The stat that hurts us the most.

[Kettles]

This did not surprise me when I saw this, this morning. It is the fundamental root of our problems and explains a lot about where we finished on the ladder.

Essendon cleared 38.7 per cent of centre bounces, ranked 16th in the competition.

If we're the worst in the comp at this, it kinda puts us on the back foot from the start.

 

[DaSawx]

That certainly doesn't surprise me one bit, it's always been the most frustrating part of watching the Bombers over the last couple of years. Hopefully it will change soon because Hille and Laycock will be getting better as will our young midfielders.

 

[Longy413]

We get, who I rate as our best clearance player back next season.
I think we'll improve in that area of the game. Rama is so good at winning the ball at ground level, those long arms and agility help him out there.

Slattery and Monfries are also good at it. Likewise Winderlich.

We are heading in the right direction, we are adding depth to our midfield, which means our players rest more.

We not only have to improve the number of clearances we get, but also the quality of them.

 

[~GURU~]

Hopefully we will pick up an in and under type midfielder that will be able to win us those center clearences. But as Longy said with Rama back our clearences will improve!

 

[blumfieldisback]

sorry longy but your eyes must deceive you because I dont recall rama being in the centre as an in and under player, from the games I have seen he has been on the half back flank or back pocket, pretty hard to get centre clearances from there. He is also coming back from a knee re-construction, canm you please name a player who had an impact on the next season after a knee re-construction, most players take a year and a half.

dont be expecting too much of rama and im not bullying him i think he's great.

and yes i knew this stat of centre clearances was why we lost this is why i believe that with our first pick we will choose another midfielder. All the great teams have proven that great midfields exerts far more pressure on opposition teams. There's no point in having a great defence if the ball comes in 200 times and theres no point in having a great forward line if you cant get it in enough, mind you we have a pretty handy forward line.

Peverill, Mark and Jason Johnson did help alleviate this problem in the last 9 games i think it would be interesting to see where we ranked with clearances between round 15-22.

 

[Longy413]

sorry longy but your eyes must deceive you because I dont recall rama being in the centre as an in and under player, from the games I have seen he has been on the half back flank or back pocket,

Rama is very good at extracting the ball at centre clearances. Just because he doesn't spend a lot of time in there, doesn't mean he isn't good at it.
Dustin Fletcher is a very good kick at goal but he doesn't kick a lot. Rama never had the body to handle the rigors of spending great amounts of time there. He has that now.

Also, I never said Rama was an in and under player. You don't have to be like Jason Johnson to win the ball from stoppages. Simon Black is just about the best in the comp. Some people are good at winning the ball in traffic, Rama is one of those.

I'm tipping you only remember the Rama of 2004. Because prior to that he didn't really spend a whole lot of time in the backline. It wasn't until he came back from illness the second time and no doubt had lost a bit of fitness that he became almost a permanent defender. His first year or so he spent most of his time on the wing but did start to rotate through the midfield.

you please name a player who had an impact on the next season after a knee re-construction, most players take a year and a half.

Dean Solomon came third in our best and fairest after have a knee-reconstruction.
Michael Long was All-Australian and nearly won the Brownlow after having a knee-reconstruction.

 

[marcuz]

Dean Solomon came third in our best and fairest after have a knee-reconstruction.
Michael Long was All-Australian and nearly won the Brownlow after having a knee-reconstruction.

They were brilliant for us but they are the exception rather than the rule when it comes to knee reco comebacks. Rama will be good for us but we need to be poatient with him. he may star but he may also need another pre-season to get his body and his confidence in it cherry ripe.

 

[Longy413]

They were brilliant for us but they are the exception rather than the rule when it comes to knee reco comebacks. Rama will be good for us but we need to be poatient with him. he may star but he may also need another pre-season to get his body and his confidence in it cherry ripe.

If he playes 50% of game time in the midfield then we improve.

 

[blumfieldisback]

michael long won all australian selection and almost the brownlow in 95, he did his knee really early in 94 the same with soly but rama did his almost halfway through the season. Thats about 6 months less rehab.

solly and long both had or have knee complications, solly was no good this year because of it.

and simon black relied on voss, hart, akermanis to get the ball to him he gets the occasional ball to himself, still a great player but where was he this year when those players were missing.

I think you might be living in the past because rama did play on the wing and occasionally through the midfield 4 years ago, but he didnt last year and his running ability wont be much better this year. He'll be comig off the bench and be put on the half back flank.

The players we will need to work on getting the ball are players like monfries, the johnson boys, peverills to get it out too players like cole, winderlich, hird, stanton and dyson who know how to use the ball better. your dreaming about rama

 

[Longy413]

michael long won all australian selection and almost the brownlow in 95, he did his knee really early in 94 the same with soly but rama did his almost halfway through the season. Thats about 6 months less rehab.

Rama did his at training prior to round 4. Only a month later than Solly did his.

solly and long both had or have knee complications, solly was no good this year because of it.

Solly was no good this year because of two injuries. One knee related but was nothing to do with his reconstruction. The other wasn't knee related at all.

and simon black relied on voss, hart, akermanis to get the ball to him he gets the occasional ball to himself, still a great player but where was he this year when those players were missing.

You need to watch more footy. Black set them up.
This year he averaged 22 disposals.

I think you might be living in the past because rama did play on the wing and occasionally through the midfield 4 years ago

Isn't that what I said?

but he didnt last year and his running ability wont be much better this year. He'll be comig off the bench and be put on the half back flank.

He played three games last year. When he was ill he couldn't train and that was how he lost his fitness.
Throughout 2005 he spent a lot of time in the pool and on the bike. His knee recovery was well ahead of schedule from early on. He will be ready to do all the running come pre-season. His fitness shouldn't be any grave concerns.

The players we will need to work on getting the ball are players like monfries, the johnson boys, peverills to get it out too players like cole, winderlich, hird, stanton and dyson who know how to use the ball better. your dreaming about rama

Peverill isn't a very good footballer and Cole hasn't spent a minute in the midfield. Nor Monfries although I expect he will spend a bit of time in there.

I'm not expecting Rama to be a 120 minute midfielder. But he will spend some time there and that makes our side better. He uses the ball as good as anyone on our list.

 

[marcuz]

If he playes 50% of game time in the midfield then we improve.

No doubt.....and if that coincides with pev getting less game time then you can add another 15%.

 

[Longy413]

No doubt.....and if that coincides with pev getting less game time then you can add another 15%.

Absolutely.

 

[marcuz]

and simon black relied on voss, hart, akermanis to get the ball to him he gets the occasional ball to himself, still a great player but where was he this year when those players were missing.

Other way around champ. Black is the guy who wins the hard ball along with Voss that gets the brisbane engine room going. Guys like aker and Lappin live off his abilty to win the ball in close.

 

[DaSawx]

Other way around champ. Black is the guy who wins the hard ball along with Voss that gets the brisbane engine room going. Guys like aker and Lappin live off his abilty to win the ball in close.

Lappin is the biggest reciever i've ever seen

 

[blumfieldisback]

solly had problems knee related what was the other reason longy?
every player has knee complications after reconstruction and your exepecting rama to be this messiah who will win clearances for us but as you say he is not in and under so how does he get the ball and how much game time will he play. (does he just run into the right spots with no physical attention, and how much petrol will he have in the tanks after knee injury and chemo)

and yeah marcuz sought of agree but if you watch aker this year he changed his game he actually got the ball in traffic, i still cant recall black getting dirty hands. Lappin on the other hands is a receiver just like rama is.

they dont win clearances they might get them because of the work of others but they dont actually win the ball. And this is the argument and essendons weakness because we dnt have enough johnsons and peverill to rotate

and longy rama is a half back flanker thats what he was drafted as and thats where he has played, where probably going to get campo and we already have cole thats two wingman, then there is winderlich. Ive been talking about where he has played the last 2 seasons and your talking about 4 seasons ago.

alll of this points to us drafting a midfielder next year who gets the ball himself yet is able to carry it.

 

[Longy413]

every player has knee complications after reconstruction and your exepecting rama to be this messiah who will win clearances for us

Are you thick?
How many times do I have to say, the fact that he is on the field improves our midfield.
I've said it a couple of times already that I'm not expecting him to be a 120 minute midfielder. But if you have nothing and you add something to it, you actually gain something. Rama playing half a game in the midfield is better than no Rama at all. That improves the side, is it really that hard to understand?

not in and under so how does he get the ball and how much game time will he play.

Please try and read everything rather than just bits and pieces. I've already explained this. He doesn't play in an under in the traditional bang/crash style you would associate with Jason Johnson. But he is very good at winning the ball in close, he has long arms and he is a smart footballer. He's also very good at freeing his arms and breaking out of tackles. You don't have to barge through to win the footy at a stoppage. Rama does it well, if he gets 2 a game do we not them improve?

and yeah marcuz sought of agree but if you watch aker this year he changed his game he actually got the ball in traffic, i still cant recall black getting dirty hands.

Then you really, really need to watch more footy. Simon Black won a brownlow because he was so effective at winning the footy at stop plays. He didn't have a great year in 2005 (still a good one) but he is the single best clearance footballer in the AFL. He has no peers.

Lappin on the other hands is a receiver just like rama is.

Rama is closer to Black than he is Lappin.

they dont win clearances they might get them because of the work of others but they dont actually win the ball.

The do. Simon Black is the best at it and Rama was starting to become very good at it before his illness.

And this is the argument and essendons weakness because we dnt have enough johnsons and peverill to rotate

We have too many Peverill's to rotate. He's actually not very good and actually gets most of his ball by running off the opponent he is meant to be following. Chris Heffernan was very good at winning the ball from clearances, he's nothing like Jason Johnson. You don't have to play like Jason Johnson to win stoppages. Shane Tuck was third in the AFL.

and longy rama is a half back flanker thats what he was drafted as and thats where he has played, where probably going to get campo and we already have cole thats two wingman,

That is absolute crap. Rama was drafted to play in the midfield.
He started on a wing because he was skinny, as he developed physically and gained more experience he spent more and more time playing in the middle. When he got ill, lost form and fitness he went back. He'll spend time at half back this season, he'll probably even spend time forward. But the aim will be to get him back into the midfield and any time he spends there improves us as a side.

Cole has never played a single AFL game on the wing or even in the midfield.

and your talking about 4 seasons ago.

I'm talking about the attributes he has as a footballer, where he plays his best footy and where he is of the best use to the team. There were reasons he played back, but it was never because that was his best position.

then there is winderlich.

There is Winderlich. He'll add something if he can keep playing good footy. He is good at winning and running the ball from stoppages. Funnily enough he isn't like Jason Johnson or Peverill either. He's not as good as Rama though.

alll of this points to us drafting a midfielder next year who gets the ball himself yet is able to carry it.

As we should. Rama or no Rama we need to improve our midfield.

 

[Darealrath]

There were times this season when i gave the boys a bit of an ironic cheer when they got a centre clearance it seemed so rare,

It's not just the players we have in there, i think we need better tactics. Eagles, Swans and Crows particularly seem to have things a lot better worked out than us when it comes to setting up at stoppages.

 

[windyhill]

The stat that hurts me the most is The 1997 National Draft , Pick 4 , M.Bolton. It`s stung for years that one.

 

[Schopp]

Decent hitouts is what may the cause of the problem, the pure effect of why we arent winning clearances. We were second last in 05 with clearances. West Coast had 917 clearances, we had around 530. I know hitouts dont always go straight down the throat of the midfielder but generally you could say the more a team gets hitouts, the more opportunity their midfielders will have to clear it.

I see West Coast with a 204 cm Cox and a highly athletic Seaby and guess who has the best midfield in the league, Brisbane dominating in recent times with their group of monster ruckman - once again guess who had the best midfield in the league. I know both teams had great midfielders but they are made to look like unbeatable champs due to the ruckmen they have had - IMO.

And then Brissie draft Cam wood a guy who is 204 cm, whose arms are about 10cm longer than the average of someone his height - they still worry me. St Kilda getting flogged later in the PF largely because they cut Noble loose at end of last year.

We need our ruck division more functional and competitive for an entire season. I know that Laycock and Cartledge are only young but they need to really step up next year to assist Hill or replace him if he goes down with injury.

 

[pWnd]

yup i think the ruck is where the dons are really hurting badly
a good ruckman can make some fairly ordinary midfielders look like stars

i like all the talk about how it will be better next year etc etc, but with a miserable 38.7% clearance and dead last in the league, can it get any worse???

 

[Pevers-Legend]

We won a flag with sommerville rucking - Denham and odonnell and so on just learnt to shark the oppositions hitouts.

Misit is the factor here - I had hoped Watson would take his place. we need a Misit getting the ball out - Long was also excellent at this, hell even heff circa 99-00.

We need guys who can get it out.

Watson knows how to, JJ can, Hird and Rioli can, but after that it gets very thin, and they aren't all midifelders.

Monfries is the guy I am hoping will do it.

Ramma is an interesting one. Wingman for mine - geez at the start of 2003 he was getting ready to tear the comp apart. What a massive shame.

 

[blumfieldisback]

longy your thick mate i dont even read your mombo jombo, as soon as i read that you thought rama would help us with centre clearances i totally disregarded your opinion.

He will not be part of our midfield for the year 2006 he probably wont even play until round 6. All the best longy im not here to argue anymore.

 

[Longy413]

longy your thick mate i dont even read your mombo jombo, as soon as i read that you thought rama would help us with centre clearances i totally disregarded your opinion.

He will not be part of our midfield for the year 2006 he probably wont even play until round 6. All the best longy im not here to argue anymore.

Because your wrong?
Getting too hard?
Wondered why no one else has taken your point of view?

Your on your own here young fella, but well done for having a crack.

 

[Kettles]

The stat that hurts me the most is The 1997 National Draft , Pick 4 , M.Bolton. It`s stung for years that one.

You're a deadset bloody giveaway Gardiner.

I know it's you - cos you're the only net user who can't use apostrophes!

It's ' not `

And you know very well I've publicly come out and called Bolton a ******* - he bloody well is. But at least he's a trier. I have no doubt whatsoever, that if Bolton's contract was up, so was his time at Windy Hill.

Your boy, however, now not even at the club, had it all - and showed ferkin' nothing. It's time you woke up and smelled the coffee, John. Time you fessed up - and said, "Yes Kettles, you're right, when I pumped up his tyres before season 05, you quite rightly said he's flashy and $h!+house and selfish and lazy" - and guess what Kettles .... you were right all along.

 

[windyhill]

You're a deadset bloody giveaway Gardiner.

I know it's you - cos you're the only net user who can't use apostrophes!

It's ' not `

And you know very well I've publicly come out and called Bolton a ******* - he bloody well is. But at least he's a trier. I have no doubt whatsoever, that if Bolton's contract was up, so was his time at Windy Hill.

Your boy, however, now not even at the club, had it all - and showed ferkin' nothing. It's time you woke up and smelled the coffee, John. Time you fessed up - and said, "Yes Kettles, you're right, when I pumped up his tyres before season 05, you quite rightly said he's flashy and $h!+house and selfish and lazy" - and guess what Kettles .... you were right all along.

Showed nothing , we will just forget `03 shall we ?

Thanks for the punctuation lesson, condescending as always !