Very few people think it is/was only recruiting.
But it is certainly a large part of it. And 20 years without a finals win across multiple coaches, fitness programs , Presidents, development coaches, football strategists etc etc is living proof that for us, it ultimately wasn’t a successful part of it. There are mitigating circumstances of course, but two decades doesn’t lie.
Other parts of the club also need overhauling. Primarily the strength and conditioning side.
It took Gold Coast with all their concessions 15 years to make finals.
Essendon will have none of that.
What makes you think we can do it in 5-6 years?
I think we are in for a StKilda/Melbourne/Sydney style drought for a flag. It will be 60 years from 2000 eventually.
I’m not expecting to see another premiership
Oof…. Brutal.
But probably realistic.
If I make a couple of assumptions ( eg - Draper leaves, Perkins been playing injured, Bryan has a good recovery, Langford gets a decent preseason etc ) then a quick think has this as my lineup for the early rounds based on who is currently on the list.
B: Redman, McKay/ Ridley, Nguyen
HB : Roberts, Reid, Johnson
C: Clarke, Tsatas, Duursma
HF: Merrett, Caddy, Perkins
FF : Kako, Wright / May , Gresham
R: Bryan , Durham, Caldwell
Int : McGrath, Vigo/ Blakiston, Guelfi, Langford.
First thought is that hopefully the next draft surpasses Gresham and Guelfi. I haven’t followed the U18’s but it reads like Sweid might be a candidate as a natural small forward? We need some pace and dynamic impact through the midfield. Picks four and five (and possibly Draper pick) have a huge responsibility to reshape this list.
I’m absolutely backing and sticking with Nguyen , Clarke, Johnson. Roberts, Kako and Caddy are clear best 18 players so they aren’t up for debate. I know many ( most?) don’t rate Tsatas but I’m giving him a run of games. We’re almost last for clearances, he can win clearances. If he’s a bust, let’s find out.
I’m exploring trade options for Parish . He’s a very good AFL player when fit , but he doesn’t change the mix of the midfield enough for us. Especially if I want Tsatas to get a definitive run. I’m probably not trading Redman, I thought he responded pretty well late in the year. I’d consider one of Ridley / Langford purely to see if we can add a different look / attribute to the list. I’m mindful that in any normal year, Hayes is now a definite contender to start. If McMahon stays, then you probably pay out Edwards. I’m tempted to give Lual another year. Blakiston definitely gets a year. Smartt doesn’t, that’s Unwin / ADW etc to compete for. I doubt anyone trades for Gresh. The most baffling decision of the year - the second year for Jones - remains a thorn in the list management side.
We definitely need more pace , a stronger bodied mid with classy finishing or two (Martin in 2027) , an elite fitness program that starts to build up the younger players. We need some inherent mongrel, the most combative players on the list are Roberts and Clarke, which is absurd. So much to be done but we only have what we have. October and November are absolutely critical. And we need a better understanding / setup / gameplan with a tougher mentality to gut run and get the workrate up. No doubt I’ll refine my thoughts with more time, but the basic outlook is that any future prospects, starting now, are with the under-23’s on the list. That’s the priority.
I saw a great Sainters tshirt.
Saints logo with the little man in the middle with the cup
And the words. Just once before I die.(or to that effect).
That will be relevant Essendon merch in the next decade.
Plus Ridley, Bryan and if one of the key backs is injured Hayes. Possibly Hobbs over Gresham, Unwin or Menzie. So, 8-9 players would come in, nearly half the starting 18.
Easily enough to push us back towards mid-table.
Unless we trade out key players I don’t think we’ll go close to bottom 2. We’ve just had a terrible year for injuries and three teams finished below us.
Has Perkins been playing injured for 3 seasons!!!
He plays midfield at U18 level. He has skills that may translate, and kicks midfielder goals, but hasn’t played substantial minutes forward.
Agree with all this 
except for Blakiston
Fans love Kako’s talent.
remember the expansions sides have had dozens of players of that calibre rotate through their club every single year until they get their culture right to go with it.
Brisbane and Sydney to a similar extent too with their academies.(not so with the heap of draft picks).
Essendon has to go to the pointy end of the draft multiple times over a couple of years as well. No point chasing any talent 24-28 at the expense of our draft hand.
Trading out talent for picks in a good draft will help that along. Like Richmond have done.
Trading out Senior talent in a poor draft will perhaps hinder us.
Every list has to have some good players in the 24-28 year bracket.
I’m not expecting a winning final anytime soon either.
We’ve forgotten how to do it, and even the players we have with limited losing finals games, are almost done and dusted.
Where does our finals experience come from now?
I’m not so sure, should have given it another decade just to iron out the other areas to guarantee it wasn’t recruiting.
I think it’s very difficult because freedom of player movement has also made it hard to build a side capable.
just watch good talent become eligible for free agency and continue to flow to the best sides in the comp.
You have to be able to rebuild very quickly and be attractive within a standard afl contract period.
I honestly think you will see more sides entrenched at the bottom of the ladder without intervention.
It looks like Hawthorn may have defied gravity. But it’s no sure bet Richmond have in their rebuild.
Excellent, thanks @saladin
The side you have selected, and the comments made in your post, just highlight why I think so many of our draft picks / traded players this year are a good chance of playing from round 1.
I find it really difficult to continue to gift Gresham, Guelfi and Perkins with AFL football. Give the roles to someone else. Anyone else. Gresham should just be told not to come back. Guelfi is a very limited footballer, and Perkins needs to get his head and game straight at VFL level for a year after which he may actually add significant value.
I also think the decision as to who plays the chop out ruck role will be fascinating. How different might that forward line look with Blakistons energy and speed down there, after his first full AFL preseason (as opposed to Wright).
I also really like the speed that you’ve gotten into that side, over height.
Issue with Essendon over the past decade is that fans are happy for anyone other than the incumbent player to play in their spot.
We need to get to the point where the player taking the incumbent players position is actually better than that player, not just different.
I’m really not sure that is the issue with Essendon.
Yes it is. We have a crap list, replacing mediocre players with mediocre players year on year.
I think that assuming there has only been one issue with Essendon over past decade is over optimistic and the oversimplified to a ludicrous degree.
No its not.
There are countless issues with Essendon. I am referring only to the list as we are in the list build thread.