I always knew that at some stage we would have a form slump and the mood would go the way that it is going right now. I think Essendon folk have an inclination to want easy solutions.
Someone posted in another thread about a soft underbelly.
Periods like this, when you are down, is where you start to build hardness. You get to see who will still slog a game out even if you lose.
Heppell can’t lead them out of this on his own.
I’ve been thinking, where do we turn to find a leader to help take us out of this?
Mr Hooker.
Come on down.
This guy consistently beats his opponent at either end of the ground.
I’d like to see Hooker and Hurley revving the ■■■■ out of the youngsters this week.
I want to see Hurley and Hooker vocal as all hell next week. Both were potential captains. They can’t leave it all to Hepp. The players look up to Hooker and Hurls.
Just wait til the next time Hurley’s opponent takes a mark with Hurls 5 meters away.
Hurls will then be vocal about what his teammates did wrong. Every time
I have my concerns with Hooker, yeah he can tale a grab, but he’s a liability when the ball is on the ground, he’d have to be the slowest KPP in the league.
I think Hooker has been ok if he hasn’t marked it, he’s generally sent his opponents sprawling and then grabbed it and given it off. He even sold the dummy this week.
I thought Hurls was pretty good on Hogan too.
The players definitely look up to them and I’d prefer to see them directing and pumping up the players a bit more.
I remember a few contests in the second quarter where Hurls had him. I will admit in the second half, I sat there like a stunned mullet and didn’t really absorb what was happening other than our midfield getting smashed.
Kelly put pressure on by locking up a player when they looked like they were free, plus his continuous positioning on the goal line when under siege.
We can’t lock the ball inside 50 when it’s a 3 on 4 and 2 of our guys go for the same ball which we end up losing and leads to a 1 on 3 around that contest. Same thing happens all over the ground, 3 of our players going for the same ball only to lose it still or be stuck in the inner circle while the opposition is circling. We continuously all go for the ball instead of protecting one guy in best position. Who has protected Daniher in the air by getting between him and his opponent? Who protects Stringer, the strongest most explosive contested player around the stoppages? How many times has stringer been tackled as soon as he gets it around the stoppage, put in a block for him and clear his road.
We cannot win the territory battle if we can’t even protect our own players that are in a position to move the ball forward. We also need to get the ball deeper and faster. I’d love to see how few of our marks we’re taking that are dished off immediately to the player running by to get it in long and fast. Every mark between the arcs should be played as if it’s play on.