lol.
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It’s why he is the best in the business.
Knows his stuff.
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King has been on the Essendon bandwagon for a while now so it dosen’t surprise me he thinks we can win the flag haha
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Yeah, he’s liked us for a while.
I think he recognises that the talents on the list so it’s just a matter of it all coming together.
I think if everything goes right we are a flag chance as well.
In my opinion we have a lot of potential but now it’s up to the players and how much they want it.
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I really dont want to know about Robbo’s tackle. Thanks.
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You are missing out
How much do King and Robbo get paid for their insight?
Sports coverage in this country has been poor for a long time unfortunately
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Ease up, you guys. It’s in the Herald-Sun, so it has to be true.
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He’s right on one point though, it might all come down to better clearances
Coons doesn’t have us for top 8.
Belongs in the Lid On thread.
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Cannot see us finishing any higher than 7th. Hope I’m wrong.
Well, to be fair, it’s a tough year to pick. Melbourne/Us/Dogs/Port/Saints - then the fringers Pies/Whorks…who the fark knows what will happen. Rnd 6 will give us all a better guessing platform.
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Yep, it’s wide open.
Our midfield is built largely on hope not evidence of success.
Thats why it’s impossible to know.
BUT- our midfield wasnt great last year and we finished 8th.
So Im going to suggest if the midfield performs just ok…we will be 7-10.
But if it clicks, i think we will finish 4-6
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Round 6 we will know, pretty tough start.
by Callum Twomey
Best 22 - round one
B: Mark Baguley, Michael Hartley, Adam Saad
HB: Brendon Goddard, Michael Hurley, Conor McKenna
C: David Zaharakis, Dyson Heppell, Andrew McGrath
HF: Jake Stringer, Joe Daniher, Darcy Parish
F: James Stewart, Cale Hooker, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti
R: Tom Bellchambers, Zach Merrett, Devon Smith
I/C: Patrick Ambrose, David Myers, Josh Green, Ben McNiece
Emerg: Matthew Leuenberger, Matt Dea, Josh Begley, Jake Long
2017 best and fairest top three
- Joe Daniher
- Brendon Goddard
- Dyson Heppell
Injury list
The Bombers’ biggest concern is Orazio Fantasia, who had knee surgery last week and will miss at least round one with the nagging problem. He could be out another week or two as well depending on how he recovers. A serious ankle injury to Martin Gleeson last week against the Cats was also a severe blow, with the improved half-back to miss around four months. Travis Colyer has already been ruled out until at least round five or six with a foot injury, while Jayden Laverde will also miss the early couple of rounds with his hamstring strain.
The big questions
Is their midfield big enough?
The Bombers got bullied in last year’s final loss to Sydney, and are relying on a number of smaller guns to take it to some bigger on-ballers across the year. Time will tell if they can manage or need to acquire a big extractor to help out at the end of the season.
Will Kyle Langford or Jayden Laverde step up to make a spot their own?
Both players are entering their fourth season at the club after being top-20 picks at the end of 2014. Laverde will have a later start after his hamstring injury, while Langford will be eyeing a midfield role after training there throughout the summer.
Will the Bombers who emerged last season be able to back it up?
Conor McKenna, Orazio Fantasia and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti were among the young Bombers to have career-best seasons last year and establish themselves in the competition. Their progress is vital to Essendon’s chances of continuing up the ladder, so more responsibility will be heaped upon them in 2018. They need to be able to handle it.
Conor McKenna signed a long-term deal with the Bombers late in 2017. Picture: AFL Photos
Look for…
Clearly all eyes will be on Jake Stringer in his first season at the club after a tumultuous end to his career at the Western Bulldogs. Essendon has spoken openly about wanting to play Stringer in the midfield as well as closer to goal, so it will be fascinating to see if he’s capable of having a good balance between both facets. Stringer might have shaved off his bleached haircut we saw in the opening round of the JLT Community Series, but he will still be watched closely.
Who they play
The Bombers have some early challenges – they face Grand Finalists Adelaide in round one before facing a trip to Perth in round two – but overall have a good draw. They play only one top-six side from last year twice (Richmond) and their voyage to Western Australia for the Dockers clash is the only time in the first nine rounds they leave Victoria, which could set them up for a strong start.
Fantasy cash cow
Jake Long (MID, $233,000) could be one to watch. The son of club legend Michael has been on the fringes of Essendon’s best side the past few years but has improved and would be worth a bench spot if he can break into the side.
Sudden impact
The Bombers will get plenty out of recruit Devon Smith in the midfield, and he will be keen to play as much around the ball as he can after struggling for midfield time at GWS. Adam Saad, another of the Bombers’ three headline pick-ups, should be consistent off half-back, while Stringer is the most uncertain. If he fires he could turn Essendon into the most dangerous team in the competition.
The Bombers can expect Devon Smith to help lighten their midfield load. Picture: AFL Photos
It’s crunch time for…
Matthew Leuenberger. The ruckman is into the third and final season of his contract at Essendon since crossing from the Lions, and will be keen to get back his place as the Bombers’ No.1 big man. He lost that mantle in the middle of last season and wasn’t able to regain it, playing just one senior game after round nine.
Pressure rating on the coach
The temperature is cool, but could rise quickly. Worsfold is out of contract at the end of the season, and although an extension is expected to be formalised soon, there has been no progress in recent weeks. If the Bombers don’t make the finals this year then the focus will turn more sharply to Worsfold.
The 2017 habit the Bombers must kick…
Losing to sides they should beat. Defeats to Carlton early in the season last year, and then a shocking loss to Brisbane in round 15, meant the Bombers made the task of making the finals tougher than it should have been.
The Bombers will have a good year if…
They can find a way to stop leaking goals. They have worked on their defence over summer and it must lift from last year, when they conceded on average 92 points a week.
They’re in trouble if…
Joe Daniher goes down with injury. The Bombers’ leading goalkicker and spearhead is irreplaceable in Essendon’s forward set-up and his fitness and form is paramount to their success.
Pass mark
Essendon has to win a final this year, at the very least. It hasn’t done that since 2004, which gives it has the longest drought of any club in the competition. The Bombers will want to go further than just one win, but they need to get that far after losing their last four elimination finals all in disastrous fashion.
AFL.com.au predicted ladder finish: 8th
Player Ratings star
Zach Merrett, 20th. Essendon’s highest ranked player maintained his place as the leading Bomber after another elite year in the midfield.
I love how Roos points out how teams should be built from defence first then learn how to attack, and then sites GC, Carltank(both finished bottom 4) and Melbourne(failed again…) as examples of how it should be done.
Essendon season preview: Why the Bombers can dare to dream in 2018
AFL
Anna Harrington
March 22, 2018 8:41am
IF THERE was ever a time for Essendon fans to begin to dare to dream, surely this is it.
But things need to change if they’re to genuinely push for a flag, according to a premiership coach.
The Bombers look to be well and truly free of the shackles of the saga that captivated the club for so long. Any players that were suspended have been back in the fold for a year or more. Many of their teammates either weren’t at the club during those years or were hardened by their experience of it (think Zach Merrett’s development in that 2016 wooden spoon season.)
Now, the Bombers have made their mark — and picked up some handy recruits on top of it. And off the back of their efforts last year, they returned to the finals.
But AFL great Paul Roos remains unconvinced by the Bombers, who were shaky in both of their JLT Community Series games against Richmond and Geelong.
“I reckon they’re a teaser at the moment,” Roos said of the Bombers on Fox Footy’s On The Couch.
“What I like about Carlton is they’ve built from defence to forward … we’ve seen Stuey Dew do that at the Suns and I was part of it at Melbourne. But what we’ve seen with ‘Woosher’ (coach John Worsfold) is he’s probably done it the other way.
“Whether that was a result of coming after a shocking four or five years (due to the supplements saga), getting the boys excited, getting them scoring … statistically, they’re not going to win a premiership doing that.”
Roos pointed out that the Bombers last year were ranked third for scoring, but just 11th for forward-half scores, 13th for time in forward half and 17th for creating stoppages — number that don’t stack up in the modern, territory-based game.
“If you look at the way the game’s played, they’re a teaser at the moment,” Roos said.
“I think with the personnel they’ve got, it’s definitely correctable. They do have speed in the forward half … but the slaughter it from defence.
“Games are forward-half games now and you can’t expect to go form defence to forward and expect to win a premiership.”
While their performance in September last year left plenty to be desired, Worsfold’s side will have taken plenty of lessons from their loss to Sydney.
From here, they will expect to better their performances of last year, improve their consistency and add a harder edge to their game.
Then, the Dons can dare to dream.
THE BURNING QUESTION
Can the Bombers’ midfield stack up?
In the elimination final against Sydney, Worsfold’s side were simply blown off the park around the ball by their bigger, harder Swans counterparts.
To be frank, their work around the contest wasn’t good enough on multiple occasions — and the stats reflected that.
According to Champion Data, the Bombers ranked 15th in contested possession differential and 14th in clearance differential. Of the other top-eight sides, only West Coast ranked worse.
They also conceded the third-most “initial entries” — the first inside 50 after a centre bounce without a throw-in or ball-up.
While their defence generally held up well, Essendon still had the third-highest points against in 2017.
Reducing this will in turn lessen the burden on their forwards to kick a high winning score.
For that to happen, the midfield will need to provide the workrate and defensive efforts required to limit their opponents’ inside 50s, and ultimately, scores.
That said, Zach Merrett is a star, while Dyson Heppell will hope to return to his best
Their recruiting should help the situation.
A fully-fit Devon Smith has been a shining light this pre-season, with the recruit slotting seamlessly into Essendon’s midfield.
Meanwhile, the acquisition of Adam Saad has released young gun Andy McGrath to continue his midfield development.
And Jake Stringer can always be thrown in the mix to add something different.
JOHNNO’S TAKE
Fox Footy expert Brad Johnon reveals his take on Essendon’s upcoming season.
“I think the Bombers will have a really good year.
“I think they traded in really well and all those recruits appear reasonably settled into the line-up. Saad is going to be very good for them, as will Devon Smith as well.
“The Bombers tall forwards move really well and are really dynamic, so Joe Daniher, James Stewart and Cale Hooker are really dangerous up there.
“Hurley back into the side last week was important. They tried Ambrose on Hawkins which didn’t really work so maybe they need to look at different options for a second key defender.”
THE BLOWTORCH
Jake Stringer
If there was any doubt this would fall on anyone but Jake Stringer, the recruit’s pre-season form all but wiped that out.
In the first JLT Community Series match against Richmond, Stringer looked well out of sorts running through the midfield, struggling to get his hands on the football.
Things didn’t get much better against Geelong.
The high-profile recruit may have midfield ambitions, but that doesn’t mean he’ll stay there.
That said, we’re all well and truly aware of what Stringer can do at his best.
We need look no further than that explosive 2015 season, where he was named All Australian and looked set to go on to bigger and better things.
But since then, he’s failed to hit those heights.
While the Dons would love to see him fire in the midfield, they’ll surely settle for a Stringer who can make his mark at half forward, providing a foil for Joe Daniher, Orazio Fantasia and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti.
After all, at his best, he’s simply dynamite.
THE NEXT BIG THING
Andrew McGrath
Picking the reigning Rising Star is probably the easy option here, but it’s arguably the correct one.
Andrew McGrath was brilliant in his first season for the Bombers, playing predominantly off half back.
The teenager impressed with his poise and composure in a defensive role, and also showed signs he can make a move into the midfield in the future.
That looks certain to happen this year, with McGrath already spending a significant amount of time on the ball this pre-season.
The Dons have needed class, hardness and composure through the midfield.
McGrath provides all three of those.
Expect the young gun to only get better.
THE PASS MARK
Winning a final.
The Bombers haven’t achieved this since David Hille kicked three final-quarter goals to sink the Demons in the 2004 Elimination Final.
That’s quite the drought.
Essendon entered last year’s finals series with high hopes — but those were quickly crushed by the Swans.
Given the amount invested in their team this year, with the Dons recruiting Stringer, Saad and Smith in the off-season, anything less than a finals win would be simply inexcusable.
Decent write-up.
Although I don’t think the author can have seen either of our pre-season games due to the comments about Stringer.