Dempsey was one who was always better at afl level than vfl level
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Tippa is an example, but Dill is right, there arenāt many, especially if Jay Neagle was your go-to.
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Maybe there arenāt many cause theyāre all playing AFL?
I reckon Walla might go alright if he was to play VFL this weekend. His improvement has been mainly due to improved physical conditioning in my opinion.
Did Jay Neagle really average less than 1.5 goals/game at VFL level? I donāt think so.
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It wouldnāt surprise me. Forgotten how āgoodā the Bendigo VFL sides were prior to us taking over? I reckon there was a year we averaged about 2 goals and the OG messiah kicked a few of them.
Is Tippa an example or has he just gotten better since he was drafted? He hasnāt payed a single VFL game since then to compare.
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Fixed
Yes you do. Itās very fkn simple.
BRING.
HIM.
IN.
IN,
BRING
HIM
Slow burn will pay off
Simon Conway April 21, 2017 12:50 PM
Essendon List and Recruiting Manager Adrian Dodoro isnāt surprised Aaron Francis has taken a little longer than fellow first round pick Darcy Parish to find his feet at AFL level.
The Bombers selected the pair with their first two picks (number five and six overall) in the 2015 National Draft.
While Parish quickly became a mainstay of the Essendon midfield and is averaging 22 possessions per game this season, Francis has struggled to find continuity.
āThere was some commentary about Paddy McCartin in the last couple of days and it just made me think of Aaron,ā Dodoro told Bomber Radio.
āThese guys who are a little bit bigger do take a bit of extra time.
āWhen we drafted Aaron we knew that he was going to maybe be a bit of a slow burn.
āHe had an interrupted back end of his top age year with some groin issues.
āWhen we drafted him everyone was aware that we had to take it slowly with him in his first pre-season.
āOur fitness team did a magnificent job in getting him up last year. This year is virtually his first year and heās been building slowly each week.
āI think heās knocking on the door of senior selection and weāre going to have a very exciting player for many years to come.ā
Francis began his 2017 campaign in the VFL against Sandringham.
He picked up 15 possessions, took six marks and laid nine tackles.
In the second half the 19 year old was moved into the middle of the ground and was one of the key figures in the Bombers comeback.
āI think youāve got to play a bit of midfield,ā Dodoro said.
āI think the way the game is played, you have to have players that can play midfield/back and midfield/forward.
āThere has been an emphasis on [Kyle] Langford, [Jayden] Laverde and Francis being able to do that.
āBut heāll [Francis] need to get that engine built up over the next couple of years.
āI still see him as a power forward or a third defender, but there is no reason why when he gets to 23 or 24 that he couldnāt impact through the midfield.ā
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Pure coincidence that article gets a run the day before selection.
OR IS IT?!?
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Feel the burn.
Based on that article, I reckon heās as good as in. Might be hard for him to back up with five days between Collingwood and Melbourne games, so they may be thinking Melbourne is a better time. Especially considering the likelihood of needing to rest players for the Melbourne game. But the timing of that article suggests heās in.
My reading of the article is to explain to everybody why they are taking their time and not to expect too much too soon.
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That article is just a rehash of the dodoro bomber radio interview.
Every week they rehash the interview into 3 or 4 stories for the website.
All it shows is the website doesnāt have the resources to create a lot of new material, so a lot of re-using goes on.
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9 tackles, PHOAAARRRR.
Anyone seen a clan of redheads fly over from adelaide?
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I suspect heād be on a pretty long range plan, given his fitness & runningās been the main issue.
Might not be anything to do with how many kicks and marks he has on a given weekend in the VFL.