Dodo special loves those
“We think he can play as an inside mid also comes from a good family and barracks for the Bombers”
4 Likes
Well, that can be your view but realise that you’re panning an Essendon player based on your “feels”. While the Hawthorn fans who were talking after that draft said they rated Mozzie around where he went, but needed a tall more.
4 Likes
4 Likes
Selection for round one is going to be so curious…
Wright and Jones are looking (sounding) more likely to play as our key forwards than everyone else on the squad is. Joe gone, McKernan gone, Stewart training down back, Phillips not exactly ‘key forward’ material… I don’t mind this though. Both Wright and Jones present well at the ball carrier as per reports (Wright in particular has been noted to do well to bring ball to ground and follow up reasonably). I do wonder if having two players with that as their strength will help the rest of the forward line function and create room for each other and actually allow for some decent entries… Hmm. McKernan and Joe sitting on fences didn’t exactly inspire creative entries in the forward half.
Perkins is another with some pretty capable running ability who may be more of a natural fit into the forward line for some more of that ‘X-factor’. Actually I’d be playing him there purely to give the kid a taste of the big time and dangle the carrot. I think hes the type of player that you would want to get games into ASAP, regardless if they’re not quite ready. If hes going to be as highly rated as Dodoro thinks he will be, let’s get 50 games under his belt ASAP.
Obviously, something about having three new players spearheading the forward line for the first time is absolutely miserable (four if you want to add in Cahill)… But on the other hand, it could be pretty exciting to have some highly rated footballers with varying degrees of versatility learning their craft together, as opposed to learning to fit around an already existing (dysfunctional) forward line. I’d be pulling that trigger, personally, given the already low expectations for this year. Yes this may also hurt.
Stewart going back reeks of being a ‘stop-gap’ until the likes of Reid are physically ready to play, which by all accounts may not coincide with Hooker/Hurley retirements. I don’t mind the move. He showed some promise there last year. If youth is the priority, it needs to be made clear to the entire team including the older cohort, but I think it certainly seems like it will cause some upset with players closer to the end of their careers than the start… Hooker, Hurley, Zaharakis for example. I’d be livid seeing players like Zaharakis take a spot in the forward line over Perkins…
Certainly interesting times ahead… But the most obvious point is that our trades and recruiting this year have put massive pressure on positions across the board. I’m normally glass half full so this seems pretty promising to have some honest internal competition between each other.
12 Likes
If a couple of players are aware they are competing for a single spot, you can guarantee that they will lift their training intensity to ensure they are training better than the others. That’s how you lift training intensity, when players are aware spots are tight and any little thing could be the difference between them getting a game or not. Essendon have spent a lot of draft capital making their ‘best 22’ look great on paper, but it has left the remainder of the squad incredibly thin, meaning there’s little pressure from below.When’s the last time an Essendon fringe player has requested a trade to another club to get more opportunity?
We’ve also had a coach that will pick you regardless of form or fitness during the preseason. An example of this is, (@nackers can probably confirm this), how often did we hear over the past couple of preseasons of Draper being the clear dominant ruckman through training at preseason, beating Bellchambers (if BChambers even trained) or Clarke or whoever, yet come preseason games and round 1, Draper wouldn’t be picked.
5 Likes
jackie is posting it from a position of knowledge having been a regular training watcher. He’s not going off half-cocked like you often do at the smallest thing
16 Likes
you wouldn’t get 20 likes for a negative themed post unless you knew what you were talking about.
3 Likes
Fair enough but the stuff I post is not half cocked it’s purely based from when I watch us play also we have history of being a soft side so lack of intensity at training is not surprising to me.
2 Likes
I think all of him, BZK and Francis are in danger of going at the end of 2021 unless they show a bit.
3 Likes
They did, and Paul Brasher when speaking about what he found when talking to all the players said that one of the themes that emerged was that they wanted to be worked harder. I was very disappointed when Rutten was asked about this in one of his interviews and gave a very non-committal answer, and I’ve been waiting for one of the reporters to say something about the level of intensity at training being noticeably higher than in previous years, but it hasn’t happened. It all looks very much like more of the same; not just the number of “managed” players on the sidelines, but the low level, let’s not overwork them approach.
Premierships are won by the clubs whose players can go hardest for longest. We’ve been uncompetitive for decades, and there’s no sign of it changing.
9 Likes
The last bloke named Baker that we picked up went alright. Want.
6 Likes
looks an interesting prospect, good athletism, neat skills, not afraid to attack the ball. would seem a good option given our small defender problems. will certainly keep redman, guelfi, gleeson and hind honest (not that i’m convinced guelfi and redman are best suited down back).
2 Likes
thanks for the update @jackie_mihocek.
Out of interest, is this view based just on today’s session or have you been regularly attending training this offseason like you have in the past?
1 Like
One stat I’d love to see us turn around this year is the amount of sprinting we do in matches. Our opponents regularly smashed us in high speed running, and I reckon this is a very important indicator. Pressure clubs get numbers to the contest, and to do this you need to run. Good forward lines often have three or more unrewarded leads into space to provide options and to mess with the opposition’s defensive structure.
5 Likes
I can see what jackie is saying, the times i went to training in the past few pre seasons i came away feeling very flat as well, especially if you get exposed to match simulation and see how disorganised they look.
I didn’t get to see him much as a junior but from what I’ve seen he is a rebound defender in the Alex Witherden mould. Reads the play really well and clean with his hands and ball use, could potentially play on a wing aswell
9 Likes
How do you graduate from Sydney Swans academy? Must have been a Ps get degrees operator to graduate but not get drafted.
2 Likes
Agree
2 Likes