Let’s just admit - we are sh*t

[rama2000]

Doubt anything like this has been said at our camp for a long time

Time to make your run

[Finding_Nino]

I love this stuff why doesn’t our club do videos like this you know an insight on what the club is doing we hear nothing from our coaches or the happenings in the club will put supporters as ease imo

[ivan]

@fatone

Two of those players have either not played or played at their best for years.

Only two?

[Bombers2013]

The Bombers were great at Windy Hill. The Hangar is cursed!

[bombers2020]

Windy Hill
Windy Hill
Windy Hill
Windy Hill
Windy Hill

[Clark_Griswold]

I just did a search for an old thread called “The Inevitable Rebuild”… I wanted to know when it was created (ANSWER: April 2018)…I actually think it went a bit too early (for me, the Shiel trade at the end of 2018 was when we lost our way)…but I love the combined message of “Inevitable” and “Rebuild”…and want to credit the creator @Alan_Garner for being way ahead of the game.

The Inevitable Rebuild

Whilst it is 15 years too late, it seems clear as day to me we have not built this thing correctly the game quickly moves away from what we are, and we all sit around wondering why we are on a treadmill. From recruiting, to coaching to match committee decisions to the board’s contract extensions we never seem to learn and thus, never go anywhere. What will be the straw to break the camels back? When can it be done? When should it be done? Full club external review. The next build can not be d…

[James98]

Where can I watch this?

[rama2000]

...Richmond Tigers: The Lost Years...

[Finding_Nino]

Man some the footage that was shown was damming our players lagging behind their opponents

No ruthless edge: Dons in disarray, 'season over' for Pies

[bomberboy05]

I know we are sick of excuses by 4 day break would form part of the reason no doubt

[Milanista28]

Yeah good luck trying to take a spot of a senior Essendon player.

[Killer_Mike]

The mids hitting the defenders lace out every time is worse.

We have a real issue with kicking to advantage side and have done so for a long time.

[efc1robbo]

@Speedy_Gonzales

Watson details Essendon injury woes and subsequent struggles

By Andrew Slevison

Tim Watson acknowledges that the personnel missing from the Essendon team right now is having a detrimental effect on how they are playing.

The Bombers took a side with the least experience (67.2 average games) across the competition and the third youngest group with an average age of 24 years and eight months into Sunday’s meeting wth St Kilda.

The result for the John Worsfold and Ben Rutten-coached outfit was a 35-point defeat with yet another low score of just 33 which was their fourth score of under 60 in their past six outings.

Players currently sidelined include Jake Stringer, Dyson Heppell, Joe Daniher, Cale Hooker, David Zaharakis, Orazio Fantasia, Patrick Ambrose and Jayden Laverde which has a dramatic impact on the overall quality of the starting 22.

The long injury list has forced Essendon to play with a patchwork forward line consisting of the likes of Jacob Townsend, Shaun McKernan, Kyle Langford, James Stewart, Josh Begley, Will Snelling and Conor McKenna and that in turn has impacted how the midfielders are delivering the ball, according to Watson.

“I think you’ve got to be balanced when you criticise a team,” the former Bombers skipper said on SEN Breakfast .

“They had 12 players out who would be in their team or around about in their team. They did have a lot of injured players.

“They still have a forward line which is dysfunctional. It looked like they needed to play an extra player in their defence which gave St Kilda an extra player in their forward line which made it even more difficult in the forward line.

“It appeared when players were going forward they looked up and there was nothing to kick to so they just held onto the ball and then it became an even greater problem for them. When they did kick it in, a lot of the time it was intercept marked.

“If you had all their players to pick from, including Joe Daniher. If you put Daniher and Stringer into that forward line, straight away it’s a massive difference. Stringer is a game-winning player.

“The mids are ok, they probably need a little more depth in the midfield. They need an inside beast in there.

“Their back line looked brittle yesterday as well, but Cale Hooker is still out of that team.”

Watson dived a little deeper into Essendon’s issues at present, with their game style under Worsfold and Ben Rutten not as distinguishable as they perhaps would like it to be.

“I think what’s happened there with Essendon is there has been an over-correction,” he added.

“We talk about it all the time about how they play on the pace but then they are susceptible to turnovers.

“I think they’ve tried to correct it and they over-correct it, which a lot of clubs do, and they over-compensated for that build-up behind the ball. They slowed the ball movement down which is against the natural instincts of the way they have been playing.

“Their mids got plenty of the ball but they didn’t go anywhere. Their key four midfielders - (Dylan) Shiel, (Andrew) McGrath, (Darcy) Parish and (Zach) Merrett - between them had 49 kicks and 56 handballs. Now they’re not handballs that are going anywhere. Those handballs were often just sharing the pressure amongst that group.

“I thought they had an advantage in that area and they needed to back that midfield to be able to win enough ball to actually give their forward line an opportunity to kick a score.

“Right now, what are they doing? I think they are trying to do a lot of different things but they are not doing them well and they’re not cohesive in any way.”

In conclusion, Watson feels that Essendon’s list with all players at full strength is still only one that will be competitive and not genuinely contend.

“I think they are ok without challenging for the flag but I think people become impatient over a period of time,” he said further.

“John Worsfold has done a lot of really good things in the time that he’s been there but he hasn’t been able to establish a pattern of play that is going to be sustainable.”

The loss on the weekend was Essendon’s third in their last four outings, extending their winless run to four matches. They sit 11th on the ladder on 22 points ahead of Saturday’s clash with Richmond in Darwin.

um…

[Killer_Mike]

Why do people keep saying Worsfold has done a lot of really good things but never give examples?

[efc1robbo]

It’s a way of trying to being nice- but they know deep down there are no examples to give. So it’s better that they don’t say anything like that at all

[Bullishish1]

Hurleys worth about a very late 3rd rounder. At best

[efchirdy05]

A ‘fed-up’ Matthew Lloyd vents frustration over Essendon’s woes

[Finding_Nino]

Cant argue with any of that

[Go_Team_2.0]

I dunno - I could argue about using North as an example.

[localbomber]

Totally agree with everything he said. Just listening to it makes me angry.
We’re going backwards, just like our kicks.