Essendon vow enough is enough

[HBFlanker]

reminds me of when they brought in shiel stringer and smith ... top up didnt do much

Agreed, but that doesnt change the fact that they need to deliver now.

Mckay is the highest paid player in the competition. If they want to throw that sort of money to bring players into the club, it also brings expectation.

Goldstein is also still in the top group of ruckmen in the comp. He will play regularly for them.

Gresham is a good player. I dont rate Duursma but he will be depth anyway.

 

[gillon]

Did Bont play finals? Are Butters and Warner 185+ contested ball beasts? I agree with you but a few oddish calls here

Bont didn’t play finals but is an example, although he is an extremely rare prototype.

Warner and Butters I genuinely just thought were taller haha. Those two are harder than anybody in our midfield though.

 

[Gavin Excell]

Agreed, but that doesnt change the fact that they need to deliver now.

Mckay is the highest paid player in the competition. If they want to throw that sort of money to bring players into the club, it also brings expectation.

Goldstein is also still in the top group of ruckmen in the comp. He will play regularly for them.

Gresham is a good player. I dont rate Duursma but he will be depth anyway.

Mackay is the highest paid player in the competition?
Surely this can't be true

 

[dave10]

Matthew Lloyd 100% right today on radio.

They have topped up for the now. Its not about 2025,2026 or 2027. They must play finals this season.

I've currently got them 8th. The start to their season is a tough run. 5-4 would be a great result.

I don’t agree. They haven’t ’topped up’. They’ve brought in a few more experienced players to support a young list in areas where it had list gaps / needed to add strength. Essendon’s ‘time’ is still imo at least 12 months away. Essendon’s ‘time’ will coincide with the peak of Jones, Perkins, Reid, Ridley, Hobbs, Draper, Durham, Tsatas, Martin. Therefore, Essendon is still between 12-24 months away from emerging anywhere near their best self.

At that point, only Stringer (31) will basically potentially be on the back end of their career best years. The rest of the experienced group would be 30 or below still.

So, Lloyd isn’t on the money imo. He like many of us are impatient and want results now.

 

[dave10]

No doubt Cook is an elite operator.
But when he arrived, Cripps Walsh and Kennedy were already providing the contest in the middle and now joined by Cerra and Hewett.
Vozzo can’t roll the sleeves up and give a contest under pressure out in the middle for the dons, that’s been Adrian’s issue for years …

No, but Essendon’s biggest drag the last decade has undoubtedly been broken culture, low standards, lack of professionalism, lots of injuries and no development coaching support. These largely born out of the saga period.

Vozzo and Scott are addressing all these areas as the main priority with demonstrable improvement to date (fitness / conditioning / development / standards). These are the areas many of us Essendon folk have been crying out for in years. A more professional, ruthless and uncompromising culture backed up by a much better conditioning program with resources in development to facilitate growth in its young talent. And finally there’s movement and results beginning to show. It starts somewhere.

So, time will tell. But if Essendon’s improved fitness continues (less injury), if nothing else, they probably play finals. The improvement will continue beyond 2024 (2025>), this represents the real opportunity to win finals…. If the Club steadfastly sticks to its new path (culture, professionalism etc).

 

[Juddernaut08]

If i recall correctly the dogs wanted our 2021 First round pick, and our 2022 First round pick.

We offered 2021 First Round Pick and our 2022 Second Round Pick.

Unless i'm wrong those picks turned out to be;

2021 - Ben Hobbs
2022 - Elijah Tsatas

Ben Hobbs is starting 23 and is a gun, Elijah though is still very young and hasn't broken through to same degree Ben has.

I'm pretty happy with it.

I think you only go all in on Dunkley if that's the last piece you need for a flag tilt. Essendon need WAY more.

Agree, but I think Dunkley means you would've won a final in 2023. You were on the cusp and he's enough to push you over the line.

I agree with you though that if the aim is to build a list who can challenge for 3-4 years and hopefully win at least one, Dunkley was not enough.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

Agree, but I think Dunkley means you would've won a final in 2023. You were on the cusp and he's enough to push you over the line.

I agree with you though that if the aim is to build a list who can challenge for 3-4 years and hopefully win at least one, Dunkley was not enough.

there is no way Dunkley makes us win a final in 2023 mate lol.

our Forward and Backlines are a joke and largely still are.

We finished 2023 with the 4th worst % in the AFL. Dunkley on his own aint fixing that.

 

[Matrix10]

Parish, Merrett, Duursma, Shiel - that's potentially an elite midfield on paper.

McKay and Wright as very good bookends.

The talent is there to be thereabouts. 6-10 finish IMO. Won't win a final of course!

Potentially an elite midfield on paper ? , say what , Parish and Shiel are not elite , never have been ,never will be , an elite midfielder performs on grass covered grounds , not on paper.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

Potentially an elite midfield on paper ? , say what , Parish and Shiel are not elite , never have been ,never will be , an elite midfielder performs on grass covered grounds , not on paper.

Parish is 100% elite and it isn't just on paper.

He is one of the best contested players in the comp and has won an AA for it. Does he have flaws? certainly. But doesn't take away from what he is an absolute gun at.

Shiel, i agree - he is far from his best.

 

[Orange crush]

Potentially an elite midfield on paper ? , say what , Parish and Shiel are not elite , never have been ,never will be , an elite midfielder performs on grass covered grounds , not on paper.

I actually thought Shiel retired at gws …. Did we really trade him?

 

[faible]

there is no way Dunkley makes us win a final in 2023 mate lol.

our Forward and Backlines are a joke and largely still are.

We finished 2023 with the 4th worst % in the AFL. Dunkley on his own aint fixing that.

Nah Dunkley is definitely worth the highest trade value for any player ever traded. He's prime GAJ and Judd and Dusty combined he's that good.

 

[Juddernaut08]

Potentially an elite midfield on paper ? , say what , Parish and Shiel are not elite , never have been ,never will be , an elite midfielder performs on grass covered grounds , not on paper.

I'm not his biggest fan, but he's made AA. That's elite.

 

[Matrix10]

Parish is 100% elite and it isn't just on paper.

He is one of the best contested players in the comp and has won an AA for it. Does he have flaws? certainly. But doesn't take away from what he is an absolute gun at.

Shiel, i agree - he is far from his best.

I get your take on Parish , I have him a rung below elite, yes ,reads the play well and gets a lot of it , but his disposal by foot is not up to the level of an elite mid. Not enough hurt factor.

 

[hawkman]

I'm not his biggest fan, but he's made AA. That's elite.

It is now 3 seasons ago and not been in the 44 man squad the last 2 years

 

[010203]

"Whatever it takes"

 

[faible]

I get your take on Parish , I have him a rung below elite, yes ,reads the play well and gets a lot of it , but his disposal by foot is not up to the level of an elite mid. Not enough hurt factor.

2021 is probably his best season, but even in 2023 he was above Nick Daicos for metres gained, averaged more clearances than Cripps, and more score involvements than Gulden. All of whom would be regarded as elite and were in the AA squad in 2023.

Parish is pretty darn good.

 

[faible]

It is now 3 seasons ago and not been in the 44 man squad the last 2 years

He missed 5 games in 2023 due to injury, otherwise probably would have been. He was pretty solid, better than 2022 and not far off his 2021 form.

 

[Vindicater]

Mackay is the highest paid player in the competition?
Surely this can't be true

For the first season of the deal he is. It is massively front loaded.

 

[Gavin Excell]

For the first season of the deal he is. It is massively front loaded.

Jeezus

 

[Orange crush]

Jeezus

1.5 mil this season, isn’t it? Jeez imagine an injury ….. yikes

 

[Red Bull]

No, but Essendon’s biggest drag the last decade has undoubtedly been broken culture, low standards, lack of professionalism, lots of injuries and no development coaching support. These largely born out of the saga period.

Vozzo and Scott are addressing all these areas as the main priority with demonstrable improvement to date (fitness / conditioning / development / standards). These are the areas many of us Essendon folk have been crying out for in years. A more professional, ruthless and uncompromising culture backed up by a much better conditioning program with resources in development to facilitate growth in its young talent. And finally there’s movement and results beginning to show. It starts somewhere.

So, time will tell. But if Essendon’s improved fitness continues (less injury), if nothing else, they probably play finals. The improvement will continue beyond 2024 (2025>), this represents the real opportunity to win finals…. If the Club steadfastly sticks to its new path (culture, professionalism etc).

Yes, the dons have had to carry the club sanctioned, team wide doping program around for the last decade but they’ve also carried Adrian and his lightweight midfield around for 20 years now !!
It’s established fact that pressure, intensity and contest go to new levels in September.
We’ve heard all the summer buzz words from the dons time and time again, yet their lightweight midfield has been obliterated in September for years.
7000+ days ain’t no fluke …

 

[Orange crush]

Yes, the dons have had to carry the club sanctioned, team wide doping program around for the last decade but they’ve also carried Adrian and his lightweight midfield around for 20 years now !!
It’s established fact that pressure, intensity and contest go to new levels in September.
We’ve heard all the summer buzz words from the dons time and time again, yet their lightweight midfield has been obliterated in September for years.
7000+ days ain’t no fluke …

Just makes McGrath at pick 1 so weird …. Get a bull in

Or trade pick 1 and get two bulls in

 

[Matrix10]

Just makes McGrath at pick 1 so weird …. Get a bull in

Or trade pick 1 and get two bulls in

Very vanilla midfield, very good when pressure is down , turn the pressure up , they melt , don’t want to put their heads over the hard ball , minimal 2 way running and besides their now Captain , they wilt. Add to the 7000 plus days

 

[Red Bull]

Just makes McGrath at pick 1 so weird …. Get a bull in

Or trade pick 1 and get two bulls in

Adrian obliged Robert Shaw and the efc old boys network.
20 years at the club and counting, who can say that philosophy hasn’t worked for HIM …

 

[Orange crush]

Adrian obliged Robert Shaw and the efc old boys network.
20 years at the club and counting, who can say that philosophy hasn’t worked for HIM …

I wasn’t referring to you specifically, Red …. But nice timing …. Very serendipitous