Ta - make it a ‘general’ complaint.
I figured that already 
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Hey - at least I’m consistent!
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Finals don’t count. He was 4th
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Deckham is this true?
It could well be, Killer Mike, I tell ya!
What would I know?
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I still like your version better
A man’s gotta whinge.
I have reluctantly removed 1x Stringer.
I agree re: Myers but hope & expect a Begley/Lav type to be pushing for his spot very early on
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I think this year is going to be a lot more difficult for Worsfold, just with the number of options at his disposal.
Stringer - forward/mid.
Hooker - forward/back
Hartley and Ambrose.
Stewart - forward/relieving ruck? Does he play in the seniors at all if you’re going with Daniher, Hooker, Stringer forward?
How much ruck time for Daniher?
Fanta/Tippa midfield minutes.
Green? Colyer?
Where do Laverde and Begley stand now that Stringer’s been brought in?
How is Langford going to be managed into a starting mid?
Myers, Mutch, Francis?
It seems to be just accepted that McGrath will step straight into a main midfielder position in his second year, and that would be lovely. I think he’s got the talent for it, but it’s still a massive step up.
Then you’ve got blokes like Brown and Dea…and surely someone will debut this year.
There are so many variables, and you have to balance all of that with wanting a settled team.
The starting 22 is only half the battle, where they all actually play and for how long in certain positions…
Decisions will have to be made on how long they stick with something or someone they thought would work, but doesn’t. Or at least not yet.
It’s going to be tough.
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The issue with our midfield is the unknown, not the potential. And inside mid brigade of Heppell, Myers, Langford, Smith and an outside or Zerret, Zaka, McGrath, Colyer should be pretty good. Throw in stints from Fantasia, Tippa and Stinger and it’s a potent group.
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I…feel like this needs some justification.
Stringer’s playing more midfield mins than anywhere else. They were burnt by the final against Syd… Harvey said as much yesterday. With McGrath and Smith going into the middle, Parish and Zerrett hardly man-mountains, they’re going to need to find some strength and size around the ball e.g. Stringer, Lav, Lang, maybe Beg… look for Heppell to spend some time in the gym and Myers to get a little more agricultural this year.
Stewart and Daniher will keep playing that high forward/half forward role, then doubling back so they’re not going against three blokes all the time… that will still be Hooker’s role. Hooker to stay in the goal square, at least to start off with unless defence really goes pear-shaped e.g. injuries and/or Brown, Hartley not finding the 10 to 15% improvement they need to hold down key defensive posts.
I’m not sure it was due to genuine size or physicality that Swans were winning the ball. It was due to fact they were always first to it.
Jobe, Myers & Hep in particular couldn’t sustain the intensity they put up in first quarter. As such we were never really first to ball and constantly were getting run away from without pressuring their mids.
Secondly we were outmarked time and time again around the ground trying to get out of defence. Swans positioning was unbelievable.
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I agree totally with this. It wasn’t size that was our problem
And I was going to say also compounding the issue is Belly got pantsed in the ruck.
Dominant ruck giving us first use would have helped cover some of our midfields problems.
Yep, agree… being first to ball important but don’t underestimate the importance of having strength to push blokes out of the way so that you can be first to the ball. Also…
‘Harvey said the Bombers’ smashing at the hands of the Swans in that finals appearance was partly behind the coaches’ implementation of more brutal training in the early parts of this pre-season.
“They’ve certainly been put through the bullring. Our blokes have been training really hard, particularly physically, so they’ll be looking for the break,” Harvey said.
"That’s the main difference, that we’ve put a lot more emphasis on our physicality and our pressure.
“That’s been the main focus and moving into January and February hopefully we start to see that play out in our game situations.”
I’d agree it’s a component.
But the fact they were gassed and couldn’t run the big issue.
And it was a problem for our team throughout the season especially for returning players who were our key inside mids.
Jobe had to miss games as a result. Hep couldn’t train much during week at all late in season. Neither of them played to the level we know they are capable of. And Myers was worse than he normally would be, which is average anyway.
When it falls apart for the inside mid division the whole team is affected. No opposition more troublesome than the Swans if so. Cats matched them inside in final and then belted them on outside, and that was with Danger up fwd.
We will see a far more dynamic midfield group next year IMO to ensure pace & pressure doesn’t drop.
For extra context I thought distance covered from the last few rounds including the final indicate that we are slightly behind even when we win.
Absolutely, first to the ball against Sydney in the final was the beginning and end of Essendon’s chances, as is the case with all sports across the globe + playing the Swans at their home ground only accentuated Essendon’s woes. Played in Melbourne would’ve been a different story …
Essendon’s 2018 midfield will be fascinating to watch. It will have a different look to previous years. Stringer, Smith, McGrath (inside, that’s where his strengths lie), Langford, Parish (more minutes), players like Laverde spending more time there + potentially 1 or 2 untried players to fill the breach. Contrary to what Roco thinks I’m bullish about Essendon’s prospects in that part of the ground. Go Bombers!
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