We had Joe and Gumby in the same VFL team. Defenders were not happy with dual clunking beanpoles running them off their feet.
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They are rubbish but will play the game of their lives on Friday
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And get a ■■■■■■■ bath for their trouble.
You’d expect them to be Walla focused. Yes we should look for Walla when it makes sense. But we need to also go through Orazio and the small onballers (Merrett, Smith, McGrath) as other options to goal. Plus the tall forwards. We’ve had a functional forward line, and we need to maintain that.
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I just bought tickets using my Telstra App for $20 
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I remember when they played at Windy Hill the day after we beat Freo in 2013. Huge crowd turned up. Nothing much happened.
whats the general vibe. as a member should i just rock up on the day and swipe in for standing room or be safe & upgrade for guaranteed entry?
Wonder if Rutten has had any say in this?
We seem to set up better to do serious damage on turnovers.
We will thump them and then thump Collingwood by more.
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Must say we seem to have a lot more of tap ons this year to a player in space or to advantage, rather than getting the ball and getting hammered.
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We had the wood over them in 1999. We had them good and proper and would’ve beaten them in the Grand Final.
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I’m 50/50
Having just read back over a few threads - the Franga Brown Myers Zlarke ones in particular and watched the frenzy of certainty that’s Blitz - play the kids, if we don’t we’re farked- no, don’t we need player X’s experience or role - etc etc
I thought a bit of history might be in order.
In particular how many games do blokes need to play in the season to make it into a flag winning team?
1984 - Because I’m an optimist, I expect to go back to back, and I think there’s more parallels than with 1993.
So, most of you can name the legends of 1984 (I hope), From 24 possible games
Paul Weston 11
Shane Heard 11
Nobby Clarke 14
Mark Harvey 16
Merv Neagle 18
Salmon made 13 before he crashed & burned
6 blokes played every game. Bonus points if you knew Frank Dunell & Peter Bradbury were two of them. The role players role players.
And Bomber Thompson came from nowhere to play 20 games after just 2 in 1983.
So - there’s a precedent here for a lot of things
Players will be in & out of the team.
Some will play more than half a season and still miss out.
There’s time for someone to come from the clouds and become not just integral bit a star.
Perspective and chill - all our players deserve support - yeah keep your faves - but hold off on the “Clubs in crisis because I didn’t like the selection choices” grasshoppers. It’s a long road to victory.
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Kind of glad that Nth got a win on the weekend, otherwise Friday would have been a ‘backs against the wall’ and ‘Shinboner spirit’ type game.
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Lloyd talks JoeD
Dons dilemma: Lloyd explains when he’d pull the trigger on Joe
IT IS the conundrum facing John Worsfold.
Finally, the Bombers have Joe Daniher fit, but what should they do with him?
Daniher has overcome a calf tear and is ready to play again this week – be it in Essendon’s Good Friday clash with North Melbourne or in the VFL.
But complicating matters is the Bombers’ short turnaround for their Anzac Day clash with Collingwood the following Thursday.
If Daniher plays against the Roos – which would be his first AFL game since round seven last year after battling the debilitating osteitis pubis last season – could he back it up against the Pies?
Or if he plays for the Bombers’ VFL side on Saturday, is it too risky for him to return to the AFL five days later?
Daniher played three games in 11 days last season before being sidelined for the rest of the season.
Essendon’s all-time leading goalkicker Matthew Lloyd says the Bombers should stick with the forward group that has booted 37 goals in the past two weeks, including their 47-point win over Brisbane last round.
“With the short turnaround, I’d play him on Anzac Day. The way the guys played on the weekend, they earned the right to play again,” Lloyd told AFL.com.au .
"A year or two ago, and he won the best and fairest in 2017, you’d say you can build your forward line around Joe, but I don’t think that’s the case anymore.
“I think one of Essendon’s strengths is that with Jake Stringer, Mitch Brown, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Orazio Fantasia they’ve got a really diverse forward line. They can’t just go back to bombing it on Joey’s head.”
Brown returned to the Bombers’ line-up against Melbourne in round three, and was excellent against the Lions, kicking three goals from 25 disposals.
Lloyd sees Daniher playing more of a role in the ruck when he returns to the line-up, allowing him to
“His ability to probably take Zac Clarke’s spot and ruck 30 per cent of the time gives the perfect mix to allow Essendon to have a few different looks at a different forward line,” he said.
"It would take pressure off Joey not going through him so many times.
“When he played his best footy [in 2017], it was his mobility and versatility to be able to play up the ground, and I think he became a better forward as a result of the freedom in the ruck too.”
Daniher, 25, was named an All Australian in 2017 and took out the club’s Crichton Medal after booting a career-best 65 goals from 23 games.
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Pretty spot on.
Though, Mckernan was such an effective marking target against North last year, we may miss that.
But it does make sense to play Joey on Anzac Day.
Dear EFC,
I don’t think you understand how much this game means to the tin rattlers. It is their crowning achievement, being given a good friday game by the AFL up against a bigger club who they believe they have some sort of “rivalry” with. Prime time tv, so they can parade their sponsor to all the viewers, they will be out to smash us.
Don’t give one thought to Collingwood the following week, please be prepared and please be switched on. Make no mistake this irrelevant, shitcan tin rattling club are gunning for us.
8 point game.
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Luke McDonald rubbed out.
TBell fined for the elbow on Zorko.
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I agree with Lloyd.
I’d give Joey half a game in the 2’s. and then Anzac Day. He’s won an AD Medal before - he knows all about it.
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Just because it’s “good Friday” or “ANZAC Day” shouldn’t make a difference in selecting players. I’ve always thought you play the game, not the occasion as such.
Therefore, JD gets a half in the 2’s this week, (see how he goes, he might want / need more), then next game back in the 1’s.
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