Why we can win flag

[bilbow]

If you look at side that took the field in finals last year and we add jolly ball fraser pendles and a fit medhurst that is arguably five a grade players to me that is a massive improvement and with the natural improvement of sidebottom beams etc ithink we are a big chance to go all the way what do other fans think

 

[Rohan25]

A good theory, but those 5 A-grade players you mentioned all play for Collingwood, not Essendon.

 

[DaVe86]

If you look at side that took the field in finals last year and we add jolly ball fraser pendles and a fit medhurst that is arguably five a grade players to me that is a massive improvement and with the natural improvement of sidebottom beams etc ithink we are a big chance to go all the way what do other fans think

You're not wrong. Adding those players really improves the side.

It's all going to come down however to finding our preferred forward setup. We are still searching for that. Cloke and Anthony need a big year.

But we are going to be hard to beat that's for sure. Huge test first up against the red hot side in the comp.

 

[ralu]

Although cloke and anthony are important for us, i dont see them as being as crucial as some. We have 7-8 blokes who are capable of kicking 20+ goals a year (medhurst, davis, didak, cloke, anthony, lockyer, fraser?, dick, thomas? etc) and this provides us with versatility and flexibility. If cloke/anthony fires great, but if they dont we have blokes that can kick the sausage rolls required to win games.

And with our defence being so miserly, we dont need to kick 16+ goals a game to win, unlike Carlton or Port Adelaide.

Whereas, I look at Stkilda, if Riewoldt was to wreck his knee, I would be intrigued to see how they fare.

 

[Primetime Pricey]

If you look at side that took the field in finals last year and we add jolly ball fraser pendles and a fit medhurst that is arguably five a grade players to me that is a massive improvement and with the natural improvement of sidebottom beams etc ithink we are a big chance to go all the way what do other fans think

has there been a secret trade period over the last 24 hours i am not aware about?

when did these blokes go to Essendon? lol

 

[3066]

2 things to remember .....

(1) It's a long game.
(2) And it's an even longer season.

After the Dogs game this forum is likely to be flooded with "sack MM and bring in Buckley now" or "mark us down for the next 5 flags"!

Not knocking the OP or anyone's optimism ... but the reality is, it's been a looooong time between drinks. At this stage I'm expecting nothing more but a Top 4 finish and only then will I allow myself to think flag or not.


GO PIES!!

 

[daics cousin]

Guys serious injuries aside,which can cripple any side,Collingwood is the best placed side for a tilt at the flag this year.

The pies have got a very well balanced side.A strong rebounding backline.
A very strong ruck combo,a strong midfield with ball and co and a very good forward structure.Ideally if we had say a roughead or someone similar to a young rocca we would be unstoppable.Most importantly we have a little more depth than previous years.

Still players like Cloke,Anthony,Dawes,Rusling,Medhurst,didak,the caff,throw in davis ,lockyer,Thomas and co we have a very dangerous forward set up.Simply with their kicking boots on we have a plethora of goal kickers.We only really lack a big monster forward,Hoping dawes can pick up the slack.

In all we have the exprerience,the middle tiered players and the youth that can take us all the way.................IM EXCITED !


Compare the other top teams

Brisbane have a very good forward structure,but their midfield and backline
are not that strong.They will make the eight but not top 4.

Geelong still have a great side,but psycologically they have reached their pinnacle.Plus players like corey.scarlett,ling etc will get battle weary.
Still don't right off the cats,can be a danger,


Adelaide are a strong outfit and always give 100% but reliance on their older stall warts in Macleod,goodwin and co will see them slow down come years end.Still a worthy contender.

The bulldogs ,are everyones early favorite,but not mine.
They have a lot of key players who are too old.Johnson,Hudson,hall,eagelton,akermanis .This is their last chance at glory i reckon if they don't do it now they never will.
Hall must be managed otherwise if he is not on the park come finals time its cutains for them.

Stkilda are a danger but hey have lost a lot of depth,Luke Ball,Xavier Clarke,Matt Maguire,Max Hudgeton,and losing their prized recruit,Lovett stings abit.Problem with the saints is their backline,with Fisher a bit suss
and if Zac Dawson goes down they are in big trouble.
Also if Lenny hayes goes down who extracts the ball for them?Armitage is good but too young .

The hawks have 2 big problems with early injuries,no Croad,no ruck combo and rioli with injuries puts a dent in their year.They will make the eight but no threat.


Yes Pies atre best placed Your thoughts?

 

[Markfs]

This side is lot better overall than the grand final sides. I would even say that man for man its a better side, except for a few obvious choices, Bucks, Burns, Rocca, Clement. Obviously, those guys would beat anyone in the current side. And also, a few in those early sides are still in the team like Davis and Tark and Fraser but I think they are at least as good as they were back then...

But the biggest improvement is depth...I remember in the first GF when Jason Cloke was out suspended, we replaced him with an out of form Jarrod Molloy. And then Anthony out the next year and being replaced by Jason....which was about the only thing that Mick could do but it ended up being a nightmare. Now we have replacements for most.

The other thing about having so many players is that there is competition for places in the team. It is going to be difficult for a lot of guys to be confident that they are going to get a game every week......

And while the backline has always been good, it might just hit legendary status if Brown can get his act together and Reid make that step up.

This is the most confident I've been since 1990...but like every year, we need a bit of luck...

 

[Spluff]

If you look at side that took the field in finals last year and we add jolly ball fraser pendles and a fit medhurst that is arguably five a grade players to me that is a massive improvement and with the natural improvement of sidebottom beams etc ithink we are a big chance to go all the way what do other fans think

Oooh, you card read good.

 

[Territory Magpie]

Oooh, you card read good.

Learn some grammar and/or spelling, Tiger troll. LOL - irony!

 

[PieBeast]

Don't blame him for wanting to change teams

 

[magpiewarrior]

The common thread on such topics is that everyone thinks our backline is very good, our mid field is quality and fantastically deep, but almost universally the comment is that our forward line needs work. Yes we are hoping that Rus or Dawes can come good but I don't think our chances hinge on that. It would be nice but with the depth of our midfield (by my calculations we have about 14 guys capable of rotating through there) we don't have to rely on Rus or Dawes because Dids and Davis are needed there, we can put them where they give the most value, IN THE FORWARD LINE. Last year I reckon our biggest weakness was the lack of magic in the forward line, we had to use Dids and Leon (and even to some extent Daisy) in the midfield to create drive but that left us without the unpredictable magic that only they can bring to a forward line. We have added Ball and further developed the kids in the midfield to the point that they are now able to at least take on the big guns of the comp. even if not yet acknowlegded as true super stars of the comp. Wahoo here we come grab the $10 dollar odds now because they won't be available for long.

 

[TradeDraft]

Because we finally have a Top Class Ruckman.

But I agree with magpiewarrior our Forward line is still a our biggest Weakness

 

[Wooljay]

Clearly a duplicate account, someone forgot to change logins.

 

[magpiewarrior]

Because we finally have a Top Class Ruckman.

But I agree with magpiewarrior our Forward line is still a our biggest Weakness

Dave did you read what I wrote (I'm not having a go at you here), I said that others believe that our forward line is our biggest weakness but I don't agree. Our forward line was our weakness when we had to put Dids, Leon and Daisy into midfield roles (in Daisys' case a midfield role off the the flank, yeah I know that seems like an oxymoron but you all know what I mean), but now that we have developed and recruited to cover the midfield, Dids, Leon and Daisy go back to goal scoring roles and I believe the weakness is gone. (Even without Rus and Dawes but gees if they come good we really are the most complete package going around). Could we be on the eve of The Invincables mark II? I've only been following the Pies for about 43 years but I have never been as excited about our list as I am now.

 

[TradeDraft]

Dave did you read what I wrote (I'm not having a go at you here), I said that others believe that our forward line is our biggest weakness but I don't agree. Our forward line was our weakness when we had to put Dids, Leon and Daisy into midfield roles (in Daisys' case a midfield role off the the flank, yeah I know that seems like an oxymoron but you all know what I mean), but now that we have developed and recruited to cover the midfield, Dids, Leon and Daisy go back to goal scoring roles and I believe the weakness is gone. (Even without Rus and Dawes but gees if they come good we really are the most complete package going around). Could we be on the eve of The Invincables mark II? I've only been following the Pies for about 43 years but I have never been as excited about our list as I am now.

Sorry about That - as you read I did not read the whole thing

 

[Frankie23]

Our defence is one of the best, if not the best in the league. It's not just the personal down there but the way they function, they are the best 'group' in out structure IMO. Maxwell, Shaw, O'Brien and Presti are all stars!

Our midfield, not long ago these forums were filled with threads about of slow, average midfield. Not anymore . We have class in Pendlebury and Didak, ball magnet in Swanny, and now a hard tackling warroir in Ball. Not to mention our depth in Thomas, O'Bree, Davis, Beams, Sidebottom and you have a strong middle. Definately in the top 4 in the league

We now have the best Ruck Division in the league in Jolly, Fraser and Wood. However give them time to gel.

Our forwards are our percieved 'weakness', but I'm not complaining. Cloke, Davis, Medhurst, Lockyer, Jack are the main 5 forwards, and that oozes class. We are constantly in the top few for points scored each year, so kicking goals is not an issue.

We have a team to win a premiership. I know Im pumping up the tyres a bit and alot needs to go right, but for the first time I can comfortably say that we have a team to win it. Our first priority is the top 4 however, talk of a premiership shoudl only start in the first week of September.

 

[magpiewarrior]

Sorry about That - as you read I did not read the whole thing

That's cool dude, like anyone I like to have people agree with me even if they have to misread what I write to do it.

 

[Zahki]

Although cloke and anthony are important for us, i dont see them as being as crucial as some. We have 7-8 blokes who are capable of kicking 20+ goals a year (medhurst, davis, didak, cloke, anthony, lockyer, fraser?, dick, thomas? etc) and this provides us with versatility and flexibility. If cloke/anthony fires great, but if they dont we have blokes that can kick the sausage rolls required to win games.

There was an interesting stat in Inside Football this week where they pointed out that all premiership teams in the last decade had one 'go to guy' for their goals, Geelong being the exception, but thats a luxury you can afford when you have the best midfield in the league by a country mile.

Put simply, goal kicking midfielders win H&A games, but not finals. Easy enough to see that when you look at the finals series last year, won 1 out of 3 finals with Anthony and Cloke having 3 goals between them.

There's really no other way around it, Anthony and Cloke are the difference between losing another prelim and getting to the GF.

 

[Shane Hird]

Our defence is one of the best, if not the best in the league. It's not just the personal down there but the way they function, they are the best 'group' in out structure IMO. Maxwell, Shaw, O'Brien and Presti are all stars!

Our midfield, not long ago these forums were filled with threads about of slow, average midfield. Not anymore . We have class in Pendlebury and Didak, ball magnet in Swanny, and now a hard tackling warroir in Ball. Not to mention our depth in Thomas, O'Bree, Davis, Beams, Sidebottom and you have a strong middle. Definately in the top 4 in the league

We now have the best Ruck Division in the league in Jolly, Fraser and Wood. However give them time to gel.

Our forwards are our percieved 'weakness', but I'm not complaining. Cloke, Davis, Medhurst, Lockyer, Jack are the main 5 forwards, and that oozes class. We are constantly in the top few for points scored each year, so kicking goals is not an issue.

We have a team to win a premiership. I know Im pumping up the tyres a bit and alot needs to go right, but for the first time I can comfortably say that we have a team to win it. Our first priority is the top 4 however, talk of a premiership shoudl only start in the first week of September.

Do you actually know how stupid that sounds?


You're all a deluded bunch...

 

[larrikan]

Do you actually know how stupid that sounds?


You're all a deluded bunch...

why would you come on our board to see why "WE CAN WIN THE FLAG"?
start a thread on your own board "why Essendon will not finish in the eight" anyway, even if you do it doesn't matter because there is absolutely nothing that could get me to your board. Why do you think we care what you have to say troll?

 

[Zahki]

Do you actually know how stupid that sounds?


You're all a deluded bunch...

Maybe you should take a look at your own board, with posters genuinely believing that Essendon can be top 4 this year before you start pointing the finger about who is deluded.

 

[bilbow]

my apologies have not posted for a long time sent to wrong board definetly a pies fan

 

[TradeDraft]

There was an interesting stat in Inside Football this week where they pointed out that all premiership teams in the last decade had one 'go to guy' for their goals, Geelong being the exception, but thats a luxury you can afford when you have the best midfield in the league by a country mile.

Put simply, goal kicking midfielders win H&A games, but not finals. Easy enough to see that when you look at the finals series last year, won 1 out of 3 finals with Anthony and Cloke having 3 goals between them.

There's really no other way around it, Anthony and Cloke are the difference between losing another prelim and getting to the GF.

What about the Eagles in 2006 - I don't know how there Gun Forward Was?

 

[Zahki]

What about the Eagles in 2006 - I don't know how there Gun Forward Was?

Quinten Lynch, got 65 for the year, but more importantly 12 in the finals.

You don't need a superstar, but you've gotta have tall forwards who are contributing, we didn't and we struggled.