What was once looming as an exciting opportunity to cement a position in the finals with good form has suddenly turned into no more than a glorified training run for Collingwood. The thing is... we saw the true Essendon play today. This is who we really are, and until we can finally come to terms with being shithouse and stop chasing lazy wins, we won't get anywhere. That was the most honest performance we've seen this year from the most dishonest club in the league.
We are well on our way to pure Minnow status. How many young kids do you ever actually see wearing Essendon colours anymore? Yeah, we tell ourselves they are all in hiding, the next sleeping giant, blah blah blah. Post the Drug Saga, all the club cared about was keeping our financials ok and making sure the players were kept happy; most likely so they did sue the s**t out of the club for negligence. In doing so.. we sold away our future; we became the Essendon Marketing Club. And we were good at it with our 9% off merchandise and so many lovely, totally not paid, fluff pieces in the offseason.
We've got all our hope on Brad, but unless he has the right support, it won't mean dick. If Dodoro stays employed by Essendon, it won't mean dick. If we resort to a messiah signing, it won't mean dick. There are so many things wrong with our list, but if the coach doesn't have the guts and strength nor the support to make proper changes, the cycle will continue.
We are consistently smaller than other teams, but somehow those bigger players also outrun us and are faster than us. Our top end is just about the worse top end in the league. Compare our three best players to any other team's three best players.... where do we rank? 17th or 18th?
For Brad to actually succeed in turning around; we need to stop kidding ourselves about the quality of our list (I'm not condemning individual players here, I'm talking about the list overall) Sadly, nearly all that goodwill that was built up earlier in the year was for naught, because in the second half of the year, it was the same old Essendon and fans have been left feeling like the more things change there more they stay the same.
The Round the Was
I could tell right away we weren't in this game. The hesitation with the ball was there from the very beginning, the unwillingness to run hard with your man to defend, the inability to take a single contested mark and the constant weak as-piss handballs to people who we in the middle of packs already. It was braindead football from the get-go.
I turned off in the second quarter - I'll tell you the moment - Dyson Heppell took a strong intercept mark in front of a GWS. It was a good mark. He then, without any attempt to look for a better option, kicked towards a 4 on 1, 'cause.. that's all we ever do, kick to the HFF close to the boundary and hope we don't get beaten in the contest.
But if you really want an insight into why this loss was far far worse than even the numbers suggest, it's what happened in the 3rd. A lot of sides get beaten early. They have trouble stopping the flow. But they usually come out hard after halftime, and at least maintain some dignity and respect.... GWS kicked the first 7 goals of the third... 7 unanswered goals... to come out with such a whimper after that first-half performance... so much for the team playing for the Coach.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 7.3 13.5 20.6 25.12 (162)
ESSENDON 1.0 2.1 4.4 5.6 (36)
GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: Hogan 9, Daniels 3, Greene 2, Bedford 2, Riccardi, Lloyd, Himmelberg, Green, Fahey, Coniglio, Brown, Ash, McMullin
Essendon: Langford 2, Phillips, Menzie, Caldwell
BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Hogan, Green, Coniglio, Himmelberg, Ward, Whitfield, Kelly
Essendon: Parish, Hind, McGrath, Merrett
INJURIES
Greater Western Sydney: TBC
Essendon: TBC
SUBSTITUTES
Greater Western Sydney: Toby McMullin (replaced Toby Greene in the third quarter)
Essendon: Jake Stringer (replaced Matt Guelfi in the second quarter)
Collingwood on the other hand saw their depth well and truly tested and we're found wanting against a quality Brisbane side. Despite this Collingwood had the moments and looked at times capable of stealing another game. Their season is teetering just a little bit, and they are in need of a good sparring partner to prepare them for the finals... oh...
COLLINGWOOD 4.2 6.5 12.7 15.10 (109)
BRISBANE 6.2 9.3 14.7 19.10 (124)
GOALS
Collingwood: Elliott 3, Mihocek 2, McStay 2, Howe 2, Pendlebury, Noble, Ginnivan, J. Daicos, Cameron, Cox
Brisbane: Cameron 4, Hipwood 3, Daniher 3, Rayner 2, Bailey 2, Ah Chee 2, McCarthy, Coleman, Fletcher
BEST
Collingwood: Pendlebury, Mihocek, J. Daicos, Crisp
Brisbane: Neale, Cameron, McInerney, Dunkley, McKenna, Rayner, Zorko
INJURIES
Collingwood: Ryan (concussion), Murphy (back)
Brisbane: Ah Chee (ribs/back), McCarthy (calf)
SUBSTITUTES
Collingwood: Mason Cox replaced Jakob Ryan in the second quarter
Brisbane: Jarryd Lyons replaced Callum Ah Chee in the third quarter
Possible Ins:
This is the biggest cross against Brad and it will this week like clockwork. There will be minimal changes, but screw that for this part of the preview, I'm doing a fantasy team selection for a change. Keeping in mind, I don't right give a * if we win or lose this week.
Out: Stringer, BZT, Laverde, Wright, Guelfi, Heppell (Unless he announces), Phillips
In: Setterfield, Bryan, Weideman (Defense only, because both LAV and BZT should be dropped for that game), Baldwin, Davey, Voss
My Tip:
Go on Holidays like the players already clearly have.
Gratitudes:
So, as this is my last preview, I'll just say thanks for reading throughout the year. The season is too long.
I hope you did enjoy it, I tried to avoid being too negative, and given I'm barely a football fan, letting own a knowledgeable poster, I tried ot make up with a touch of humour each week.
Also, despite how it sounds in this preview thread, I am actually cautiously optimistic for the future, but I do think this off-season will be very telling.
We are well on our way to pure Minnow status. How many young kids do you ever actually see wearing Essendon colours anymore? Yeah, we tell ourselves they are all in hiding, the next sleeping giant, blah blah blah. Post the Drug Saga, all the club cared about was keeping our financials ok and making sure the players were kept happy; most likely so they did sue the s**t out of the club for negligence. In doing so.. we sold away our future; we became the Essendon Marketing Club. And we were good at it with our 9% off merchandise and so many lovely, totally not paid, fluff pieces in the offseason.
We've got all our hope on Brad, but unless he has the right support, it won't mean dick. If Dodoro stays employed by Essendon, it won't mean dick. If we resort to a messiah signing, it won't mean dick. There are so many things wrong with our list, but if the coach doesn't have the guts and strength nor the support to make proper changes, the cycle will continue.
We are consistently smaller than other teams, but somehow those bigger players also outrun us and are faster than us. Our top end is just about the worse top end in the league. Compare our three best players to any other team's three best players.... where do we rank? 17th or 18th?
For Brad to actually succeed in turning around; we need to stop kidding ourselves about the quality of our list (I'm not condemning individual players here, I'm talking about the list overall) Sadly, nearly all that goodwill that was built up earlier in the year was for naught, because in the second half of the year, it was the same old Essendon and fans have been left feeling like the more things change there more they stay the same.
The Round the Was
I could tell right away we weren't in this game. The hesitation with the ball was there from the very beginning, the unwillingness to run hard with your man to defend, the inability to take a single contested mark and the constant weak as-piss handballs to people who we in the middle of packs already. It was braindead football from the get-go.
I turned off in the second quarter - I'll tell you the moment - Dyson Heppell took a strong intercept mark in front of a GWS. It was a good mark. He then, without any attempt to look for a better option, kicked towards a 4 on 1, 'cause.. that's all we ever do, kick to the HFF close to the boundary and hope we don't get beaten in the contest.
But if you really want an insight into why this loss was far far worse than even the numbers suggest, it's what happened in the 3rd. A lot of sides get beaten early. They have trouble stopping the flow. But they usually come out hard after halftime, and at least maintain some dignity and respect.... GWS kicked the first 7 goals of the third... 7 unanswered goals... to come out with such a whimper after that first-half performance... so much for the team playing for the Coach.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 7.3 13.5 20.6 25.12 (162)
ESSENDON 1.0 2.1 4.4 5.6 (36)
GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: Hogan 9, Daniels 3, Greene 2, Bedford 2, Riccardi, Lloyd, Himmelberg, Green, Fahey, Coniglio, Brown, Ash, McMullin
Essendon: Langford 2, Phillips, Menzie, Caldwell
BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Hogan, Green, Coniglio, Himmelberg, Ward, Whitfield, Kelly
Essendon: Parish, Hind, McGrath, Merrett
INJURIES
Greater Western Sydney: TBC
Essendon: TBC
SUBSTITUTES
Greater Western Sydney: Toby McMullin (replaced Toby Greene in the third quarter)
Essendon: Jake Stringer (replaced Matt Guelfi in the second quarter)
Collingwood on the other hand saw their depth well and truly tested and we're found wanting against a quality Brisbane side. Despite this Collingwood had the moments and looked at times capable of stealing another game. Their season is teetering just a little bit, and they are in need of a good sparring partner to prepare them for the finals... oh...
COLLINGWOOD 4.2 6.5 12.7 15.10 (109)
BRISBANE 6.2 9.3 14.7 19.10 (124)
GOALS
Collingwood: Elliott 3, Mihocek 2, McStay 2, Howe 2, Pendlebury, Noble, Ginnivan, J. Daicos, Cameron, Cox
Brisbane: Cameron 4, Hipwood 3, Daniher 3, Rayner 2, Bailey 2, Ah Chee 2, McCarthy, Coleman, Fletcher
BEST
Collingwood: Pendlebury, Mihocek, J. Daicos, Crisp
Brisbane: Neale, Cameron, McInerney, Dunkley, McKenna, Rayner, Zorko
INJURIES
Collingwood: Ryan (concussion), Murphy (back)
Brisbane: Ah Chee (ribs/back), McCarthy (calf)
SUBSTITUTES
Collingwood: Mason Cox replaced Jakob Ryan in the second quarter
Brisbane: Jarryd Lyons replaced Callum Ah Chee in the third quarter
Possible Ins:
This is the biggest cross against Brad and it will this week like clockwork. There will be minimal changes, but screw that for this part of the preview, I'm doing a fantasy team selection for a change. Keeping in mind, I don't right give a * if we win or lose this week.
Out: Stringer, BZT, Laverde, Wright, Guelfi, Heppell (Unless he announces), Phillips
In: Setterfield, Bryan, Weideman (Defense only, because both LAV and BZT should be dropped for that game), Baldwin, Davey, Voss
My Tip:
Go on Holidays like the players already clearly have.
Gratitudes:
So, as this is my last preview, I'll just say thanks for reading throughout the year. The season is too long.
I hope you did enjoy it, I tried to avoid being too negative, and given I'm barely a football fan, letting own a knowledgeable poster, I tried ot make up with a touch of humour each week.
Also, despite how it sounds in this preview thread, I am actually cautiously optimistic for the future, but I do think this off-season will be very telling.
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