Considering Myers played the bulk of last week forward and Parish has been dropped for his disposal in the past, I’m not sure the point you are trying to make.
I was thinking we could do a bit of goal post hugging to put off the freo goal kickers and convert a few 50 metre pênalties into a 100ms with those dopey sandgropers not getting out of the way.
No, because Fyfe will get the first warning and Ambo give away the free.
I will be very pleasantly surprised if we win this game. Injuries to the wrong players at the wrong time makes this a very difficult task.
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AFL 2019: Best and worst inside 50 kicks revealed — and Essendon ain’t so bad
Dylan Shiel, Clayton Oliver and Dayne Zorko kick the ball inside 50 a lot … with varying degrees of success.Source: FOX SPORTS
Effective kicking inside 50 can often be the difference between winning and losing.
And while Essendon has been highly criticised for its wastefulness going inside 50, what do the numbers say? And who is the player you want to have the ball in their hands?
With help from Champion Data , foxfooty.com.au digs deeper into the efficiency of teams going inside 50.
BOMBERS’ ‘DISGRACEFUL’ ISSUE
The nailbiting Round 8 clash between Sydney and Essendon revealed just how vital inside 50 effectiveness can be.
In the final quarter, Essendon dominated the midfield battle, winning the clearances 18 to eight and had 20 inside 50s to Sydney’s eight.
But inexplicably, the Bombers converted those entries to just 18 points, as opposed to Sydney’s 14. The final margin? Five points.
One extra goal, one extra converted inside 50 would’ve tipped the balance.
Essendon’s Dylan Shiel has been scrutinised for his kicking efficiency. Picture: Phil HillyardSource: News Corp Australia
“The inside 50s by Essendon is as bad as I’ve seen,” Brisbane great Jonathan Brown said on Fox Footy .
“If I was the forwards coach, I would be tearing absolute strips off the midfield.
“It is disgraceful the way they enter inside 50. Shocking.”
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BUT BOMBERS AREN’T THE WORST
While the Bombers’ kicking inside 50 has been poor, statistics reveal they aren’t the worst in the competition.
The Bombers have a retention rate of 46.6 per cent when going inside 50 — ranked 13th in the competition.
‘Retention rate’ is based on the team keeping possession of the ball, following the kick inside 50 (ie. a teammate marking it or a teammate picking the ball off the ground).
The numbers behind Essendon’s kicking inside 50.Source: FOX SPORTS
If the ball goes out of bounds or an opposition player collects the ball, it would not be considered retained.
Essendon marks 16.3 per cent of the time it kicks inside 50, which is ranked 14th in the competition.
Despite being ranked in the lower half of the ladder for the above two factors, the Bombers are ranked fifth for scoring rate (35.4 per cent) from their kicks inside 50 — a high number given their retention rate is low.
Pie explains siren scuffle
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Table-toppers Geelong is ranked No. 1 when it comes to retaining the ball inside 50, with a retention rate of 51.2 per cent after kicks inside 50.
But the Giants are actually the best team overall when it comes to scoring from their inside 50s. Their scoring rate is 36.6 per cent from their kicks inside 50, which ranks them No. 1 in the entire competition, ahead of Geelong and Collingwood.
It’s no surprise the three aforementioned teams are currently sitting in the top four on the ladder.
All 18 AFL clubs kicking inside 50 scoring rate.Source: FOX SPORTS
It’s actually Melbourne, not Essendon, that should be the club worrying the most about its inside 50 effectiveness.
The Demons are the worst team kicking inside 50, with just 40.4 per cent retention rate.
BEST AND WORST PLAYERS
It comes off the back of midfielder Clayton Oliver. He might be averaging 32.1 disposals and 6.2 inside 50s per game, but the Dees have retained just four of Oliver’s 45 kicks into forward 50, making him the worst kick inside 50 for the competition.
Melbourne also has the worst scoring rate, with just over one in four kicks inside 50 resulting in scores. The Demons’ rate of 25.6 per cent is well below 17th-ranked Gold Coast Suns, who have 30.2 per cent scoring rate.
Dayne Zorko of the Lions is the best inside 50 kick in the AFL.Source: AAP
As for individual players, Dayne Zorko is the best kick inside 50 for the competition. The Lion has kicked inside 50 on 43 occasions, with a 55.8 per cent retention rate for his side.
Hawk Jack Gunston, Saint Jack Newnes, Docker Bradley Hill and Magpie Scott Pendlebury round out the top five best kicks inside 50, with Gunston the only other player with a retention rate of over 50 per cent.
BEST KICKS INSIDE 50
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Dayne Zorko (Brisbane Lions): 43 kicks — 55.8 percent retention rate
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Jack Gunston (Hawthorn): 27 kicks — 55.6 percent retention rate
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Jack Newnes (St Kilda): 29 kicks — 48.3 per cent retention rate
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Bradley Hill (Fremantle): 27 kicks — 48.1 percent retention rate
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Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood): 46 kicks — 47.8 percent retention rate
WORST KICKS INSIDE 50
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Clayton Oliver (Melbourne): 45 kicks — 8.9 percent retention rate
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Rory Sloane (Adelaide): 31 kicks — 12.9 percent retention rate
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Ed Langdon (Fremantle): 30 kicks — 16.7 percent retention rate
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Hugh McCluggage (Brisbane Lions): 34 kicks — 17.6 percent retention rate
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Travis Boak (Port Adelaide): 38 kicks — 18.4 percent retention rate
What does this tell you?
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WTF is with Oliver’s leg in that pic? Is it rubber?
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That Jon Snow knows nothing.
So winter isn’t coming
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Think of the 50m arc as The Wall
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Presser in here
Forward chemistry the keyEssendon coach John Worsfold says a lack of chemistry and continuity in the forward line has played a major role in the side’s start to the season.
Worsfold’s hand has been forced several times throughout the year at the selection table due to an unlucky run of injuries, particularly in the side’s forward ranks, but he has faith that a consistent line-up will yield positive results.
“The absolute best teams, when they’re at their best, generally have guys that have played a lot of footy together over a long period of time.
“This year, in terms of eight or nine rounds, we haven’t been able to get that and there are some new faces that we’re trying to work through there.
“We’ll continue on with that. We’ve got a clear idea of what we want to build to, but it’s a bit of ‘fix it as we go’ at the moment.”
While dangerous forward Orazio Fantasia will not take the field against Fremantle on Saturday after suffering a quad strain, but the Bombers could be boosted with forwards Joe Daniher, Mark Baguley and Jayden Laverde all available for selection.
Daniher is expected to take on the Dockers and Worsfold said his return is the first step towards regaining that chemistry.
“It’s always subject to today getting through training and things like that, but we’re confident that he’s good now.
“Joe’s an important part of what we’re trying to build in our forward line.
“We haven’t really been able to get our core group together regularly this year, but getting Joe back is one part of that.”
John Worsfold says Joe Daniher “should play” against Fremantle on Saturday. (Image: AFL Photos)
The Bombers find themselves 13th on the ladder with eight rounds played, level on premiership points and just one position above where they sat at this stage last year.
But Worsfold said output through the middle and in the contest are clear areas of improvement this season.
“I think we’re improving our midfield. (With) the addition of Dylan Shiel, for what we want, we’re working pretty well with our numbers through the midfield.
“In terms of the inside 50 count, I think we’ve improved, but we’re not getting the results from those inside 50s.
“They’re probably the two areas (we have improved in) compared to last year.
“We think that’s a real key for us, because as we build that chemistry and get our best forward line out there, we think that’s when we’re going to start seeing our best footy.”
Dylan Shiel is averaging six inside 50s a game and has added plenty to Essendon’s midfield. (Image: AFL Photos)
Essendon will enter Saturday’s match off the back of three losses, having booted 27 goals in that period, but Worsfold isn’t particularly concerned with his side’s struggles impacting the scoreboard.
“(It is not concerning) when you consider (that in) a couple of those losses we were low-scoring, but they were tight, tough games. If that was eight goals to 15 against the opposition then there’d be a bigger concern that we were really poor.
“We kicked 10 goals against the Pies, but it was 10 goals each, and it was 10 goals to 11 on the weekend.
“Overall, what’s concerning is that we haven’t won those games; we’ve had a couple of close games that we’ve lost … and no close wins.
“We need to get to that level where we start to win those games.”
Fremantle currently sits eighth on the ladder and will also be looking to bounce back this weekend following consecutive losses to Adelaide and Richmond.
The first bounce is set for 7:25pm at Marvel Stadium.
Let’s just make sure we WIN this one! Remember the slogan for 2019: No excuses.
You can just hear Ross Lyon at the team meeting after training today. He will be saying lets go out on Saturday and “hunt” Essendon.
Change 1: Hunt our Opponents
We went to Sydney as favourites. So much so, Sydney openly said before the game that they were out to “hunt” us.
Instead of a team like Sydney hunting us, we need to play like we are underdogs, not a champagne toting top end of town billionaire. FCS
Change 2: Change the Game Plan
When we are beaten by the last team in the comp, there is something seriously wrong. It means a good coach with a poor group of players can figure us out and set up a game plan to beat us.
See Change 1.
Whats all this bit about hunting? We are about 14th on the ladder now. The trouble is, teams are hunting us, because we think we are better than we are.
Out: Z Clarke, Fantasia, Smith, Myers
In: Daniher, Laverde, Baguley, Langford
Pretty simple. Although I suspect the Myers for Langford changes won’t happen. If Langford is in instead of Baguley, that would be reasonable but we all know Bags is Woosha’s second favourite.
Structurally, Hooker is forward and Francis back, why is such a sensible arrangement so hard for them to do?
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All this talk about chemistry and lack of, the guy’s a ■■■■■■■ pharmacist isn’t he??
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Essendon has completed its main training session ahead of its round nine clash with Fremantle.
Wearing pride training tops to celebrate the Purple Bombers’ fifth anniversary, which coincides with IDAHOBIT on Friday, the Bombers were put through their paces at The Hangar on Wednesday as they prepare to bounce back against the Dockers at Marvel Stadium.
Below is a selection of snaps from the track.
Darcy Parish.
Andrew McGrath.
David Myers fends off Brayden Ham (beating up on the kids…).
Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti.
Dyson Heppell.
Brandon Zerk-Thatcher.
Aaron Francis tackles Jordan Houlahan.
Brayden Ham.
Jake Long and Adam Saad.
Patrick Ambrose and Joe Daniher.
Marty Gleeson and Kyle Langford.
Dylan Shiel instructs his teammates.
Irving Mosquito and Andrew McGrath.
Mason Redman.
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Good to see that a few players with injury clouds are training
Didn’t know Dane Rampe was training with us now.
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Who says we don’t do learnings.
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He’s just hanging out
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Ok I’ll ask. What’s IDAHOBIT
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