No doubt the post draft view would shift us to the left given the high number of the draftees of which many are at the younger end.
Love to see him train with us for a month or two going for an SSP signing.
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Even if weāre planning on taking Prior and Baldwin as SSP we should still take the full complement of SSP trainers (4) and delay the final decision until later in preseason.
Gives us cover for potential injuries (to them or listed players) and maximises our knowledge.
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I have been a Baldwin fan all the way through.
Now, after missing so much football with Covid, his Knees and all of this year, I just think his chance might have passed. He has never been quick and his ongoing leg injuries wonāt help that, add his lack of height for a key position and I just think a younger player may be a better option.
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I like this thinking. I know you donāt rate Prior but we told him not to nominate for the draft so we can list him in the SSP period. Iād be shocked if we didnāt guarantee him a spot.
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I think given what he sacrificed for the opportunity, it fair to reward that with a list spot.
Whatās the contract length for an SSP? Iād assume two years would be about right.
I think unless the second player absolutely smashes training, weāll leave the other spot open for the mid season draft.
I donāt expect much shuffling of the SSP trainers. They have 3 weeks this side of xmas then get back in the middle of January. So the key time to watch is late January to early February. If the SSP numbers drop off, then theyāve probably been told where they sit and are looking at other opportunities (VFL or otherwise).
Also to rememberā¦
Weāll have a handful of experienced VFL players as extras at training so that the full ground match sims can actually occur without risking injured players.
1 year min contracts for rookie/SSP.
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Prior is highly likely to get one of those spots.
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Heās training with the dogs. Hope he gets a go, seems like a top bloke
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Really donāt want to see the likes of Cox, Laverde, Menzie & even Perkins given games unless they absolutely deserve it. If they turn up like last season, they play VFL every week and others get a chanceā¦.
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Wow, the Tigers still have 6 over 30ās.
Weāve lost Heppell, Hind, Kelly and Stringer. Thatās 76 games in total.
Weāve replaced them with [looks at notes] nothing but draftees.
The players youāve listed played a total of 73 games.
Itās highly unlikely they all fall behind the guys who have barely played games.
Iāll give you Laverde. He started in the VFL behind Reid who was behind Ridley and only got games when they were both injured. But Cox, Menzie and Perkins got round 1 games with injuries to Ridley, Parish and Shiel. Yet still played more than the balance of their missed games.
Of the draftees, I wouldnāt be surprised if Kako starts the year in the VFL and ends the year in the AFL (just like Caddy). The rest of our draftees will be getting more VFL games than AFL games. If they are lucky, they may get games like Roberts and Bryan did late in the year.
Injury free, youād expect more games from Ridley, Parish and Shiel. How that fits in with Tsatas and Hobbs is a wait and see. And how those injuries relate to Cox, Menzie and Perkins is another wait and see.
Youāre really setting yourself up for disappointment when they are named.
Iāll believe they arenāt going to get games or be named when I see it.
Same deal with Martin not playing in the backline. Iāll believe it when I see it.
Pre-season training is going to be interesting.
Iām going to try and get down for one before xmas and another in January.
Thatāll give signs on the pecking order within the team.
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They lost a heap of players but most of them were in their mid to late 20ās - Liam Baker, Shai Bolton, Jack Graham, Dan Rioli.
Dusty, Grimes and Pickett were the over 30ās who retired.
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Having 6 over 30ās likely helps the new kids coming through, but also means they can have another big group of young talented players coming through next year as they retire.
Im backing Tigers nailing this reset before Tassie comes in.
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Essendon is currently the fourth youngest list (by mean age) in the league.
Iām guessing either we are doing a rebuild by stealth (i.e., we are doing one but not saying anything of the sort) or are gearing up to try bring in some experienced talent over the next season or two.
Because we could legitimately only have a single >30 player (Merrett) on the list going into 2026.
Goldy a massive outlier to.
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Goldy, Shiel and Lav, 3 players that we didnāt need on the list next season.
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Not surprising. Weāre rubbish at keeping players staying injury free and playing good footy post age 30. Part of the reason I think the ā3 year planā is a dogs breakfast.
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You honestly think Brad wasnāt putting out the team he thought was the best possible to get a win each week?
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