I wish Essendon was in as much disarray as Brisbane are.
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We areā¦
So where are our flags then?
The two are mutually exclusive. We are in disarray and have no flags. The Lions are in disarray and have 2 flags!
How exactly are we in disarray currently?
Yes. Weāve been a mess in the past, but Iām curious as to what you think still puts us in disarray.
The club is committed, standards are improving, training top class, drafting the best itās been for years, social media from club is outstanding and our support staff and coaches are finally aligned for the future.
The doesnāt sound like disarray to me. We just need to start winning and staying healthy and hopefully great things are coming.
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I think we found Welshyās account.
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Expect the Cannons squads to be released in the next week, have heard up to 12 Essendon tied players will be amongst the groups
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Go on ā¦
Very easy statement to make, but what is improving?
Iāve got to admit Iām sceptical every time someone says our drafting has improved. You canāt know this until those kids become elite players.
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I wouldnāt be. The term is improvedā¦ not that its good.
Itās easy to tell itās improved because every kid has shown an AFL attribute or more. In the past weāve had kids come and go and we are all still wondering what they ever saw in them.
Well ok, thatās a low bar. We need to do better than that or itās still a failure.
This is 100% correct. You might see improved attributes like the player is an elite kick or is super fast, but whether they end up good AFL players generally takes 3-4 years to determine. Assuming they last that long.
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Despite tougher rules being brought in, the AFL site today saying they are considering making them even tougher.
āthe League has warned clubs around the potential of adopting significantly stricter bidding rules from 2026 onwards.ā
āClubs are still in the dark as to what changes the AFL will introduce to the Academy and father-son bidding process, leaving many ā including Voss and the Blues ā feeling frustrated on the eve of the campaign.ā
I believe the Talent League draw is out tomorrow - for anyone planning their Calder Cannons trips:)
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I hope itās just Fark Carlton getting on the front foot. You canāt have the Suns and the Lions pluck the eyes out of the first round for a few seasons and then punish a ā ā ā ā team like Fark Carlton when their opportunity to grab one player comes up.
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Thereās seven of our NGA kids in the Calder squad for this year.
Rodan, Naim, Bewick, Darwish, Tangata, Justice, Yowyeh.
Rodan, Darwish and Bewick in the leadership group.
Iām not sure about Justice - imagine he is too.
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Naim is the one Iām looking out for this year. I think he might suprise and jump into draft calculations. I never rated him till I saw him play in the midfield in a game last year and his kicking was elite, kinda similar to justice. His brother was a really good player but was that awkward in between size so never got drafted as a goal kicking forward, but jad is that tall, skinny and mobile build that recruiters like. Hopefully he gets to play midfield a bit this year to see how he goes.
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Why canāt the AFL just let us have nice things for free, the AFL would make so much more money if Ess and Carlton were actually relevant for the first time in 25 years.
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, some suggest Ahmed Abdallah may not be in our academy, everything points to him being eligible
#1 - Blake Justice
#4 - Tevita Rodan
#8 - Koby Bewick
#9 - Moustafa Darwish
#10 - Isa Mehri
#13 - Jad Naim
#16 - Gabriel Tangata
#23 - Ahmed Abdallah
#36 - Ronan Yow Yeh
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Slight midfielder with silky skills, used predominantly on the outside for Calder last year, spent some time at half back but feel his weapon in kicking is best used forward of centre.
A few will know ive been big on Ronan Yow Yeh, underage who finished runner up in the Riddel District League B&F under 17s,
The other one is Gab Tangata, top ager in 2026, he was delayed due to a serious shoulder injury but pushed forward to play some games for the 18 Cannons. Will be keen to see how both these kids go.
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