What we've learnt from 2008

[Ben the Gooner]

There's probably a thread on this already, but I feel that as we are spending this year learning about players' (and coaches') abilities, we should have somewhere to list them all.

1. When we settle on a more sustainable and accountable game plan, as we inevitably will, we'll have a bloody fantastic trump card to pull out in the current game plan.
2. We have some fantastic talent coming through. Houli, Reimers, Lonergan, Jetta and Dempsey all players who have shown for the first time this year (barring glimpses) that they are capable of cutting it with the big boys.
3. Nathan Lovett-Murray is not a small defender. Or even a defender. He is a lead up forward, when Lucas is back, and should be played as such.
4. Jason Johnson's, Damian Peverill's and Andrew Lee's careers are over. With Slattery re-signed, at least four players are going to have to go, and these three are certainties. Johns will almost certainly join them, but Knighter's giving him a chance, so I will too.
5. Matthew Lloyd is a full-forward. Play him there, not on the wing. He showed tonight what he's capable of, even with abysmal delivery.
6. If we get some real accountability and toughness in the team, we will go a long way. Kicking 100 points in sides that get thrashed is a very good sign.
7. The players need to learn to trust their instincts a bit more. They tend to over-do the handballs, even when it goes against what they're used to. I saw David Myers, when he was under pressure as soon as he got the ball, trust his instincts and boot it long. We had a 50% shot of marking the ball 20m out, directly in front. That's a 50% shot of a goal, which is better than a 100% chance of not kicking a goal when you handball it to the four players tackling you.

Good signs for the future.

 

[essendon2008]

There's probably a thread on this already, but I feel that as we are spending this year learning about players' (and coaches') abilities, we should have somewhere to list them all.

1. When we settle on a more sustainable and accountable game plan, as we inevitably will, we'll have a bloody fantastic trump card to pull out in the current game plan.
2. We have some fantastic talent coming through. Houli, Reimers, Lonergan, Jetta and Dempsey all players who have shown for the first time this year (barring glimpses) that they are capable of cutting it with the big boys.
3. Nathan Lovett-Murray is not a small defender. Or even a defender. He is a lead up forward, when Lucas is back, and should be played as such.
4. Jason Johnson's, Damian Peverill's and Andrew Lee's careers are over. With Slattery re-signed, at least four players are going to have to go, and these three are certainties. Johns will almost certainly join them, but Knighter's giving him a chance, so I will too.
5. Matthew Lloyd is a full-forward. Play him there, not on the wing. He showed tonight what he's capable of, even with abysmal delivery.
6. If we get some real accountability and toughness in the team, we will go a long way. Kicking 100 points in sides that get thrashed is a very good sign.
7. The players need to learn to trust their instincts a bit more. They tend to over-do the handballs, even when it goes against what they're used to. I saw David Myers, when he was under pressure as soon as he got the ball, trust his instincts and boot it long. We had a 50% shot of marking the ball 20m out, directly in front. That's a 50% shot of a goal, which is better than a 100% chance of not kicking a goal when you handball it to the four players tackling you.

Good signs for the future.

Great Post. I agree although i think Johns should go. Also i think NLM will be a good defender as he was a couple of years ago...we should let the younger players like Neagle and Gumby (when ready) and of course Lloyd and Lucas to hold down the forward positions.

With Myers, i took notice of that little passage of play you referred to aswell and i was rapt with what he did. Sure it looks good to handball and run but if it's not paying off why not just bomb it in quickly to the forwards as he did. Im not sure what Knights will have thought of it because it is somewhat against his gameplan but i really liked it. Essendon are handballing way too often and it's embarrassing when it does not pay off because there are so many un-manned opposition players on the turnover.

 

[ant555]

What have we learnt. Some supporters have short memories. It was only two seasons ago that we got cut down by a heap of injuries and only won three games yet now we are in the same boat but it is all the fault of the new coach. Back then it was ok becasue we where going to get a priority pick and everything would be back and running smoothly again when the injured players came back

We have also learnt that over estimating the strength of your list cause's great angst suppoerters when you start losing a few games