We must apply for a start of 1st rounder priority pick this year.
We are on track to surpass our longest ever losing streak in history. Longest record without a finals win in the entire competition, 22 years of abject failure and a massive fall from grace from a club that once was a giant and is now the butt of all jokes.
The AFL will take notice when they see the plummeting crowds and TV viewership for what still remains one of the biggest clubs in the land even if we dont perform like one.
The coaching I suspect will sort itself out shortly with yet another sacking and we are well on course for the spoon and very likely to go back to back next year as well with a 17-18th placed finish ahead of massively compromised drafts.
Add to this the first 2 picks of this year look to be academy picks that are not available as well so we are facing the prospect of not getting access to the best talent.
The club administration must ask for a priority pick this year as we are looking light years away from even being competitive. Shoot me down if you dont think we should be asking for one.
We were 15th last season with the 3rd worst percentage (<70%), flip the Richmond result last year and we would have been staring down the barrel of finishing 17th which would be closer to where we should have landed.
Bottom 2 this year and very likely the same next. Historical context should count too where we havent won a final in 2 decades.
Get in and apply this season for a start of 1st rounder PP before the Tassie draft next year when they’d be loathed to take the number one pick away from them.
Totally agree with you that not bottoming out properly and missing out on access to the top talent has badly hurt us.
End of first rounder does very little, ask North Melbourne who were given 1 or 2 of these. Even moreso with how compromised drafts are these days.
Essendon has paid the price for attempting to stay competitive as per the AFLs wishes for teams to do rather than stripping the whole list back and starting again.
We must ask for a start of 1st round PP this year or with the Tassie drafts heavily compromised for 3 years we could be staring down the barrel of another barren decade.
I agree they should be seeking assistance and I don’t buy the prevailing view should be accepted that you have to be bottom 2 on the ladder for 4-5 years to get it.
There’s always nuance and special circumstances. Things aren’t always black or white. Irrespective of how these decisions have been made in previous years doesn’t mean that’s how decisions will be made in future.
22 years without winning a final. A club that has endured crisis like no other club in modern AFL history (saga etc). Yes, it’s own doing but there’s not a single club that received assistance previously that wasn’t a basket case. These clubs all made horrid decisions and were marked by incompetence. That’s why they are there to start with!
If I were Essendon I’d be talking to the AFL about assistance. A club that certainly needs support.
With Tassie to compromise upcoming drafts, another ‘unfair’ headwind that is more cause for assistance. Essendon should lean into this current landscape that isn’t supportive of a fair play at the market to help rebuild.
I think under the circumstances, most reasonable and objective footy fans would begrudgingly agree Essendon has had more than enough on field pain and failure.
Given there’s no light at the end of the tunnel yet, with more pain ahead I think it’s reasonable that Essendon ‘deserve’ a bit of assistance to return to success.
Isn’t that the case with every club that ultimately received assistance? They all were incompetent, all made bad decisions and all failed as a result. That explanation actually supports why Essendon do warrant assistance.
Yes, but that’s not going to happen! Next best thing is assistance.
Again, they might not get it this year. They need to at least try. If they’re seriously doing everything they can to return to success, they have to put a case. Otherwise they’re not serious about doing everything to succeed.
They might miss this year but they will get it next year. That’s what it must do.