Essendon vs Adelaide - Review

[Paul_Peos]

The best team, in good form, and we were missing two of our best four players.

I’m not really gutted by the result, it was fairly well expected, but like many have already lamented… Our midfield is just painfully ordinary. It started the year ordinary, it’s been ordinary all year and yet we’ve done very little to improve it.

Random thoughts:

• Surely Howlett doesn’t play again?
• Surely Colyer can’t keep getting games?
• I thought Leuy was ok tonight, certainly played like his career was depending on it.
• Lav eased into it, his second half was ok.
• Hooker had his ■■■ handed to him last time against Talia, and the same in the first half tonight. Incredible fightback performance by him, probably some of the best footy he’s played up forward imo.
• Andy McGrath is a shining light on this mediocre season.

[mrjez]

What was with the commentators making a song and dance urging everybody not to make a song and dance about Joe touching the Crows guy on the head? And why is it fine for him to do it (or not, if suspect song and dance had ulterior meaning) yet poor Cale got lambasted for exactly the same thing a few weeks ago?

[The_Ant]

McGrath 25 touches Vs Betts 7 touches.

Wow.

[ivan]

JD and hooker need 2 more between them in the last two weeks to break the tonne

[pbomber]

You take

Myers
Howlett
Jobe
Lav
Dea

out

You put in

Hartley
Raz
Zerrett
Francis
Bird

We win that game fairly easily

I’d say over 50% of Adelaide’s goals were from Myers, Hepp, Zaka, BJ and Jobe not following their player up the field who would get a give and go and have the easiest kick into the 50 unpressured, whether it’s because they’re slow or just unaccountable I don’t know, but it just doesn’t belong in 2017 footy.

Absolutely ludicrousto not play Bird and Hartley, Hartley was terrible the last month but we were clearly outclassed in the air, marks inside 50 were something like 10 to 30 which is ■■■■■■■ woeful

[reincarnated]

The thing with playing all the old mature blokes is that, we are set back even further next year, as younger kids didn’t get the games they should have and they are going to need more game time to get used to the speed of the game.

Big mistake.

[wimmera1]

Lav eased into it, his second half was ok.

Lav is certainly a curious one.
Not so much why, but why now?
The guy is coming back from Two major injuries.
Yes, he’s a part of our future.
Yes he deserves some slack, but as our first option off the rack to fill a forward role at the end of this year?
Really?

[alex.f.94]

Tend to agree. Feel he is being a bit shoehorned into the team ATM.

[pbomber]

Lav is a slow unaccountable 1 dimensional contested marking forward who has no idea how to stop his opponent from carving us up on the rebound

has the mc phee stop, prop, kick/handpass to absolutely nowhere

coughed up 4 certain scoring shots to us in the first half with just absolutely no idea of how to play the game

looked like a mule with a spinning wheel to be honest, and that’s all he’s looked like the last three games he’s played

[Donnington]

missed the game tonight - is the replay worth watching?

Just on our midfield

Is anyone else kinda worried about the next few years?

Watson, Myers, Howlett etc to go

Who comes in to help Zerrett, Heppell and Parish?

Begley? Langford?

[Dell]

The Lav hate is ridiculous IMO. Blitz is so impatient. The guy could be anything

[pbomber]

missed the game tonight - is the replay worth watching?
Just on our midfield
Is anyone else kinda worried about the next few years?
Watson, Myers, Howlett etc to go
Who comes in to help Zerrett, Heppell and Parish?
Begley? Langford?

Ever head of a player named Andy McGrath?

Also Orazio, Tippa, Mutch was great in the VFL today

[Rana]

Lav does not look fit to play. He has gone backwards

[Donnington]

None of those players are inside ball winning midfielders?

[wimmera1]

Probably a thread in that.

[pbomber]

The way the VFL game and AFL game was umpired could not have been more polar opposite in holding the ball decisions, Box Hill players just tried to bustle through tackles all day for no call but our AFL game the umps are htb happy in split seconds, i didn’t see anything different from the doggies players weeks ago not even trying to get rid of it, I saw our players playing how the umps have shown us how they’ll let it go and get pinged like no other game this year, why not pay it all season then start now and only against our players, hope they choke on their whistles, ■■■■■■■ scum

[Crazy_Bomber]

Our midfield is so diabolical that I literally think it’s the worst in the comp, maybe on par with North and maybe Carlton. I’d never thought we’d sink so low but the facts are there.

Brisbane have a pretty decent midfield crop, Rockliff/Zorko/Beams/Rich with Mathieson/McCluggage/Barrett (who they shock horror gave games too) and Allison who looks good from his first few games. They have kids at either end but you’d back their midfield over ours. And all of them for having the courage to play some kids.

Then theres us, playing Ben “14 touches” Howlett, Myers who is the pace of a snail and can’t defend, or kick, or do much, Colyer who hasn’t performed in about 3 years, and a raft of plodding slow one-wayed midfielders who can barely compete anymore. We don’t even have the courage to play Mutch or Begley or anyone with youth, just keep going back to the tired failed well.

[Scorpio]

I thought Myers was Ok. At least he got some clearances.

[pbomber]

Bird had about 30 odd and 10 tackles today in the VFL

Top 4, maybe even flag was ours for the taking if not for Woosh’s completely baffling hatred for Craig

Just cannot fathom why we’d throw away game after game not playing a defensive mid in a midfield of 90% unaccountable slow plodders

[pbomber]

I thought Myers was Ok. At least he got some clearances.

When was the last time Myers hit a target? and no the Toyota sign on the wing is not a target