Flag Form Guide From AFL.com

[Stants_24_Legend]

BEST 25
B: Henry Slattery, Mal Michael, Paddy Ryder
HB: Jay Nash, Dustin Fletcher, Courtenay Dempsey
C: Jason Winderlich, Brent Stanton, Ricky Dyson
HF: Adam McPhee, Scott Lucas, Andrew Welsh
F: Alwyn Davey, Matthew Lloyd, Andrew Lovett
FOLL: David Hille, Jobe Watson, Mark McVeigh
I/C: Jason Laycock, Angus Monfries, Damien Peverill, Jason Johnson
EMG: Scott Gumbleton, Nathan Lovett-Murray, Bachar Houli

The rest of the squad:
Tom Bellchambers, Darcy Daniher, Tom Hislop, Heath Hocking, Cale Hooker, Leroy Jetta, Courtney Johns, Andrew Lee, Sam Lonergan, David Myers, Jay Neagle, Tayte Pears, Adam Ramanauskas, Kyle Reimers, John Williams, Jarrod Atkinson (rookie), Danny Chartres (rookie), Dean Dick (rookie), Rhys Magin (rookie)

Retired superstar James Hird is the most noticeable absentee from last year's line-up. Still, the Bombers have an excellent spine, despite the fact that Michael, Fletcher, Lucas and Lloyd are in the latter parts of their career. The midfield brigade is still not quite settled for 2008 as several youngsters are still jostling for position, but expect the likes of Stanton, McVeigh and Watson to continue leading the way.

AGE (As at March 20, 2008)
* 21 years and under: (21)
* 22-25: (14)
* 26-29: (5)
* 30+: (4)

Essendon's list is only slightly older than Geelong's 2007 squad, but the difference is the Dons have more players aged 21 years and under and fewer in the 22-25 range. This over-abundance of youth points towards Essendon being some way off premiership readiness.

MATCHES (As at March 20, 2008)
* 0 matches: (10)
* 1-25: (13)
* 26-50: (6)
* 51-100: (4)
* 101-200: (7)
* 200: (4)

The Bombers have a good spread across the board, but are down on numbers in the 51-100-game range. Although the Dons will have some push into this group, they are unlikely to have enough match experience in this key region for a crack at premiership glory.

HEIGHT (As at March 20, 2008)
* 184cm and under: (13)
* 185-190cm: (16)
* 191-199cm: (12)
* 200cm+: (3)

Essendon stacks up well in the height department and is not dissimilar to the 2007 Geelong list. These numbers present well for the future, with Essendon's group in a development phase in 2008.

POSITIONS
* Defenders: (12)
Smalls: (0)
Mediums: (6)
Talls: (6)

* Midfielders: (18)
Smalls: (11)
Mediums: (7)
Talls: (0)

* Forwards: (11)
Smalls: (2)
Mediums: (3)
Talls: (6)

* Rucks: (3)

Essendon is well placed down back and in the midfield, while the shifting of players such as McPhee has increased the club's forward stocks. But the club has just three ruckmen on its list and this presents some vulnerability for the tail end of the season.

SUMMARY
A new freshness has swept through Windy Hill. Matthew Knights has taken over the reigns as legendary club figures, with Kevin Sheedy and Hird moving on after stunning careers with the Bombers. Widespread rejuvenation makes Essendon's list a fascinating one in 2008 – does it have what it takes to bounce back into the eight or will the transitional phase mean it won't play off in September for the fourth consecutive season?

NUTSHELL
The jury is out – a flag appears unlikely, but the ride could be interesting in 2008.

 

[lamaros]

Discussing a team based on stats alone. To counter this a bit I've decided to give a more opiniated analysis:

AGE (As at March 20, 2008)
* 21 years and under: (21)
* 22-25: (14)
* 26-29: (5)
* 30+: (4)

We do have a lot of young players, and a few older ones too, but the best thing about the essendon squad is that a lot of the sub 25 guys are already key memebers of the team. Of the older players there are only really three (Fletch, Lucas and Lloyd) who we are going to hugely miss when they go and they all look like they have a few more years left in them. By the time that does happen we should have some of the younger guys comming through. Other older players who might be on the way out soon are not as central to the team as they have been in the past.


MATCHES (As at March 20, 2008)
* 0 matches: (10)
* 1-25: (13)
* 26-50: (6)
* 51-100: (4)
* 101-200: (7)
* 200: (4)

The games played bear out what the ages show, but they also show that the Essendon team has already had a look at most of the list at AFL level.

HEIGHT & POSITIONS

I think these stats show how balanced our squad is at the moment with a good number of defenders, mids and forwards, with a good mix of smalls and talls throughout.

(If you include Ryder, we actually have 4 ruck options, not three.)

However whoever wrote it doesn't write off our finals chances, even with all that. And given that the list is clearly going to improve over the next two years (unless Lloyd Lucas and Fletch all retire) then we should definatly be looking to play finals next year if not this one.

 

[loopy_cam]

I'd have Jetta and Rama would be in our best 25.