Universal Love Optimism for 2019

[Red Black and Blue]

- game day tactics and flexibility
- fitness and injury management

Not saying any of those are particularly good, or bad, but for me the jury’s still out, using 2015 as a base.
Imo We probably need to improve at most of them to be a regular top 6 contender...

Don’t think these two are an issue. Daniher aside we’ve been pretty good with injuries for the last two years.

Using Hawks as a guideline, Game day tactics are fine, got comprehensive dictated to by a top 6 team and still nearly beat them. Far more related to lack of elite contested ball winners than tactics.

 

[DapperJong]

When in doubt, zoom out.

We exceeded expectations last year. To make finals after our top up year was incredible (and just like this year, we had to rely on other results to scrape in).

If you saw a similar steady rise this year and perhaps saw us winning a final, then I feel you played yourself. Even before Joe’s weird injury, we added 3 players from other clubs that were best 22. That takes time to gel. Not to mention one of those players in Stringer who had been battling off field as well.

It was always going to be a settling year. I picked us to finish 10th before we played a game. But it’s not all about ladder position.

The last 11 rounds have highly exceeded my expectations on the type footy we can play. I couldn’t give a shit that we didn’t play finals. We have found a game style that can take us a long way and it still has a shite load of improvement that we can see happening. We all know the problems in our team and we have ticked some of those off this year (midfield being the obvious improvement).

I don’t even feel we need to bring in players from other teams. We have the tools to develop our own. Straight to the draft.

We will be a much better football team after this year of finding our feet.

 

[DERO]

When in doubt, zoom out.

We exceeded expectations last year. To make finals after our top up year was incredible (and just like this year, we had to rely on other results to scrape in).

If you saw a similar steady rise this year and perhaps saw us winning a final, then I feel you played yourself. Even before Joe’s weird injury, we added 3 players from other clubs that were best 22. That takes time to gel. Not to mention one of those players in Stringer who had been battling off field as well.

It was always going to be a settling year. I picked us to finish 10th before we played a game. But it’s not all about ladder position.

The last 11 rounds have highly exceeded my expectations on the type footy we can play. I couldn’t give a shit that we didn’t play finals. We have found a game style that can take us a long way and it still has a shite load of improvement that we can see happening. We all know the problems in our team and we have ticked some of those off this year (midfield being the obvious improvement).

I don’t even feel we need to bring in players from other teams. We have the tools to develop our own. Straight to the draft.

We will be a much better football team after this year of finding our feet.

Greeny just needs a big pre-season.

 

[Mootsy]

'what we need', 'understand'..

 

[hurlygurdy]

Is that a reason for why we couldn’t achieve our top 4 aim in 2018?

Because if I asked the question 6 months ago, absolutely nobody would have said it was.

Going backwards this year is an enormous failure. We can’t paper over it.

In point of fact we had the same number of wins at this point in time last year. Just saying....

 

[Milanista28]

Joey never got going
Raz missed a lot and never found continuity
Stringer hasn't even reached 80% yet JUST YOU campaignerS WAIT AND SEE WHAT THIS BLOKE IS ALL ABOUT

We haven't seen the Joe, Raz and Jake show yet, WE HAVEN'T EVEN SEEN IT YET.

****!

 

[hurlygurdy]

i’m really disappointed at how we’ll end up ladder-wise this year and consider that a massive failure.

i’m also very excited and bullish about our prospects next year.

these two thoughts are not mutually exclusive.

Requisite mindset in order to be a footy fan actually.

 

[Blood Bomber]

Optimistic. Just tired of waiting. Want something to truly be proud of after all the saga years. Unfortunately only a flag fixes it and we can win one sooner rather than later.

 

[Cold Sober]

Get Gaff,

 

[Shanghaistu]

Get Gaff,

Yep, he might be available at a bargain now. As an added bonus he could help settle some scores against guys like Zak Jones, Richard Douglas, and the other campaigners that have rubbed out Essendon players at various times this season

 

[Shanghaistu]

This thread seems to have gone really quiet....

 

[Mootsy]

what we need is something light, something new, something borrowed and something blue!

 

[blitzer]

I think there is actually a lot to look forward to in 2019. I know people always tend to look at things from the frame of "if we don't get new players how can we improve" but the level we played at after the first 2 months of the season would have got us borderline top 4 if we were able to maintain it.

Consistency is more of an issue than talent for us. Obviously getting Daniher out on the park and Fantasia missing less games would be a huge plus as well. We've now assimilated Stringer, Saad and Smith into our team and they all look to be top 10 players for us going forward. Yes our midfield isn't perfect but we've actually been improving our weaknesses around contested ball and clearances and have come a long way in that area. The development of Langford is a huge plus. I'm also very optimistic about our group of 2nd and 3rd year players that haven't yet made a big impact in Ridley, Begley, Mutch, Clarke, Redman, Francis and Draper. I reckon we will get at least 2 best 22 players from that group next year and easily could be more. At absolute worst I reckon we will have better depth for midfield/half back spots to cover injury.

Daniher's injury could have a silver lining for 2019 as well because the last few preseasons he's missed significant chunks of preseason with leg issues. If he could get himself through a full preseason he may come out better than ever. With the improvement of McKernan and Brown we actually have pretty decent depth in our KP positions at both ends (particularly when you consider some of our defenders can play forward).

Gameplan wise I have a lot more faith in the 2018 version than I did in the 2017 version even though we likely won't play finals this year. Its a lot more solid and likely to stand up in the heat of a big finals game. So hopefully if we make it there in 2019 we'll be able to go in confident that our best will get the job done.

 

[Mr_McBoogerBalls]

In point of fact we had the same number of wins at this point in time last year. Just saying....

When you take into consideration how poor our start of the year was, that's a remarkable turn around by us in 2018.

 

[LB#16]

.....giggity

 

[fishardansin]

With no injuries im condident enough to say we will be a 5-8 side next year, with luck hopefully better.

Thankfully after cluster**** that was the first 8 weeks they seem to have got their shit together so that should continue but there is also room for improvement, especially amongst our younger players like Langford, Parish, Mcgrath, Redman, Ridley, Francis etc.

Getting Joey and Gleeson back will also be a big plus.

Be interesting to see if Joey and Smack can function together.

All teams carry a fair few injuries throughout the season. If we were to have very few then I'd expect us to be a dominant side, clear top 4, because in my opinion if any of the best 6 sides have an injury free run they'll almost certainly finish above three of them who have a bad run of injuries.

The other thing to consider is we finished mid table, so we'll have a mid level draw. What I find most exciting about our list going forward is the depth we have in positions that most teams lack in.

1: HIGH quality medium defenders in Francis, Gleeson, Redman and Ridley. Redman can play midfield and Francis can swing forward to change a game.

2: Tall forwards. Daniher, McKernan, Stewart, Brown and Stringer has played like a KPF at Footscray. Bellchambers can play forward and Daniher, McKernan and Brown can all contribute to the ruck.

We have lots of speed across the ground and no treacle slow smalls. The weakness of contested ball winners is an illusion. We can win stoppages and contested ball stats. What will increase that is not Jobe Watson mark II. What is required is either a new gut runner or Zaka, Heppell, Smith and Merrett taking their running to another level so we have more plus 1s and the many situations through a game that are halfway between a contested and loose ball.

Parish, Smith and McGrath all are on the small side. However, playing against the Dogs in their golden season had a fairly small mids but the numbers around the ball and pressure on the opposition changed the game. We can afford to "break even" in the midfield as long as the opposition feels harassed every time they win it so that kicking forward is blind. If Hurley locks down on a man it means that Hooker, Francis and Gleeson can set up as the interceptors who can then feed Saad and McKenna plus Hurley for quick rebound. Lots of interceptions followed by fast rebound hopefully leads to more scoreboard pressure on the opposition which in turn leads to more implied pressure around the ball because there are doubts in the mind of the opposition with regards to "throwing it on the boot". I think we'll lots of natural development from Parish and McGrath this season too. Shiel, Smith and McGrath mean we have breakaway speed from the contest now too.

If this means the opposition counters this by playing slow and chipping around and backwards then we need to play another interceptor on the ball. I nominate Redman. We can then have a team set up that is a traditional (current tradition) intercept set up similar to West Coast and Richmond (who also have 3 quality interceptors each) for midfield stoppages, but push hard forward with the midfield to set up a great forward press. We have great speed and pressure with Tippa and Fanta. Daniher is excellent for a 200cm player in this regard as well. We need to Stringer and the 2nd tall (McKernan/Stewart/Brown) to step this up too.

Daniher coming back fit and strong is crucial to our forward line becoming as potent as it can. Daniher and McKernan is the ultimate attacking setup. McKernan was marking a lot this year without Daniher drawing much fire. If Daniher plays further up the ground, the opposition will have a hard time double teaming McKernan. Then at times, McKernan is on the ball or bench Daniher is more than capable of playing as "the man" deep forward. With Stringer there, it is hard to sag off him because he is capable of leading at the ball or being an opportunist with spillages. If you sag off Fantasia, he can lead up at the ball. If you leave Tippa and go over the top to spoil, then you better make sure the ball clears the area because he's also a great opportunist.

I think we're very strong in all sectors of the ground. I also think we have great depth, which is probably not realised by fans of other clubs because it is very young. This means we have replacements and the ability to develop kids in a successful side. It also means we'll be able to turn 2nd round draft picks into firsts as some of these guys look for more opportunities elsewhere.

However, success is nowhere near assured. Game plans/strategy fails or excessive injuries will ensure we languish in the middle of the year. It is great we have added one young coach involved in success. However, I think we need to be adding to that. Worsfold seems to be a great steady leader, but the history of his game plans are pretty one-dimensional. His steady leadership will be greatly enhanced by lots of fresh ideas of great thinkers who have recently retired.

We need to strike in the next two seasons before Hooker goes and Hurley fades because after that we'll be a little small down back. If we have a period of success coming up it will be hard to replace them in the draft. If we're lucky Hartley will hang around and be happy to be third in line for two positions and develop with a few games per year as depth for the next two years. Then we'll have a ready replacement for Hooker.

 

[Maxabillions]

Jeez I’d be excited if hep showed up to round 1 with a shaved head meaning business and ready to inflict pain

 

[JayJ20]

To be honest, I'm pretty sick of saying next year.
I'll just wait until round 23 2019 to assess whether I'm excited or not.

Obviously before SHIEL

 

[Godzke]

Shiel2Stringer

 

[daffo]

One flag please.

 

[Howard Moon]

feels like every day there is a new puff piece in the paper - everyone body is on us, we are the hype team of the offseason.

thing I want to know it, who was the last hype team to win the flag?

seems of late the flag winning teams have come from the shadows, come from a place where the pressure is low, a place where the opponents may take them lightly, and I guess a place where the easier draws are had.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Essendon begins pre-season training, but Joe Daniher another week away from resuming

Chris Cavanagh, Herald Sun
24 minutes ago

A bulked-up Joe Daniher is on track to begin pre-season training next week after a host of his Essendon teammates officially began their preparation for season 2019.

Senior players including captain Dyson Heppell, ruckman Tom Bellchambers and forwards Jake Stringer and Orazio Fantasia returned to Tullamarine a week early to join the Bombers’ second-to-fourth-year players on the first day of pre-season on Monday.

Daniher — who was sidelined after Round 7 this year with early onset of osteitis pubis — was nowhere to be seen but has been at the club in recent weeks training in the gym.

The 24-year-old will join the rest of the playing group when they resume training next week.

“He’s been in (the club) a lot of the time in the break. I think he’s put on a few kilos,” Essendon assistant coach Hayden Skipworth said of Daniher.

Jake Long in action as the Bombers’ younger players returned. Pic: Michael Klein

Coach John Worsfold welcomes captain Dyson Heppell back to Essendon training. Pic: Michael Klein

“He’ll be progressing like all the boys pre-Christmas and hopefully we can have him for 22 games next year.”

Fantasia, who similarly has his 2018 season ruined by hamstring problems which restricted him to 13 games, trained well across an opening session which spanned more than two hours, the Bombers hopeful he too can get himself in tip-top shape for next season.

Andrew McGrath gets stuck into the start of Essendon pre-season training at Tullamarine. Pic: Michael Klein

“He’s just got to get his body right,” Skipworth said.

“We all know what a fantastic player he is and he’s a great leader for our club as well so it was good to see him start back with the young guys. He controlled his speed today, didn’t go over the top, which is a good thing. But he looks in great nick as he always does.”

Long spoils Orazio Fantasia. Pic: Michael Klein

Fantasia, Kyle Langford, Conor McKenna and Shaun McKernan were part of a self-funded high attitude training camp to Colorado earlier this month which was led by David Zaharakis and Bombers high performance manager Paul Turk.

“David Zaharakis, who has improved his leadership enormously over the last 12 months, goes before pre-season every year and he invited a few of the other guys to go over with him,” Skipworth said.

“There’s a few still over there at the moment so hopefully they come back in really good shape.”

Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti is among those hoping to propel the Bombers up the ladder next year. Pic: Michael Klein

J-Train ... Jayden Laverde leads Jake Long and Jake Stringer. Pic: Michael Klein

Skipworth said he was most excited about 2019 by the way the Essendon finished last season, winning 10 of its last 14 games after a slow start.

“Hopefully we can use that momentum into next year and into the start of the season,” he said.

“Everyone’s excited and they got a little taste of where we’re at and what we can do and now it’s just building on that over pre-season and taking that into the start of the season.”

Tom Bellchambers made an early return. Pic: Michael Klein

Aaron Francis wrestles with Stringer. Pic: Michael Klein

Adam Saad gets a fist in. Pic: Michael Klein

Heppell set the example by returning early to training. Pic: Michael Klein

McGrath has been a fine recruit since being selected with pick 1. Pic: Michael Klein

The Bombers are a different side with Fantasia in the front half. Pic: Michael Klein

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/...g/news-story/6fd61ad74d9579307ba9f441609d4921

 

[Godzke]

Self funded? **** me that is worth getting excited for

On [device_name] using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[daffo]

Chill. It's a tax write off holiday.

 

[the PILL]

Hello everyone, been getting back on my feet after a nasty motorbike accident and today was my first day back walking unassisted which feels quite euphoric actually.

Couple of thoughts...

TBH, I'm finding this off season particularly hard to deal with and chomping at the bit to see how we campaign with our very positive developments.

One little gripe I've developed though is I'm not a fan of this pre hype narrative going on.

It's unnecessary pressure and feel it was a bit of a mistake by Xavier to make such claims which sits us firmly in the crosshairs of haters and media too lay the boots if we falter, alas the media have fully latched on to the narrative now so lets hope it holds a bit of substance...

In saying that its an exciting time for us development wise which is enough for me to be honest.

I'm still a bit sketchy whether we have the right coach to harness the games evoulution but quietly confident at least making the eight. Anything past that I'll count as a bonus.


Anyway I really appreciate all the contributions here and thanks to many for providing fantasic intel on the clubs goings on. It's been my goto to escape while going through several hours of traction and wierd rehab exercises each day.

Have a great day BF Bomber fans!