Essendon, where are they now?

[Milanista28]

Middle 6? With the rise of the Saints and Demons, it will be a tight squeeze in that middle 6. GWS and the Dogs are not going anywhere, the Swans won't fall in a hurry, will the Crows collapse in a heap? Cats and Hawks will still be at least 6th - 8th best. You are banking on no improvement at all by the Blues, Pies, Dockers, Port or Tigers and a reliance on both the Eagles and Roos falling off the perch completely? The Bombers will be doing very well if they finish 12th in 2017. 2018 is the year where they will challenge for a top 8 spot. They were average before the ban, the return might not work for many of them anyway?

So all those sides to improve and us stay the same?

Recently Port went from bottom 4 to top 8 is one season, Dogs went from bottom 4 to top 8 in one season.

Anything can happen, Freo went from 1st to bottom 4 in one season.

 

[Halftimehero]

Middle 6? With the rise of the Saints and Demons, it will be a tight squeeze in that middle 6. GWS and the Dogs are not going anywhere, the Swans won't fall in a hurry, will the Crows collapse in a heap? Cats and Hawks will still be at least 6th - 8th best. You are banking on no improvement at all by the Blues, Pies, Dockers, Port or Tigers and a reliance on both the Eagles and Roos falling off the perch completely? The Bombers will be doing very well if they finish 12th in 2017. 2018 is the year where they will challenge for a top 8 spot. They were average before the ban, the return might not work for many of them anyway?

We will definitely move ahead of Carlton, Richmond will only fall even further, North will be bottom 4, the bottom 6 draw will also help.

 

[doppleganger]

They have given nice pay checks to plenty of players who used to be good...

Plenty of big KPP players appear out of favour - McKenzie, Cloke, Hawkins - so interesting to see how Hooker, Bellchambers both go.

Id pencil them in for 11th

 

[Lsta062]

The Bombers were not setting the world on fire pre ban, people are expecting too much from the returning players. They have some game time into their first year draft picks and those recruited to fill the gaps, but anyone expecting a rapid rise up the ladder maybe in for a shock. They will do better in 2017, but i'd be very surprised if they won more than 8 games. 6 would be a good result.

They have really fast-tracked their development. Z Merrett, Tipungwuti, Fantasia, Francis, Laverde, Langford and Daniher having one more off-season of development + the return of Hooker, Hurley, Heppell, a fit Watson (if he goes anywhere near his best) and solid contributors like Howlett (maybe as depth) and Myers would make me expect them to win anywhere between 10-13 games rather than 6-8.

If this year's drafting is anything like their drafting in the past two years too, then I moreso expect them to get 10-13 wins, or even 14-15 wins.

I see them building a Bulldogs-like team over the next few years. Essendon have issues in the ruck department and the forward line, but so do Bulldogs I guess.

 

[master bate]

They'll be pretty good. Not sure they'll have the skills or speed to be great, but they'll play with passion and have enough talent to make the 8.

FB: Francis Hartley Baguley
HB: Kelly Hurley Tippa
C: Parish Heppell Zaharakis
HF: Colyer Hooker Laverde
FF: Fantasia Daniher Langford
R: Leueny Watson Z Merrett
Int: Goddard Gleeson Stanton Myers

Depth: No 1 pick, Bellchambers, J Merrett, ?Dempsey, Ambrose, Brown, Hocking, Howlett, Dea, Bird, Redman

Probably a lot of question marks over how they line up which might see them struggle early in the year. Can Jobe play midfield still or does he play forward? If he's forward and then Langford, Laverde and even Francis are forward then that's a lot of 188-190cm forward types. Does Hooker play well forward? Can Parish and Zaharakis have the same impact on a wing and half forward as they can when they are on ball. Are Colyer, Stanton and Myers any good?

The depth is a bit shaky as well. How they draft this year, how their kids from last year develop and who they can trade in (and of course injuries) will determine if they have the depth to make the 8.

 

[nameless]

If Brisbane can retain their players and get guys like Beams, Rocky and Hanley to play a full season then Essendon will probably finish last.

Otherwise they'll finish 17th.

Have generally recruited well Essendon, and discovered some good players this year that they otherwise wouldn't have had.

They'll be playing finals in 3 years.

 

[Squall]

Guessing outside the 8. Chance for the 8 if it becomes an even season & less wins required to make the 8 compared to this season. Slower start to the season and still have a weak forward line.

Being a bottom 6 team this season if bottom teams next season are similar we will have a decent draw for teams we play twice.

 

[gavaniacono]

Through their nadir. Something to prove. On the up. Boderline 8ish I'd predict.

 

[Milanista28]

People say weak forward line but It's not that it's how you move the ball, The dogs don't have a good forward line but they move the ball fantastically well and that's the reason they're playing in a GF this week.

I think, Merrett, Parish, Fantasia, Tippa, Colyer, Langford, Laverde, Gleeson and McKenna will be huge in how we travel next season.

 

[JackFlash]

So all those sides to improve and us stay the same?

Recently Port went from bottom 4 to top 8 is one season, Dogs went from bottom 4 to top 8 in one season.

Anything can happen, Freo went from 1st to bottom 4 in one season.

Of course, so the question is really impossible to answer isn't it? We only have the evidence presented to us so far. The evidence suggests that the Bombers were not up to scratch before the ban, how will a year off actually affect them? It won't be easy coming back and dealing with the rigors of AFL football after such a long lay off. IMO the Saints and Dees will be the big improvers with North and possibly the Eagles falling away? The Dogs rise is hardly surprising after making the 8 in 2015. There is no room for a dramatic Essendon rise to glory whereby they will win 15 or 16 games and make the 8? The Dogs won 15 games this year and finished 7th. If the Bombers replicate that performance in 2017 then we have a very weak competition. Those players will be better off with 2017 under their belts, some smart trading and draft selections this year and i expect them to be contending in 2018.

 

[calyam]

It's almost impossible to say given the uncertainty surrounding the return of suspended players. Some will likely return as though they never left and others may struggle. But nobody can say with any great certainty.

The team has done a good job of fast-tracking the development of younger players. Merrett, Fantasia, Tippa and Daniher being the most obvious candidates. Laverde and Langford are heading into their third seasons. Another pre-season into Parish and Francis. I'd anticipate that all of these players would improve once you surround them with AA talents like Heppell, Hooker and Hurley. Hopefully Watson is still capable of playing at a high level.

Throw in a new coach and gameplan and it becomes very difficult to predict Essendon next year besides saying that they'll be better than this season. There are three teams in the finals that I consider a chance to drop back - North, West Coast and Hawthorn - so there will be an opportunity for these younger sides (St Kilda, Melbourne and hopefully Essendon to step up).

 

[Coldacre]

Who would you suggest leaving out?

Dempsey & Stanton

Howlett / Bellchambers depending on form.

 

[demondavey]

Dempsey & Stanton

Howlett / Bellchambers depending on form.

Stanton? Really?

 

[Sando22]

Tullamarine I think

 

[Coldacre]

Stanton? Really?

yeah, the game had passed him by. his decision making is not what it used to be.

 

[YEMOC NAYR]

They won a few flags while you were trying to win appeals. Cute

We won the same amount of finals as them this year though.

 

[Wild Bill]

10th or 11th looks about right.

 

[pazza]

Pigs fly too, he won't be magically going to be in the top 3-4 forwards in the game. He's an elite defender though, not sure why on earth you have this thing of moving defenders, first it was Hurley, not it's Hooker. Just trade for a forward/draft one.

It's called versatility. Ask Kevin Sheedy about that.

 

[Meow]

Can't envisage a significant rise until Laverde, Parish, Tipungwuti, Merrett and Fantasia notch up 50-100 games. That happens in 2018-19, so bottom 6 again next year. The biggest silver lining from 2016 is that the suspensions have fast-tracked all these players' development.

Essendon should look to bolster their depth in the coming years. At present, the quality falls away significantly after the top 8-9 IMO. They otherwise run the risk of being merely another 5-8 side ala Richmond in recent seasons.

 

[HBF]

Hard to say. Might push for finals but I suspect they'll finish between 9 to 12.

 

[citizen-erased]

Hard to say. Might push for finals but I suspect they'll finish between 9 to 12.

My tip unless a few clubs pull their fingers out....port

 

[ep2018]

7th to 12th

 

[Rich]

Biggest concern would be the reliance on an injury prone Leuenberger. You'd think that they'll try and draft in some support for him.

 

[johndemonic]

7th to 12th

7th? So we can lock them in as grand finalists next year with the pre-finals bye round i suppose? /s

 

[ep2018]

7th? So we can lock them in as grand finalists next year with the pre-finals bye round i suppose? /s

Dogs this year are an anomaly, if they win the flag this year we will never see 7th win it again in our lifetimes.