Well he has done enough to get on our list, then impress enough to get a senior games until injured, and do very well in those senior games. And WC are more in need of players than we are, and he’s a local. And he’d be free. And he’s 25 not 26.
And he’s been through our glorious and fantastic development program…
2 Likes
He’s not athletically gifted, but he’s incredibly clever at reading the play, I’ve seen him kick so many of those goals now in the vfl and afl.
3 Likes
Im mostly looking forward to what being a full time footballer does to his body shape too.
There looks to be quite a bit of room for muscle gain on his frame.
5 Likes
I think considering the imaturity of our list build we can afford be a little overweight in a particular position going into to 26. As long as they are short contracts. We can then rebalance next year, so all of Langford, Mcmahan and Stewart could all get on the list next year.
he is one of those crafty players that opposition teams go how the fk did he get out there by himself and he just doesnt miss either, alot to like about the lad
4 Likes
He’s already shown more than Jones has.
5 Likes
I reckon too many list managers forget this about FF’s, they get seduced by size and athleticism and forget about footy smarts. To use an example, people forget how many crumbing goals Lloyd kicked, it’s not all mark kick
2 Likes
Installing that strip of fake turf around the boundary was a diabolical decision, and will definitely be the cause of injuries at some point, and may have already in non Essendon games that I haven’t seen.
But all of Essendon’s injuries this year occurred on the regular turf.
2 Likes
I thought Martin’s knee and Jones ankle were on the boundary?
4 Likes
Yeah I previously said he reminds me of Mitch Brown, but the way he pops up out the back reminds me of Caracella back in the glory days. They’re obviously different kind of players, but that trait of reading the play for goals out the back is very similar.
4 Likes
They were. Both occurred on the boundary, on regular turf, not the artificial turf.
1 Like
What’s the latest is he ok to FARK CARLTON
1 Like
I like this guy I think he’s a clever forward and want to see him re signed, however, a couple of weeks ago I pointed out a major flaw in his game as a tall forward and last night again epitomized it.
He is basically useless at halving contests and bringing the ball to ground. It’s really surprising given he is 198cm that he can’t even make a spoil and the opposition defenders can continually intercept mark when he’s in the pack. It’s something i think can be fixed, but it’s a really strange weakness in his game, which makes him even more like Mitch Brown than first thought.
5 Likes
Think Brad fed him to the wolves last night matching him up on weatering
2 Likes
Don’t you mean Voss?
2 Likes
Tough gig up against Weitering. But I think we saw his limitations show through last night.
2 Likes
I think your right
Even though Edward’s is 7cm shorter, I think he is far better at getting a hand in and bringing to ground. He also seems to have the smarts to tap it to advantage of teammates.
McMahon’s super power seems to be that he wears an invisibility cloak and just pops up every now and then.
4 Likes
Interesting. But couldn’t the same criticism be levelled against 2MP ?
6 Likes
McMahon just adds to the complexity of tall options to be prioritised for the Dons forward line during 2026. Whilst the forward group combinations will to some degree depend on opposition backlines and our game plan (when we get one!), it’s probably reasonable to presume that from week to week the forward line will have at least three tall/medium tall players at any time. This in turn probably means having at least four options in the team (with one probably moving on and off interchange at any time.
I suspect list management may decide we’ve got the players we need already (unless some super trade offers itself) so we’d possibly be choosing our weekly tall forward combinations from the following:
- Caddy
- Wright
- Langford
- May
- Edwards
- McMahon
- Jones
- Draper (assuming he’s still with us)
My guess is that Caddy, Langford and May could well be the initial three with either Edwards or McMahon interchanging from the bench. Clearly this will probably be influenced by the makeup of our ruck stocks. I don’t see Bryan as currently an effective option as a resting forward whereas Draper showed promise in that role.
What it does highlight is that our attention during Trade and Draft needs to be focused first and foremost on getting two specialist HFF who can regularly provide scoreboard pressure to the opposition. The third crucial requirement is an A+ tall midfielder to replace Setterfield who just doesn’t have either the bullet proof body or the finishing skills with the ball that Essendon needs.
4 Likes