The depressing part is that the club is completely unwilling to let Dodoro go and try a different ethos.
I’m entirely convinced it is because Dodoro has dirty laundry on someone, otherwise why on earth would we put up with such a long line of terrible lists.
15 farking years later and our midfield is still bog average. If that’s not enough to tell you something, nothing will be.
Zerrett is the only genuine gun in there. Devon Smith should be our worst midfielder ideally imo, the minimum talent/work ethic. THATS the level we need to get our midfield to. Until then, we’ll be nothing. Good midfields make everything look good
I think devon’s work ethic would place him fairly high league wide.
I’m sure this has been pointed out but: year after year, clubs pick up ready made inside/ball contesting mids in the ■■■■■■■ draft! - this year Geelong with Kelly FFS a team that doesn’t need them - and year after year Essendon picks up… what.? Back flankers that will become mids… year after year… And keeps them on the list for what… year after ■■■■■■■ year…
If we had 2 more genuine mids - out of the last 4 years of drafting - we wouldn’t be wasting another generation of talent.
What a load of ■■■■
Seriously go back and read what you wrote again. Hawthorn go out and do exactly what Dodoro has failed to do for 20 years (trade in a gun mid) and you say they get no kudos because it was a no brainier - what sort of position is that? Ifs its a no brainer why has Dodoro not done it & why do you defend him for not doing it - no brain?
Wright was been the main man at the Hawks since 2011 ( replacing Pelchen) but was there from 2007 after a few years at Brisbane. My understanding is that now he is their overall football manager but still has the recruiters report to him (they don’t have an official position of list manager). Still think we are somehow by some measure in the same ballpark as the Hawks? Again trading for Mitchel is a better job than Dodoro’s career. I would love to see the O’Meara trade kill them for a decade but they have been introducing a lot of young talent even without much access to the draft after trading. Burton, Sicily, Hardwick, Howe, Harry Morrison was one of their best on the weekend. They have clearly traded well & drafted extremely well with what they’ve had.
No player or player agent wanted to ■■■■■■■ touch the Essendon Football Club for ■■■■■■■ years. Finally players want to come and we’ve got a ■■■■■■■ basket case coaching staff. ■■■■■■■ dumb and dumber. Who have no ■■■■■■■ idea. It would help if the coach coached. Blaming Dodoro and the recruitment staff is a ■■■■■■■ copout.
And that’s what you need, you need your whole midfield pressuring. Not one bloke
sorry, my point was, if thats the baseline you’re setting standards above anything we’ve seen before.
Richmond won a flag, and continue to set the standard with pressure. It’s the way the game is now, and whoever can come close to it or better it, will be pretty successful
i’m not disagree, im just saying that devons work rate is fairly high and if it was the worst on the team you’d be setting new standards in pressure.
Okay, not every single player needs to replicate what devon does, but on a talent level, he should be the minimum what we look for. He’s currently right now close to our best midfielder. He’d be about 3rd-4th in line at clubs with good midfields imo.
for sure, i think thats the issue, we’re either not drafting the right people, or not developing those we do draft properly.
This is what I wonder about: the line between drafting the right players & not developing them properly. We can’t be that bad at both, can we?
There’s obviously some flaws in our list, all clubs have them but I actually think that our list is the strongest it’s been in years. In recent times we’ve had draft penalties and compromised drafts with the creation of two new clubs who scooped the cream of the draft crops for near on half a decade. All things considered I think the list management team have done a reasonable job. Those penalties in 2013, denying us another top end player in addition to the losses of two subsequent AA players hasn’t helped the cause.
I believe the problem is in the coaches box. Our team looks disoriented and unorganised. We’ve failed to adapt to the trends of the modern game and as a consequence we’re lagging well behind. I don’t think any of that sits on Dodoro & his team. We refuse to defend, we refuse to play a territory game, we refuse to pressure. That is all game plan and coaching not recruiting.
That’s true if you’re focusing on the last couple of years. The problems we’re dealing with are more ingrained imo. That said, it’s not as clear cut as one department vs the other, or rather, that’s the point. It’s cultural - rusted on - something needs to change, top to bottom.
See, I think parish and McGrath have all the tools to be absolute jets. Will they get there? Yeah…I dunno
I think we’ve missed out on drafting contested ball winning midfielders in the first 2 rounds quite a lot.
Yep. There’s been this mantra that they are a dime a dozen - but finally, the good one’s are as rare as any other player. Midfielders are the modern games essential core, go for the KKP crapshoot once you’ve got the players who can win the ball.
Whoever said we’re stuck in the 90s mentality of trying to develop a list is spot on
I’d trade 2 of our gun talls for 2 gun mids in a heartbeat. Would you blokes trade Hurley for Sloane, or Daniher for josh Kelly? Hypotheticals that will never happen, but I would, in farking heartbeat. I’d probably pay overs, good midfielders are worth more than good talls.
Our next 2 high end picks must be used on the best possible midfielders