#49 Matt Dea

Richmond suck so very much

Take away Dea and our team only has 21 guns

Take away Dea and our team only has 21 guns
Yeah, I get how the returning ten are legends, but who have you labelled the one-armed wƤnker to complete the set of 21?
Awesome now we should sign Josh Green as DFA so we can watch Green Dea play at the MCG next year.

ā€¦Iā€™ll get my coat.

Good Riddance

That duo a good fit for Essendon. Weā€™ve been dookie for 10+ years now.

Must be Stoked he got out of Richmond, the Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Itā€™s been said plenty of times. Club is a Basket Case.

As for Green Dea at the MCG Iā€™m looking forward to the Long-view in the second half of the season .

And this is why itā€™ll likely be a disaster if the Dawks go out and get their own bunch of top-ups, given they are pretty much excluded from selecting any of the top 100 kids of the next two years.

We need a 'blitzers first' email for all the re-signings

Nah the blitz email should be advance notice about who to panic about

panic about kellys body disintegrating in r2.

I think they started managing him already. ā€œā€¦ see you in late January Kelā€¦ā€

So how would we get him? 1st pick in the PSD?

AFL have changed the rules to allow ā€˜top-upā€™ players to sign up as a delisted F.A.

Media reckon thatā€™s how weā€™ll get Hartley as well.

Oppo fans think Tippa and Brown are top-ups too LOL

Are they the same fans that hopped off the Tigers band wagon earlier this year?

Well I remember going back to the Melbourne game, when Hartley roosted a goal from 55 after a 50m penalty that there were still question marks about whether he was listed or notā€¦ In the stands I meanā€¦ The talent from within this year has been incredible in its ownā€¦ The external talent has proved invaluable too.

Dissecting it all though, we found more players from our own list than we did from the ā€œtop-upā€ list itself. Thatā€™s too be expected of course, probability wise but of the 10, did anyone really think Kelly or Dea would make that much of an impact?!? I certainly didnā€™t! Congrats to them both!

Thinking further, of the 10, how many really had an impact on the year? Stokes, after him??

Couldā€™ve fkn done it with 5 top ups!

What lid?

Friday Confidence!

And this is why itā€™ll likely be a disaster if the Dawks go out and get their own bunch of top-ups, given they are pretty much excluded from selecting any of the top 100 kids of the next two years.

Well is this an issue yet or one you think will be?

And this is why itā€™ll likely be a disaster if the Dawks go out and get their own bunch of top-ups, given they are pretty much excluded from selecting any of the top 100 kids of the next two years.

Well is this an issue yet or one you think will be?

Ohhhh waitā€¦ Dig at the Hawks picks and lack there of, Iā€™ll continue drinking!

And this is why itā€™ll likely be a disaster so enjoyable if the Dawks go out and get their own bunch of top-ups, given they are pretty much excluded from selecting any of the top 100 kids of the next two years.
So how would we get him? 1st pick in the PSD?

AFL have changed the rules to allow ā€˜top-upā€™ players to sign up as a delisted F.A.

Media reckon thatā€™s how weā€™ll get Hartley as well.

Oppo fans think Tippa and Brown are top-ups too LOL

Are they the same fans that hopped off the Tigers band wagon earlier this year?

Well I remember going back to the Melbourne game, when Hartley roosted a goal from 55 after a 50m penalty that there were still question marks about whether he was listed or notā€¦ In the stands I meanā€¦ The talent from within this year has been incredible in its ownā€¦ The external talent has proved invaluable too.

Dissecting it all though, we found more players from our own list than we did from the ā€œtop-upā€ list itself. Thatā€™s too be expected of course, probability wise but of the 10, did anyone really think Kelly or Dea would make that much of an impact?!? I certainly didnā€™t! Congrats to them both!

Thinking further, of the 10, how many really had an impact on the year? Stokes, after him??

Couldā€™ve fkn done it with 5 top ups!

What lid?

Friday Confidence!

TBH it was fairly easy to pick Kel as the most outstanding top up from the start, but Matty Dea came out of nowhere ( Richmond) and was a revelation. I dont think many had heard of him or seen him play.

Must be Stoked he got out of Richmond, the Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Was sick of hearing the coach say ā€˜wake me up, when September ends.ā€™

So how would we get him? 1st pick in the PSD?

AFL have changed the rules to allow ā€˜top-upā€™ players to sign up as a delisted F.A.

Media reckon thatā€™s how weā€™ll get Hartley as well.

Oppo fans think Tippa and Brown are top-ups too LOL

Are they the same fans that hopped off the Tigers band wagon earlier this year?

Well I remember going back to the Melbourne game, when Hartley roosted a goal from 55 after a 50m penalty that there were still question marks about whether he was listed or notā€¦ In the stands I meanā€¦ The talent from within this year has been incredible in its ownā€¦ The external talent has proved invaluable too.

Dissecting it all though, we found more players from our own list than we did from the ā€œtop-upā€ list itself. Thatā€™s too be expected of course, probability wise but of the 10, did anyone really think Kelly or Dea would make that much of an impact?!? I certainly didnā€™t! Congrats to them both!

Thinking further, of the 10, how many really had an impact on the year? Stokes, after him??

Couldā€™ve fkn done it with 5 top ups!

What lid?

Friday Confidence!

TBH it was fairly easy to pick Kel as the most outstanding top up from the start, but Matty Dea came out of nowhere ( Richmond) and was a revelation. I dont think many had heard of him or seen him play.

I thought he was just another Richmond dud, turns out Richmond is the dud

Awesome now we should sign Josh Green as DFA so we can watch Green Dea play at the MCG next year.

ā€¦Iā€™ll get my coat.

Your wish has been granted.

You may just be in for the time of your life.

1000th comment. Go Dea.

From the AFLPA

I WAS HOPING FOR ONE MORE CRACK: DEA
By Matt Dea Dec 15, 2016

2015 was a tough year for me on the field.

I felt I was in reasonable form at VFL level but opportunities were drying up at the Tigers as the club was on their way to a finals series.

It was a frustrating time but itā€™s something most fringe players go through. I had been in the system for a few years but spots in the side were harder to come by.

Richmond thought I had enough time to prove myself so we parted ways but it all ended very smoothly. It was an unfortunate time and I thought I could play a good role for them but they felt otherwise.

I thought I mightā€™ve landed a rookie spot somewhere but obviously that didnā€™t eventuate, so I was preparing to head back to the VFL.

I was hoping to have one more crack at it. I was planning on playing one year in the VFL and hopefully relaunch my AFL career somewhere else, so I was committed to playing for Williamstown ā€” I enjoyed going to training there and the culture.

Then January came around and the Essendon boys got suspended. Coincidentally, I had the day off and had my finger on the pulse with what was going on with the club and the players.

Within a week, I got in contact with Adrian Dodoro and said if they need top-up players, Iā€™ll happily put my hand up and it went from there.

It all happened very quickly. I signed for the 2016 season and definitely saw it as a temporary arrangement. It was a great opportunity to be playing, but I knew it was an eight-month agreement. Towards the end, I wasnā€™t sure where the club was at and what they needed but I knew I needed to be playing in the last few rounds to be considering the chance to continue at Essendon.

What separated the year from the others in my time in the AFL system was the lack of expectation for the team given the circumstances.

Itā€™s a lot easier to go out on the field each week and play footy when thereā€™s not a lot of pressure. It was a free hit, I just got to go out there and enjoy my footy and enjoy playing at the top level which is something most players donā€™t get to do ā€” itā€™s amazing how positively that can impact your form.

Although I ended up playing almost every game for the season, I didnā€™t know that would be the case early on in the year.

I was told my spot might be in trouble during the earlier weeks but luckily when it came to Thursday, I was reassured I would be playing.

As the season wore on I became more comfortable that I would be playing most weeks but definitely not in the first half of the season ā€” I wasnā€™t playing too well and I was lucky ā€˜Wooshaā€™ kept giving me a go.

When the season finished, I had played 21 games ā€” a career-best ā€” and thought I was in a good position to potentially re-sign but understood it would be determined by what the club needed.

The talks started to happen and the ball got rolling and I ended up extending my time at the Bombers which is obviously great ā€” I definitely didnā€™t think Iā€™d extend my AFL career by three years when we first entered 2016.

As for 2017, the biggest challenge for me is trying not to change too much as a little more pressure and expectation comes with the other boys coming back from suspension.

Iā€™ve said to a couple of people itā€™s a completely different team than the one I walked into in January. The guys who are returning have brought a heap of excitement and thatā€™s filtered right through to the young boys and we have a few of those guys who are first to third-year players, so itā€™s a pretty good place to be.

The expectations of myself will change now but itā€™s a great way to play footy with no pressure, so Iā€™d like to think I can keep playing like I did in 2016.

A lot of people donā€™t have him in the best 22, but I think heā€™ll start the season on the ground. Good luck to him, heā€™s battled hard.

A lot of people don't have him in the best 22, but I think he'll start the season on the ground. Good luck to him, he's battle hardened.

Baggers mk2.