Analysis Why are we s**t?

[Agronomus]

We were also shit because Sheedy was Gen X & Y so the there were 2 generations you poor milenials had to get rid of first before Essendon was yours

 

[eth-dog]

We were also shit because Sheedy was Gen X & Y so the there were 2 generations you poor milenials had to get rid of first before Essendon was yours

You do realise Gen Y are Millennials, right?

 

[Old Campaigner]

You do realise Gen Y are Millennials, right?

Typical lead poisoned boomer, can’t even remember the right generation to blame

 

[hurlygurdy]

All this brave fronting up to reality gives me the shits. Where are the excuses? I want to know why we only ever have a couple of our best players in form or not injured each season? At least this season everyone’s on the same page. Next year might actually be good!

 

[Agronomus]

Typical lead poisoned boomer, can’t even remember the right generation to blame

You do realise that Gen X aren't boomers right?

 

[gillon]

I’ll always be more happy after a win, but we really need to finish bottom 5.

 

[faible]

You do realise that Gen X aren't boomers right?

Boomer is more a state of mind than a specific demographic these days. Like being a Karen doesn't require one to actually be called Karen.

 

[Agronomus]

Boomer is more a state of mind than a specific demographic these days. Like being a Karen doesn't require one to actually be called Karen.

And Milenial

 

[faible]

And Milenial

Not sure what a Milenial state of mind is, but sure, it could be a concept I suppose

 

[Agronomus]

Not sure what a Milenial state of mind is, but sure, it could be a concept I suppose

The tech and stats generations

 

[faible]

The tech and stats generations

Without which you wouldn't have BigFooty to post on? You are very welcome.

 

[boncer34]

Right now its because we cant get our hands on the pill, and when we do we handball it.

We average 27 less kicks per game than any other team, and yet we're 5th for handballs per game. Only 51.4% of our disposals are kicks, AFL average is 58.8%. Which given we've averaged 337 disposals over the first 2 games, compared to 371 for the AFL you start to understand why it looks like we're going in circles compared to every other teams.

Its coz we are!

 

[Old Campaigner]

Right now its because we cant get our hands on the pill, and when we do we handball it.

We average 27 less kicks per game than any other team, and yet we're 5th for handballs per game. Only 51.4% of our disposals are kicks, AFL average is 58.8%. Which given we've averaged 337 disposals over the first 2 games, compared to 371 for the AFL you start to understand why it looks like we're going in circles compared to every other teams.

Its coz we are!

Is that because they’ve been told to handball it or because when they look down field no one is offering a target and they’d just be kicking to a contest?

 

[boncer34]

Is that because they’ve been told to handball it or because when they look down field no one is offering a target and they’d just be kicking to a contest?

Appears to me that they've been told to handball through the pressure until they get a player in space to kick it downfield.

 

[Foxx]

Our biggest issue is lack of pressure.
Our first 2 games were in our top 3 ever recorded for lowest pressure rating.

There is no excuse for that.

 

[cutsy]

Our biggest issue is lack of pressure.
Our first 2 games were in our top 3 ever recorded for lowest pressure rating.

There is no excuse for that.

I think it’s due to this kind of grid system we use to setup defensively all the players are more worried about running to their “spot” rather than actually impacting the opposition

 

[Foxx]

I think it’s due to this kind of grid system we use to setup defensively all the players are more worried about running to their “spot” rather than actually impacting the opposition

Its a good point, because our structure and gameplan is potentially setting us up to be outside the contests, and they cant get numbers to the ball?
It makes sense because the players are essentially sheepdogging and downhill skiiers.

Ok we are a less skilful side than most of our opposition, but why cant we acknowledge that and setup where we defend the back half, and rebound on turnover?
Then we will always have numbers behind the ball.
The game is already open enough with all the rule changes, so its not really going to appear like a boring defensive uninspiring brand.

 

[Red Black and Blue]

I think it’s due to this kind of grid system we use to setup defensively all the players are more worried about running to their “spot” rather than actually impacting the opposition

Yep. Players run to zone positions and stand there watching the ball carrier. You see other teams that execute zones, get to positions and keep their head on a swivel so they can move to block leads. So many times an opposition kick is placed where a player could have impacted if they were aware of the lead coming from behind them.

 

[Mercurial89]

Appears to me that they've been told to handball through the pressure until they get a player in space to kick it downfield.

I think it's exacerbated by the fact that as a team we aren't moving, you watch our players and they do not move to present any option, not our forwards, not our mids, they spread out and stand in a spot.

Watch any other team and the movement they have is what allows them to kick. So many players will run to a space knowing they won't get the ball but do it as it pulls open space for others to run into.

We seem to spread out, with guys standing in space but they aren't really an option as they will get closed down.


We also don't seem to understand how to use the stand rule. You watch other teams and they deliberately bait players into areas and then when they mark it has opened up lanes for others to run through, they hand pass at angles that practically eliminates the player manning the mark and sometimes one other player.
You watch our guys we will hand pass to guys that are running straight into an opposition.

We also try and go back through traffic so often I'm thinking it has to be direction. We do not change lanes, we don't go at angles at all we literally try and go through a opposition hoping that once we get out the other side we will be fine.

Thats all ball movement though, how we position at stoppages and around the ball is worse I reckon. Watch other teams and you can see the players hanging back, even if they could maybe impact the ball. They wait their turn.
Our boys all run in, still lose the contest then get it flicked over their heads to wide open men who now have a 3 man handball drill running through the centre corridor with our defenders forced to backpedal or push up and pressure, kick over head mark inside 50. Rinse repeat.

 

[Zach Package]

The bees to a honeypot stuff has reared it's ugly head again.

Being handball happy is fine, but our handball game doesn't actually go from inside the contest to out of the loop because everyone is always so close to it and trying to fossick over it.

It seems a really easy thing to drill, I would just mark 3 concentric circles on the ground and say to the guys you want receiving the ball and moving with it 'do not go near the inner circle for the love of god'

The method is something that can be taught and organised, and it is largely dogshit.

Similar story on the outside, none of them seem to have any understanding of the positional gravity that allows you to draw a man in to create a free that is actually in some degree of space and can do something.

It's all just pass the parcel.

 

[monty1104]

Appears to me that they've been told to handball through the pressure until they get a player in space to kick it downfield.

It the AFL version of Soccer's "play it out from the back". Invite the pressure then break through it. Only works if you have the players who are able to do it. Arsenal churned through their goalkeepers till they settled on one who is skilled enough to play this style. Essendon don't have the cattle for that style.

 

[King Patty]

The bees to a honeypot stuff has reared it's ugly head again.

Scott may tell them to play man on man this week.

 

[nipst@r]

Our biggest issue is lack of pressure.
Our first 2 games were in our top 3 ever recorded for lowest pressure rating.

There is no excuse for that.

Data backs up eye test. We are caught in no man's land a lot. Think we are unsure of whether to push up hard or stay back so defensively it just gets kicked around or chipped over to the next loose man.

 

[BrunoV]

Do we really believe we are that bad?

If the senior players are so bad why not do something about it? I don't know what the full list looked last year, or at the end of 2024, but there are players from top clubs who could have been brought in to lead the way. Harry Cunningham has lost his place in the first choice Sydney side. He is the antithesis of an Essendon player from the system we should want to be if we are serious.

If we can't get it set up from defence there are Gardner and Lester from Brisbane and Bews from Geelong who could surely be tempted with some job security having tasted the ultimate success and now facing life as depth.

When Merrett tried to leave for the second time in 12 months did we ask about MacGinness as steak knives for the deal. He's another anthesis of an Essendon player, who can run elite running wingman out of a game while having a psychotic/inside bull-level attack on the ball. Or was Andrew Welsh

Andrew Welsh

Age

43

Ht

188cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

16.4

4star

K

9.7

4star

HB

6.7

4star

M

4.6

4star

T

2.9

4star

CL

1.6

4star

No current season stats available

D

9.6

3star

K

7.4

3star

HB

2.2

2star

M

4.0

4star

T

3.6

5star

too busy beating his chest?

We've got low engery, low intensity medium and tall forwards on the list like McMahon and Edwards. They were both given contracts last season.

It's not as though we have been averse to signing expererienced players, they've just got to be rejects from Western Australia (which is the one thing that pisses me off about Rosa).

 

[LB#16]

This thread asks a question and the Brad Scott thread below it reads like an answer.