100%. Must win a farking final
This
We aren’t setting ourselves up to be one season wonders like the Doggies & Tigers (who lets face it, just timed their form run to be in September), we are looking more at sustained period at the top like the Cats & Hawks have done in recent times
Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Let’s win a final first and think about premierships later!
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On a sorta related note I was chatting to a Carlton supporter yesterday in the office kitchen. I asked if he was happy with the trading so far and basically said he didn’t really care. He explained that it felt like years since Carlton had been important, and that they seem to specialise in poor decisions. He suggested that every bit of adversity had eroded a little more of the lustre, and the fan base, along the way.
I understood what he meant, and it’s been my observation also, but of course I pointed out to him that no club had faced greater adversity than Essendon, and here we were coming out of it stronger than ever. He agreed. He seemed in his grudging Carlton way to be admiring of our resilience and faith.
It’s my view that the saga sorted out our supporters. We lost some along the way, but for the rest we were made to consider what it meant to support this club. It became more than simply following a combination of colours, or adhering to the team our parents handed down to us. Support became an individual thing, in adversity we understood what it was to be a part of our club and became more firmly rusted on.
The club itself has played a big part in this. We have an outstanding chief executive, good leaders, and a stated determination to be better. I agree, I’m thrilled to see how bold we’ve been and see it as confirmation that near enough isn’t good enough. We are Essendon, after all, and the only way is up.
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And after all the ■■■■ lobbed on the club over the last 5 years, you better believe I’m gonna be the most arrogant ■■■■■■■■■■■■ of Essendon supporters all the way up. None shall be forgotten. None shall be forgiven.
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I personally think we have really nailed drafting over the last 5 years or so and have a great base to build from. If you look at Joe, Merrett, Parish, Langford, McGrath, McKenna and half a dozen others we still have lots of development left in them.
To be able to bring in three very good players through trading in a similar age group sets us up for a real crack at it.
If we can find one or two of our younger players currently on our list to step up and join Joe and Merrett as elite players then we are in a very good position.
If you look at who’s in a similar stage of development to us its only really Melbourne and potentially Brisbane that rivals us for pure talent in critical areas of the ground.
I know AFL is difficult to predict to far ahead but I believe we have the best young list going round, and what I think is the perfect gameplan for an extended assault on flags.
I have a feeling we are about to enter one of our greatest ever eras.
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Stability helps lure stars
Simon Conway - @SimonConway12
20 October 2017 11:52 AM
Essendon List and Recruiting Manager Adrian Dodoro says the stability within the Club was a big factor in luring three established players to the Dons.
The Bombers landed Devon Smith, Adam Saad and Jake Stringer in one of the Club’s busiest transfer periods.
After years of uncertainty, Essendon posted record membership on its way to a finals return in 2017.
“We’re pretty fortunate to have a strong Board, a great young CEO – so off the field the stability is fantastic,” Dodoro told SEN.
“I think we’ve shown in the last two years that we’ve got a really exciting list of young players.
“We made the finals last season, we didn’t finish the way we would have liked to but there is a lot of upside in the list.
“We’re a big football club and we play in front of big crowds.
“We’re desperate for success and I think that hunger is starting to rub off in the general footy world … we’re in a hurry to try and become successful again.”
Dodoro said Senior Coach John Worsfold has played a key role in ensuring the whole Club is working in the same direction.
“‘Woosha’ is a big reason why these guys want to get to our Club … the stability he has brought to the organisation and the environment amongst the playing group … everyone is together, we’re behind each other and I think he deserves a lot of the credit,” he said.
The unity and collaboration was on show during the recruitment process that saw the Bombers land Stringer from the Western Bulldogs.
Dodoro sought counsel from a range of sources and current Essendon players met with their prospective teammate.
“I don’t think we’ve ever spent as much time with a player, his family, his friends and associates, his network … we wanted to know all of the issues,” Dodoro said.
“If we felt that as a Club we weren’t going to be able to get the best out of Jake, we wouldn’t have gone there.
“We’re committed to providing him with an environment that we think will help him become an All Australian player once again.
“He’s had to buy in, he’s saying all of the right things – I think the whole process of him leaving a club where he was a premiership player and coming to Essendon is a big awakening for him.
“People mature as they get a little bit older, success came early to Jake – premiership player, All Australian – sometimes young men can get a little carried with themselves and he understands he hasn’t be perfect but by the same token he’s been really honest with us.
“We’ll back him for sure.
“The players have bought in as well – he met with members of our leadership group and some guys that weren’t even in the leadership group.
“If the players weren’t behind getting Jake to the Club we wouldn’t have done it, to be honest.
“Once they met him and spoke to him, they all wanted him.
“The reaction we had from the playing group on getting Jake to the Club is that everyone is going to work really hard to make sure he becomes the player he should be.”
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