Because we recruit/draft the wrong players.
Our list is pure garbage especially our midfield which is where games are won or lost.
We are in this position because of our list manager and we are never going anywhere with him still at the club.
People sit here and laugh at Norf but we are already as irrelevant as they are.
Everyone else in the comp is rightfully laughing at us
18 Likes
Coaches canāt change players personality.
Itās up to recruiters to pick the right people who have the character to compete at an AFL standard.
That is not development.
3 Likes
Yeah but they put 3 benches on the hill next to our main training ground so theyāve got that going for them.
1 Like
Donāt agree with that one FWIW. Ingraining a stronger culture in a group is absolutely the role of coaches and key administrators; itās one of their most important jobs. Players who may have once struggled in the area develop into stronger competitors all the time due to the culture of a club/group, itās one of the key development areas that you can gain advantage over other clubs in an elite sporting org. IMO.
15 Likes
Round 4 and the coach has already conceded that our soft tissue injuries need to be addressed.
Long season ahead.
2 Likes
Wasnāt there some form of investigation this time last year?
1 Like
On the issue with back fractures I think.
Now itās the soft tissue injuries.
1 Like
Iāve been shouting this for years! How can players and the club broadly grow and develop if they arenāt training and playing, not building chemistry etc? Until itās fixed we remain where we are. Irrespective of the talent levels.
2 Likes
Hinkley has said Horne Francis has had a great preseason.
WTF does a great preseason look like?
And when can Essendon get 1 of those?
2 Likes
Again another area the club is content to sit on its hands and do nothing about.
It is highly unlikely our fitness and conditioning staff could have survived at any other club.
Where is the presser? I think its a bullshit excuse.
The entire team canāt be on soft tissue injuries.
And be crap like North even with the all the hand outs they are still crap
1 Like
If this is true only merrett and his tackling brigade should play. ā ā ā ā the rest off.
It could be multi layered? Surface at Hangar. Surfaces inside Hangar? Iāve heard stories of poor weights techniques and programs. Recovery facilities which need urgent investment and work out there. The whole thing.
Take a look at what a big bodied midfielder (and kid) in Horne Francis did to us tonight. Someone who can crash a pack and break out of a tackle.
Now take a look at our vanilla midfield of 180-odd cm small to medium bodied outside players. We have blown almost every single first round draft pick that we have had.
5 Likes
How about we come up with a cool phrase we use, like Essendon Dominance or something, then theyāll think weāre cool instead of laughing.
4 Likes
Itās posted on the AFL website now.
It didnāt feel like an excuse but more Scott at a loss for what occurred (injury wise)
Guelfi with a minor calf that has not gotten better. Ridley injuring the quad in the exact same way.
Media also mentioned - Reid, Parish and Perkins as the soft tissue injuries as well.
It wasnāt good.
2 Likes
Determined Dons was missing after qtr time last night.
If Iām rebuilding the culture of a clubā¦ā¦ Iām looking directly at our recruiting strategies as my first task.
This is staff, executives, coaches and players.
If you donāt have your recruitment strategies in order, with a prioritisation of character/personality/values, the winning ācultureā will never happen.
It doesnāt matter what systems are in place, within the rest of the club (leadership programs, development programs, etc).
6 Likes
I cant understand how the review turned a blind eye to our fitness and injury management that should have been first thing on the list to fix
2 Likes