984 and 1985.

Not a player I know a stack about, as he was before my time, but he strikes me as a modern inside mid with a real touch of class, possibly in the mould of [PLAYERCARD]Robbie Gray[/PLAYERCARD] (perhaps not as dynamic forward but more of a true inside mid in the modern parlance).

If his records and feats as a player are anything to go by it is splitting his time between the WAFL and VFL that is likely the only thing that prevents him from being in the conversation for the greats of Essendon list.

 

[jmoo wan]

I'm going to objectively, and without any emotion, recruit Joe Daniher. At the highest point of his career.

boncer34

 

[boncer34]

Geoff Blethyn. Only 3 Essendon players have kicked 100 goals and I have 2 of them.

eth-dog

 

[eth-dog]

Pick 27: Graham Moss.

Pick 28: Alan Noonan.

FB: ??? - [PLAYERCARD]Dustin Fletcher[/PLAYERCARD] - ???
HB: ??? - ??? - ???
MF: ??? - ??? - ???
HF: ??? - Alan Noonan - ???
FF: ??? - ??? - ???
OB: Graham Moss - ??? - Bill Hutchison
IC: ??? - ??? - ??? - ???