Classic Dodoro Essendon career is Hobbs.
Taken too high because we failed to recognise the critical feature of modern footy. Lacked critical coaching and development to rectify the deficiencies. Played out of position and never given the chance to prove himself fully. Dumped unceremoniously after blowing his value even for a chance of a late pick transfer.
He may never have made it, but I don’t think we did anything to help him either.
Like Tsatats, not a terrible player but just the absolute wrong pick for us.
We’ve wasted picks and ruined both their careers in the process.
Tsatas compared with Durham in 2026
| Player Statistics Comparison | |
|---|---|
| Elijah Tsatas | Name | Sam Durham |
|---|---|---|
| Essendon Bombers | Team | Essendon Bombers |
| Midfield | Position | Midfield, Forward |
| 22 | Career Games | 106 |
| Oakleigh Chargers | Origin | Richmond |
| October 18, 2004 | Date of Birth | July 9, 2001 |
| 21yr 8mth | Age | 25yr 0mth |
| 187cm | Height | 185cm |
| 2022 National Draft | Last Drafted In | 2021 Mid-Season Draft |
| Round 1, Pick #5 | Last Draft Position | Round 1, Pick #9 |
| Essendon Bombers | Last Drafted By | Essendon Bombers |
| 2026 | Stats for Season | 2026 |
| 6 | Games | 15 |
| 10.5 | Kicks | 9.2 |
| 13.7 | Handballs | 11.1 |
| 24.2 | Disposals | 20.3 |
| 4.3 | Marks | 3.5 |
| 0.2 | Goals | 0.5 |
| 0.2 | Behinds | 0.1 |
| 1.5 | Tackles | 4.0 |
| 0 | Hitouts | 0 |
| 3.2 | Inside 50s | 3.7 |
| 0.2 | Goal Assists | 0.6 |
| 0.5 | Frees For | 1.1 |
| 0.2 | Frees Against | 1.6 |
| 8.8 | Contested Possessions | 8.9 |
| 14.8 | Uncontested Possessions | 11.7 |
| 17.8 | Effective Disposals | 14.8 |
| 73.6% | Disposal Efficiency % | 72.9% |
| 1.5 | Clangers | 3.8 |
| 0 | Contested Marks | 0.3 |
| 0.2 | Marks Inside 50 | 0.2 |
| 4.3 | Clearances | 4.1 |
| 1.2 | Rebound 50s | 1.3 |
| 0.2 | One Percenters | 1.0 |
| 0.2 | Bounces | 0.4 |
| 69.5 | Time On Ground % | 73.0 |
| 2.7 | Centre Clearances | 2.1 |
| 1.7 | Stoppage Clearances | 2.0 |
| 2.3 | Score Involvements | 5.3 |
| 305.0 | Metres Gained | 305.7 |
| 4.2 | Turnovers | 3.7 |
| 1.7 | Intercepts | 2.3 |
| 0 | Tackles Inside 50 | 0.5 |
| $665,000 | AFL Fantasy Price | $788,000 |
| 79.0 | AFL Fantasy Score | 75.7 |
| $352,700 | Supercoach Price | $452,000 |
| 82.5 | Supercoach Score | 82.2 |
Brad couldn’t coach a pig to get muddy.
But…
Player development remains a massive issue at Essendon, and has been for years.
We will go nowhere until we get a decent player development program, because what we have now is completely, patently, manifestly inadequate. The poorest in the league, and by quite some distance.
You can shove those stats where the sun don’t shine. I don’t care what they stats say, Tsatas isn’t worthy of carrying Durham’s boots.
Durham is a beast like Wardlaw, Rowell and Dangerfield. He smashes through packs and creates for his teammates. Tsatas is just another Parish type that hovers around the pack and accumulates possessions.
Brad has a lot to anaswer for.
Voss - delisted after winning VFL B&F
D’Ambrosio - Traded for Steak Knives
Hobbs (First Rnd Pick)- Played out of position, failed to develop
Tsatas (First Rnd Pick)- Played inconsistently, failed to develop
Draper - couldn’t get out quick enough
Created a culture in which players like Merrett, Ridley, Langford and Parish have gone backwards and want to leave the club - there are 7 B&F medals, 4 AA’s and leading goal kicker in that lot. Imagine that many senior and highly decorated players wanting out of another club??
Recruited a legitimate B Grade player from North in Ben McKay and paid him more than most club legends.
Brought in a 36 year ruckman from North (who to his credit did his best)
Brought in multiple backroom and coaching assistants from North - questionable given their lack of success
Transitioned Essendon into North Melbourne Mk2. Left the list in a state of disarray
We do a heap wrong and the club is cooked but I genuinely don’t think it mattered who coached guys like Tsatas or Hobbs. They just don’t have it. Basically the antithesis of the skillset and athletic profile that thrives in the modern game.
Possibly, but see my previous post. They have and were never really given a real chance to prove otherwise
Don’t mistake me for a Brad apologist. Not by a long chalk. Couldn’t stand him. Worst Essendon coach I’ve seen, surrounded by an equally poor hand-picked support team.
All I’m saying is that our player development team, programs, whatever are equally pathetic.
For sure, although I do wonder how much control the head coach has over the outcome. I got the impression that Brad was setting a very clear agenda across the Essendon football program during his time.
It’s very instructive that AFL teams, who have all the intel and can suss out potential in delisted players if it’s there - especially if former first round picks - showed no interest in him. If they felt he possessed the raw ingredients (football traits and athletic traits) and it was just some tweaking required to unlock what poor coaching couldn’t then he’d have had interest. As plain and as dour as they come.
Well, he didn’t show it when playing in the forward pocket…
you mean like all the intel and inside knowledge we had on Voss and D’Ambrosio?
But seriously, Hobbs may have been viewed as a VFL standard player but that was almost certainly due to his decline in standing under Brad Scott’s development team.
He was clearly rated as a genuine prospect in his draft year.
Agree to disagree. He’s as plain as there is with very few tricks or points of difference at all. And that’s just his ceiling.
And Voss and D’Ambrosio are actually a perfect illustration of my point. They had interest because they have easily identifiable traits that allow them to make an impact in the modern game. They have some deficiencies sure but those aren’t as exploited as much as an old school guy like Hobbs is. For a centre square only guy (primarily) you have to be of a very high standard to command that role.
I think those stats actually kinda prove the point more than anything.
Tsatas gets more of the ball (though mostly uncontested) yet not enough happens with those disposals. Durham clearly ahead defensively.
Durham: Over 25% of disposals result in scores
Tsatas: Less than 10% of disposals result in scores.
Score launches tell a similar story, 1.7 per game for Durham compared to just 0.5.
Now SI is far from a flawless stat (especially when comparing blokes on different teams), but given they both play in the same midfield I think it’s reasonably telling. Durham has played forward a little which does skew things slightly.
Essendon midfield disagrees that you need to be a good kick
There is no way Ben Hobbs would’ve made it at any other AFL club. Worpel and Jhye Clark are very similar players and they’re stuck in the VFL too.
You’re eliminating the possibility that Tsatas has multiple elite possessions within a score chain that contributes to a score involvement, but also not allowing him to have a low score launch. For instance, he could get the ball off the rucks hitout, handball to someone who turns it over, someone tackles and starts the score launch, he wins the ground ball, handballs out, then follows it up with an amazing 1%er shepherd, gets the ball back and delivers a pin point perfect pass to a leading forward who is too far out, gets it back to Tsatas who kicks a pin point kick to another leading forward who fumbles it, it spills out to one of our other players who slots through a goal. So he has 3 or 4 perfect possessions within a score involvement without being the score launcher and it still counts as 1 score involvement not greatly affecting the percentage of SIs per disposal.
Of course, it doesn’t match the eye test, but just because I don’t see it happen, doesn’t mean the situation can’t occur throwing shade over such stats…
Interesting reading early posts in this thread.
Disappointing it never worked out. Player development eh?
The new Tassie side are into him you say? There you go.