10 years ago isn’t that long ago for list management. 10 years ago is the draft where richmond took Martin, Astbury and Grimes. 10 years ago fremantle drafted the guy who won his 2nd Brownlow this year. 10 years ago is crucial to today.
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Was that the draft where we drafted Melksham, Carlisle, Colyer and Long.
Yeah I’d say that’s highly relevant to today. None playing for us, 3 still playing elsewhere. Nail that draft and keep them together and our core list would have looked a lot better recently.
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Yeah. But people learn and develop. If the 2019 Dodoro is crap, then get rid of him. From what I have seen recently is he’s able to trade well, has decent success with late picks, has kept the list largely together during a very very difficult period. Recent form is far more important than what happened a decade ago.
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Keane’s recruiting over the last five years has been exceptional given the picks we’ve had. What we haven’t been able to do is take talented kids like Merrett, Daniher, Fantasia, Langford, Redman, McKenna, Laverde, Parish, Francis, etc and turn them into elite players. We seem to be able to get them to B+ standard but never beyond that.
You can’t say that it is Keane’s recruitment or Dodoro’s list management (which I think has been unbelievable given the crap that the club has gone through) that is to blame for our inability to develop players. They come to the club, they show signs, they plateau.
It’s all culture.
The culture of the club is completely ■■■■■■ and has been for 15 years.
Hird looked like he was turning culture around and returning us to a ruthless, hard edged, winning club. Unfortunately that regime hired the wrong people and cut too many corners.
There is nothing ruthless or hard edged about the current regime.
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We seem to be pushing our key forward and potentially best player out the door. I’d say that’s ruthless. I just hope the club knows what it’s doing as it could end in disaster.
Who are we pushing out exactly?
He is done an amazing job during and after saga, in keeping the list together.
But there is something wrong with the unity of the group. In the last two years, the way we started the seasons, capitulation within games…I smell some bad blood.
Also, supporters have flipped it. They seem more ■■■■■■ off. When you add both situations together, there is so much negativity around the place.
Raz and Joey seemed like ‘Essendon for life’ type of people, but I got no doubt the above influenced them.
In the last 3 years, I have heard lot of Essendon fans having a go at Joey. People ringing up saying we are a better side without him, to how they reacted when playing with injury, and also moaning when he misses a goal.
Then for the first time this year I heard some nasty things said about Raz, when he played with injury. From being described as our most important barometer to being described as garbage just like that.
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Ah Joe.
If we really wanted to keep him we would be I suspect there is a few at the club that don’t, or at least for the price and contract length required.
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Ah except we actually did want to keep him and we never “pushed” him out. Let’s not rewrite this already.
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Can someone explain what this mysterious, spiritual force is that you call culture?
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Stems from the lack of leadership from off field and on in my opinion.
We lack a ruthless edge.
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After watching the 84 GF just before, yes, we most certainly do lack a ruthless edge.
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How much money would fantasia be on?
Surely we are back in the running for Jack Martin now. I’d be offering pick 31 + next year’s second for him. And give him a salary to think about
This is the core of the disagreement, and completely intractable. Nobody knows the potential of a player. It’s impossible to say for sure that we’ve had A+ talent consistently underdeveloped, or passably developed consistently B+ talent.
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Hang on, what’s wrong with the development of Merrett, Redman, McKenna, Parish and Francis ?? They are developing beautifully - one is a dual best and fairest and All Australian!
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merrett went backwards this year, regardless of his BNF finish was not damaging a part from 3 games.
Redman - nothing hes developed fine.
McKenna should be pushing for a midfield position right now
Parish - sit on HFF to ‘round out game’ / stagnate take your pick
Francis fitness/ player welfare, take your pick.
if the club was such a destination you wouldn’t hear about ‘francis wantign to go home’, parish to cats, redman to adelaide, mckenna back to GAA
Merrett had been at the same ‘edge of the AA squad’ level for 3 years.
And I think Francis’ 2019 was worse than his 2018… seemed like he’d been told to be much more negative.
Also Langford took a big step back this year vs the end of last season - he looked like he was way up inside his own head at times.
Agree that McKenna and Redman looked to have reached another level this season though.
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Thought Parish had taken the next step this year too but geez he stank up the EF.
Still think he’ll be good though.
The word was development, and the claim was that these players have 'only reached B+ level.
Development is not like your FIFA video game, stepping up neatly year-on year. Those players mentioned are potentially half a decade away from when they will be playing at the ‘peak’ of their careers (at 26-27). For their development to be critiqued with such dismissive finality at the age they are is just rubbish IMO.
But perhaps if Merrett is being used as an example of poor development in this scenario we actually have very different thresholds of success and this argument is, to borrow the word used earlier- ‘intractable’.
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Here we go, now Dodoro has another excuse for why the list isn’t good enough. It’s because we have players leaving! Nevermind the fact that Hawthorn lost Buddy ■■■■■■■ Franklin and went on to threepeat. Teams lose good players, it happens. By the way, we haven’t lost anyone half as good as Franklin.