Remembering back 27 years, when did we dare to dream?.
When did we even think a team of kids could win a flag even with one token old guy who delayed his media career to have a chance at one more flag?
The day of the GF?
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Knowing us we would stuff up that record.
Also think richmond will flog carlton round 1 by more than we could win against freo.
The appointment of Truck and Cara was lid off for many of us⊠itâs the first time in years Iâve felt like the club has demonstrated it understands that it takes âsmartsâ to win flags, not just a couple of gun recruits and some accompanying PR.
No big name coaching and player appointments this year⊠just reasoned, rational, âmoneyballâ type recruiting designed to address our deficiencies. Poorly performed defense in â18? We get a defensive coach inâ 19 who had runs on the board fixing the Tigesâ defense. Likewise Cara in this yr to address our fwd/mid woes in '19
Deficient in ruck? In Big Franga.
Deficient in mobile 6â2"s? In Hibberd, Cutler, Townsend, Lockyer.
We may slip this year coz Truck/Cara were handed a list with a lopsided age profile, guys are dropping off the cliff etc and thatâll take time to remedy, but already we are starting to look like a smarter, more flexible squad than the one dimensional, dumb footy side we have been the last four years.
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Even after watching essendon lose a million times in the west? Man you need to share some of that sunny disposition with the rest of us.
Lol.
Round 2.
And it was more than one token old guy.
Harvey, Bomber, OâDonnell, Salmon were pretty important.
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We just need to belt Freo in the first round and the flag will be ours.
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That is an amazing stat. Freakish that it has happened 5 times in a row.
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You are correct. My bad.
Umm
We recruited Cara in the off-season and rumoured to be the highest paid assistant in the comp.
Yeah, I was pretty unclear with what I mean there.
Iâve had a beef for yrs with our fascination for recruiting experienced senior coaches in footy dept roles, apparently just because theyâve been senior coaches and despite an otherwise chequered history. ⊠McKenna, Bomber, Worsfold, Craig, Neeld etc.
Truck and Cara had great reps but their recruitment departed from this history of âbig nameâ coaches, i.e. ex senior coaches.
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Totally get where your coming from, we have appointed a lot of people with the fan PR factor seemingly involved. Not sure Cara is any different though, he was at the top of everyoneâs Wishlist. A cynic would say it was a hedge against any blowback from the Woosha succession plan.
LOL, Dwayne Russell is Lid on.
WHY DWAYNE RUSSELL IS âGLASS HALF FULLâ ON ESSENDON
BY SEN 2 DAYS AGO
Dwayne Russell isnât writing off Essendon nearing the start of the 2020 season.
Itâs been revealed at least 15 Bombers players have undergone surgeries since they were eliminated by West Coast in the first week of last yearâs finals.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the fitness of key players and the coaching succession plan, Russell remains âglass half fullâ on John Worsfoldâs side.
âI know thereâs been changes and leadership changes and people are sceptical at the moment about this coaching handover from John Worsfold to Ben Rutten," Russell told SENâs Dwayneâs World on Thursday.
âDespite some succession plans failing, Iâve seen it work to. Paul Roos (premiership coach) to John Longmire (premiership coach) at Sydney so it can actually work if youâve got the right guy taking over.
âDyson Heppellâs out (of last nightâs Marsh Series match against West Coast), Cale Hookerâs not playing, Adam Saadâs not playing, Jake Stringer as well not playing.
âIâm still glass half full on Essendon. I think they might succeed in 2020.â
00:31
01:50
The fitness of out-of-contract spearhead Joe Daniher remains a concern as he attempts to overcome a persistent groin injury.
Russell believes a healthy Daniher can give Essendon a big boost when he eventually takes the field for the first time since Round 9 last year.
âIt might not end in tears (with Joe Daniher), a lot of people think it will,â he said.
âIt might end up working perfectly. Joe might come back fit, he might come back fresh, he might come back a superstar like he was at times before he got injured.
âI donât think itâs necessarily broken just yet.â
Essendon defeated the Eagles by eight points in their opening Marsh Series match on Thursday night.
Fence much Dwayne
Thatâs fkn insta ban worthy.
WTF Clone ?? 
I reckon Cara is a cracker⊠yep, there was real hype around him last year, but totally justified. Richmond and their coaching strategy of the past 4 seasons is a AFL case study in moneyball and coaching-led success.
And now weâve gone from lazy cop out old school coaching philosophies - âgreat teams are player led not coach ledâ - to a very hands-on, micro-management style led by Truck and Cara. Its exactly what our transitioning list needed. And whilst you canât go overboard after one preseason game, I reckon the difference is already standing out like my Labâs nads⊠and it would never have happened under Woosh.
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I reckon thatâs just fan projection. They certainly may be more current and strategic than woosha. But everything Iâve read is that both are relationship first type coaches which is closer to Wooshas style than most want to admit.
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Itâs not exactly a high-quality article⊠for one, it doesnât even identify whether he made these statements before or after we beat WCE.
Of course it isnât, ⊠itâs Drain Pustule ffs. 
Yep, donât disagree that Woosh had/has a good relationship with his players so far as they think heâs a good bloke and mentor. But from what ive read/seen and heard, Iâm inclined to believe Truck and Cara will bring a little more⊠neither of them seem to have put a foot wrong across coaching careers spanning three clubs.
It might be correlation not causation, small sample size etc, but Truck with his success re: our defense last season / Tiges before, and the confident, disciplined playing style of the three midfield groups Cara has coached (Pies, Rich, us) has me thinking those two can get better buy in from the group than weve had previously.
Very subjective I know, but let me have a crack at being blissfully naive and optimistic on this site for a few months before it all comes crashing down⊠
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Im definitely lid off, I reckon we will win a final this year but 2021 and 2022 we will do some real damage
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