Sam Reid.
My thoughts on the game:
- DEFENSE: Really liked Hartleyās game. He was the main pillar in a defensive wall, punching/marking at the right times, and his kicking was beautiful tooā¦Ferry was very good against the next tallā¦Then the smalls were all busy back there, McNiece Morgan McKenna, all reasonably quick with neat disposal today, we have lots of this depthā¦Dea had patchy disposal.
- FORWARD: Stewartās mobility and sound marking makes him dangerous when we move the ball quickly. If youāre only talking up Francis on Blitz, you are missing out on half your potential stimulation ā¦Speaking of Francis, he was good as well today, including another mid-air handball like the recent slow-mo, and it fed another goalā¦Jerrett was smart up forward, finding pockets of space whenever we counter-attacked. I am not writing him off yet.
- MIDS: Holmes, Bird, Uyzal(?) all took advantage of Bellchambers dominance. Clarke strong enough to play a lot inside, but disposal technique looks undeniably awkward. Mutch runs like old woman but neat short kicks on both sides. Longy not particularly influential for mine.
Other VFL listed players were all pretty solid, with Peters(?) catching the eye.
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Frang looks out of place as a forward, the ball just doesnāt get to where he is.
I would end this experiment and send him back as I think heād be better suited for taking Brown or Gleesonās spot (or Kelly or Stantonās in future) than slotting into a forward line containing Hooker, Daniher, Lang/Lav and the smalls.
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Why draft an excellent underage defender (Francis) and then immediately turn around and try to turn him into a forward/midfielder?
Itās Hurley Part II.
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Patience mate. Let him develop for now.
Yep. Ferry was good.
Both wrong
Bird is like the night parrot. No one notices him, but he is there. I thought he was very good today, but then I watched nearly every stoppage with binoculars. Bird is underrated, probably because he has fast hands. He is ready to come in when we need him.
In answer to the question about Jerret. No, as I recall, he did not make one appearance at the centre bounce, but might have roved some stoppages in the forward half.
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For obvious reasons I miss many centre bounces. Iām not that quick.
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FRANGAā¦ JUSTā¦
BRING
HIM
INNNNNNNNNNNNN
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Play him in the midfield.
He is going to be our power midfielder. The only type of midfielder we are missing is that tall power line breaking midfielder ala Dusty and Danger.
I do think he will be this for us.
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Francis always struck me as a confidence player when I saw him as a junior. Finds it hard to work into the game when heās a bit out of sorts or his opponent is on top of him. I think he often benefits from a position change in those circumstances, it gives him a chance to reset on a different opponent or in a different role, and it can often be the boost he needs.
Of course, thatās something you do as a coach if your primary objective is āget more out of Francis so we can win this game of footyā, whereas in a VFL praccy match the objective may well be more like āteach Francis to work through a lean patch and get himself into the gameā
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IMO our talls are all fine - they are performing well at senior level, and Hartley/Stewart/Francis were all good today at VFL level. It is a blessing. The cupboard is full, and they are all in pretty good form. Plug and play when needed.
If you want something to worry about, which Blitz is inclined to do, then It is still the long-term depth of the midsā¦I was interested to see Francis in at the centre bounces late, and his size means he can handle any physicality, and he has quick hands. It was brief, and Richmond didnāt really get many takeaways during this time, so there were no issues with his running during this time.
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From EFC website
Essendon VFL has rounded off its pre-season in emphatic style claiming a 73-point victory in the final practice match against Richmond at Punt Road Oval.
James Stewart and Jackson Merrett were standouts in the forward half with each kicking five goals, while Craig Bird racked up 37 disposals.
" Birdy was super today," Essendon VFL Coach Paul Corrigan said.
" His contest work was really good, his ability to get to the outside and his pressure on ball was fantastic."
The Tigers kicked the first goal of the day, but it was the only time the club led, with a slick Bombers outfit jumping to a six-goal lead at the first break.
" The most pleasing thing is weāve got a real team balance and great team performance, and thatās all I ask of the guys," Corrigan said.
Richmond responded in the second term, kicking four goals.
Corrigan said small mistakes created turnovers.
" We gave the ball back to them a few times," he said.
" We rushed with the footy when we could have been a little more controlled."
After half time, the side made the necessary changes and restricted Richmond to four goals in the second half.
" Itās rewarding going into round one knowing weāre playing a good brand of footy,Corrigan said.
" Itās pleasing (winning) but the more pleasing aspect is how we played.
Sometimes the scoreboard can be a bit irrelevant in practice matches.
" Itās more about the processes you put in place, how you want to play, attack and defend.
" I thought today was probably our best game of the practice matches, as far as a four quarter effort."
But Corrigan said there is still some fine-tuning to do before next weekās season opener.
" Itās all about our ball movement, when is the right time to go really quick and when is the right option to slow it down and take a little bit more control of the game," he said.
Essendon will face Sandringham on Saturday in the round one clash at Trevor Barker Oval from 2pm.
Goals: Stewart 5, Merrett 5, Peters 3, Boyse, Francis, Mutch, Ferry, Dobson, Morgan, Cornell, McKenna
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Jackson Merrettā¦ 5 goals.
If heās considered the worst player on our list, our best 22 are top 4
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How many behind Stewart kick?
(apart from Richmondās)
There was a massive amount of drive from the half backs and the midfield resulting in I50s and Richmond took a lot of un opposed intercept marks , But there was also a lot of chaos ball as our forwards spoiled and tackled hard to hold the ball in, and Merret was one beneficiary, and he even snapped a volley into the goal like a soccer player. Pure reflex. Basically Merret was pulling goals out of his āā¦ā.at that point.He kept on bobbing up in the goal square when the ball went over the back. He kicked at least 2 āJackson the gooseā goals. He must have been channeling Toby Greene or something.
Chips, gravy and sauce. End thread.
I would happily eat chips with gravy, sauce or vinegar but today I had a fried dim sim. It was as good as any I have had, nice and crisp but not oily.
I also thought Redman was having a great game and Stewart was unsighted until I realised I had the two mixed up and Redman wasnāt even playing 
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