Moved Thread Five years on: are Essendon in a good place?

[citizen-erased]

My take is that they are obviously on the nose with corporates and gaining new supporters, but that is to be expected.

Footy wise, I can't quite make out what they are doing. They seemed to have rushed things to me, so I assume they are going to attempt to become competitive via FA. Personally, I don't rate their current rebuild philosophy.

I think the corporates are more than happy with us given none have left and the jumper deal we signed with ISC.

Footy wise - its a gamble on pace and efficient ball use.
Saad releases McGrath into the middle. He was an elite tackler and ball user in traffic in his u18 year.
Smith adds a mid with pace and tackling pressure.
Stringer adds a rotation forward/mid who i think will tag team with Begley as the bigger bodies inside. Working in tandem, their lack of tanks to play 80% game time in the middle is alleviated.

efficient forward line
decent backline
3 experienced mids (Heppell, Goddard, Zaka) leading a brigade of kids.

If you look to the draft we stepped out of and the players taken at those picks, we lose Bonar & De Koning for Smith, Saad and Stringer, and we slide our 2018 2nd and 3rd rd picks into GWS's 2nd.

 

[MaddAdam]

They're competitive, but does flag contender jump out at you?

Do you think they are going to be better than GWS, Dogs, Brisbane, StKilda or Melbourne in 3 years time? GC, Carlton and North will also be on their hammer if development and drafting take their expected effects. Do you think they are better than Sydney, GWS, Dogs or Port now?

Given what happened with Richmond and the Dogs, sure. Footy is bloody close these days, they play a good modern style, if they get lucky - and all clubs need luck to a certain extent - they can do it.

They finish top 4, which is doable, then all they need is Daniher to play three great games in a row (and I think he'll have a great season) and then there they are.

 

[Boxhead_31]

The AFL did penalize them very heavily - heaviest ever penalties - in 2013, including loss of draft picks.

The punishment did have to stop at some point.

Never punished for doping related offences, only for poor governance

 

[citizen-erased]

Evans was going to be next on the Commission and was being lined up to take over the whole show, like his Dad, one day.

Whether he was any good is immaterial, this is AFL mafia stuff, real greaseball s**t, Evans was the ultimate made guy.

perhaps, but my point stands, we helped the comp dodge a bullet there imo.
We'll take flag 17 in payment cheers

They're competitive, but does flag contender jump out at you?

Do you think they are going to be better than GWS, Dogs, Brisbane, StKilda or Melbourne in 3 years time? GC, Carlton and North will also be on their hammer if development and drafting take their expected effects. Do you think they are better than Sydney, GWS, Dogs or Port now?

Contender in 2018? Im dubious and my hopes aren't up. But Richmond have shown what can be done with astute trading that doesn't look that astute 11 months out.
And other than Melbourne, i don't see any team coming up from behind us and overtaking our spot in the 8.
GWS, Sydney and Port are already ahead of us, but i would rate our ability to catch them as equal or better than anyone behind us keeping us out of the 8.

 

[citizen-erased]

Never punished for doping related offences, only for poor governance

nor will it happen.
Governance/Doping, Doping/Governance.
The AFL won't punish the club again.....unless we're dumb enough to repeat our mistakes.

 

[boncer34]

Yeah, which is why people still crap on about "rooting the vice captain's wife" for North, or a drug culture for West Coast or many other examples.

The drug cheats thing will be with Essendon for a generation yet.

They do that on bigfooty. Which was Beerfish point, sure on here we'll get trolled but in the real world people don't care.

 

[MaddAdam]

Only if Dank opens his gob, which I doubt. Otherwise, it's over.

I wonder how much of the ACC stuff made it to AFL house/ASADA/WADA? Anyway, it doesn't matter now.

My gut feel is they ended up getting a massive pass, and this could have played out a hell of a lot worse.

That is for sure. It could have been so much worse.

 

[Boxhead_31]

nor will it happen.
Governance/Doping, Doping/Governance.
The AFL won't punish the club again.....unless we're dumb enough to repeat our mistakes.

Sorry, but your chairman att was clear, you were never punished for doping and the AFL was too soft to do so as they were required to do so under the WADA code

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Never punished for doping related offences, only for poor governance

1. 34 players got banned for a doping offence
2. Club got punished by the AFL for governance

Both club and players got punished what more do you possibly want?

 

[Snake_Baker]

Contender in 2018? Im dubious and my hopes aren't up. But Richmond have shown what can be done with astute trading that doesn't look that astute 11 months out.

Richmond 2017 is no sane blueprint for building a premiership team.

GWS, Sydney and Port are already ahead of us, but i would rate our ability to catch them as equal or better than anyone behind us keeping us out of the 8.

It will be interesting to watch. We'll have to come back at the end of 2019.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Once Richmond won that first final they went all the way don't under estimate how much confidence and belief the Tigers would have got.

Reckon Essendon is similar just need to win that first final and get the monkey off the back (not saying we will win the flag) but you never know.

 

[Al Heimer]

Richmond 2017 is no sane blueprint for building a premiership team.

Poor choice of a word considering your posting history pal!

 

[citizen-erased]

Sorry, but your chairman att was clear, you were never punished for doping and the AFL was too soft to do so as they were required to do so under the WADA code

be that as it may, it won't be coming back to bite us again.
it's done, and that's the way it will stay

Richmond 2017 is no sane blueprint for building a premiership team.
It will be interesting to watch. We'll have to come back at the end of 2019.

And i don't think we've gone that way. I don't see us winning games with frantic pressure and putting clubs off their game. We will look to play ours and see how it matches up.
Ideally we will avoid playing Sydney at the G in the finals, as we are well outside our element to play there. We went close during the 2017 season, but even then it was rather easily undone.
I'd back us against anyone else anywhere else in a final (besides Geelong at home, but i don't see us ever playing there).

Once Richmond won that first final they went all the way don't under estimate how much confidence and belief the Tigers would have got.

Reckon Essendon is similar just need to win that first final and get the monkey off the back (not saying we will win the flag) but you never know.

Things fell perfectly for Richmond to take advantage.
Beat Geelong to flip to the side of the draw that more suited them.
Got GWS at the G
Beating Adelaide was no mean feat.

A top 4 finish would put us in a good position.
I'd like to avoid the Swans at the SCG though. Reckon we'd be vulnerable to not getting our running attack game going there.

 

[evo]

Such as?

It's the vibe.

 

[blitzer]

I think we are finally in a good place off-field after many seasons of turmoil. 3 good signings in the preseason is also a strong indicator that the players clearly think Essendon is in a good place.

On-field I believe we are headed for a good place but time will tell.

 

[windyhill]

I said from day dot, Essendons players were the only people punished in this whole event. The club benefited, look at all the blooded rookies, stars they've discovered, draft picks and what was hit for the club? Financials, for one of the most financial clubs?

That's why they went hard on Essendon, they could afford it.

 

[Beerfish]

It's the vibe.

Rightio mete.

A comment from a Richmond supporter regarding hubris is quite chortleworthy given what this site has had to endure since you won the flag last year.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

That's why they went hard on Essendon, they could afford it.

People won't like it but Essendon did take one for the league. anyone who says that other teams wern't on similar type of supplement programs like Essendon have rocks in thier head only diffrence is the rest of the teams were smart about it and pulled out when the AFL were cracking down.

 

[Gavin Excell]

To get back to the OP


I think now that we can look back on this after the dust has settled you're right about it being the recession we needed to have thing. It's quite clear that as an organisation we were horribly run. Just an utter dog's breakfast and nothing like what a modern professional sports club should look like. Having come out the other side I'm quite confident we are now at the other end of the scale and that's certainly a positive or 'good place' to be.

The messiah complex is an interesting one. I think that's something that any club has the potential to be kneecapped by and I'm not sure falling foul of it once necessarily precludes it from happening again. I ******* hope so though!

As for uniting the fans I think generally speaking we were pretty united in our support for the players at every turn, pretty divided when it came to Hird but yess I definitely get the sense that we are more unified as a supporter base around the whole club again which is a 'good place' type feeling.

There was also a thumbing of the nose attitude and we'll take them on but that seemed to disappear last 2-3 years.

 

[Snake_Baker]

People won't like it but Essendon did take one for the league.

Why?

anyone who says that other teams wern't on similar type of supplement programs like Essendon have rocks in thier head only diffrence is the rest of the teams were smart about it and pulled out when the AFL were cracking down.

Where is the proof?

 

[demondavey]

in an average place, better than deserved

Better than deserved? How so?

 

[demondavey]

Yes they are. They’ll be a top 4 side in either 18 or 19 for sure if certain things go well.

 

[Boxhead_31]

1. 34 players got banned for a doping offence
2. Club got punished by the AFL for governance

Both club and players got punished what more do you possibly want?

Under the WADA code is a team when two or more players are found guilty of doping offences meant to be punished? Where Essendon?

 

[Beerfish]

There was also a thumbing of the nose attitude and we'll take them on but that seemed to disappear last 2-3 years.

Not really sure what that has to do with my post but I daresay you're correct.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Under the WADA code is a team when two or more players are found guilty of doping offences meant to be punished? Where Essendon?

AFL is not a world wide sport so Wada porbably didn't care about Essendon that's the AFL's problem to deal with Wada were only intrestred in nailing the players.