#9 Dylan Shiel (Part 1)

It remains to be seen how much midfield time sheil is given by Woosha.

Plenty you would think. The guy is silk.
I reckon with us he will play a mix of inside and out, and probably a bit at half forward too.

Iā€™d prefer Shiel predominantly inside and give Merrett more time on the outside especially forward of centre.
Not sure heā€™d be as damaging at hf compared to Smith and Merrett although heā€™s probably better in the air.

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How good is the Daniher line in that interview.

Reckon Shiel is loving his decision so far.

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still canā€™t believe this guy plays for us now

Exclude Merrett, we havenā€™t had a normal size elite mid in his prime for over 15 years since Jason Johnson.

Define ā€œnormal sizeā€

Not Watson.

I guess Stanton but he was boring.

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Define ā€œeliteā€

Lol I think Iā€™ve phrased this completely wrong. I actually will feel comfortable bragging ā€œlook at Shiel, our midfielderā€. Heā€™s exciting.

yep - itā€™s going to be amazing this year when he runs out for us.

You think from when we got Goddard we had a plan to get in top players, but then that ā€œthingā€ happened.

Shiel (and the SSS) would have been the type of silk we would have brought in.

Nice to see us back on track. Getting top players like Shiel and SSS, and the club being very much a destination club.

If we get us a flag then the road to essendon becomes even more attractive.

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And players will take a pay cut just like Shiel apparently did to come here.

Thatā€™s the lure of playing for a big club in front of big crowds.

Yep, Shiel needs to grow dreads or dye his hair or something to get noticed more.

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Would love to see him in a mohawk.

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Shiel will make a huge difference to our side. McGrath, Merrett and Zaka will all become better players.

Rolls Royce , silk, whatever. Shiel has gained a bit of a reputation and a number of players seem to be in awe.

https://coupler.foxsports.com.au/api/v1/article/amp/afl/essendon-forward-shaun-mckernan-says-new-recruit-dylan-shiel-is-being-called-a-rolls-royce/news-story/7a209b618aeada0c4acfb8b987126a1d

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It will be interesting watching Shiel.

I have a perception, whether it is true or not, that he is good at breaking away from clearances, but doesnā€™t have that real elite disposal by foot.

In my mind, that makes him a very important player for us, but not what Iā€™d call a Rolls Royce.

Please note that I have seen SFA of him actually play as he was a GWS playerā€¦ soooooo

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Finding it hard to shake the feeling Shiel will be a good solid player for Essendon but not the star, 2 first round picks would suggest. Interested to hear McKernanā€™s observations about the ā€œRolls Royceā€ not hitting top gear quite yet (code for, we havenā€™t seen anything special). Donā€™t get me wrong. Happy to have him, and the fact Clarkson was super keen says heā€™s quality. Just not the 2 first rounders genuine big time stars of the comp would demand. But hey, heā€™s ā€œoursā€ and heā€™ll help the cause big time.