Who was the last craig we had playing for us? I cant think of one?O'Brien?
Forgive me but who?/ when?
EDIT: wow thats a while back, surely we haven’t gone 24 years with no one named craig?
Who was the last craig we had playing for us? I cant think of one?Neil?
Who was the last craig we had playing for us? I cant think of one?Neil?
Knew that was coming sooner or later
2 Craigs in our history:Who was the last craig we had playing for us? I cant think of one?O'Brien?Forgive me but who?/ when?
EDIT: wow thats a while back, surely we haven’t gone 24 years with no one named craig?
Craig Barbary (8 games 1979) and O’Brien (21 games 1989-91)
another old player who will be long gone by the time we are seriously contending. thanks for the ripper decisions dodoro. file this under cooney, giles, skipworth, gwilt, chapman, williams. all useless for a flag tilt.
I bet you’re fun at parties.
2 Craigs in our history:Who was the last craig we had playing for us? I cant think of one?O'Brien?Forgive me but who?/ when?
EDIT: wow thats a while back, surely we haven’t gone 24 years with no one named craig?
Craig Barbary (8 games 1979) and O’Brien (21 games 1989-91)
So it’s been a successfull name for us!
Weird to think we’ve had more games from courtney/Courtenay’s than from common old craigs!
So strange to think Obrien only played 21 games. Next you’ll be telling me Steven Clarke didn’t play many either.
So strange to think Obrien only played 21 games. Next you'll be telling me Steven Clarke didn't play many either.
Do you mean Steven Clark?
So strange to think Obrien only played 21 games. Next you'll be telling me Steven Clarke didn't play many either.Do you mean Steven Clark?
Yes. Yes I did.
2 Craigs in our history:Who was the last craig we had playing for us? I cant think of one?O'Brien?Forgive me but who?/ when?
EDIT: wow thats a while back, surely we haven’t gone 24 years with no one named craig?
Craig Barbary (8 games 1979) and O’Brien (21 games 1989-91)
So it’s been a successfull name for us!
Weird to think we’ve had more games from courtney/Courtenay’s than from common old craigs!
3rd time lucky then ay …
Bird to Help Dons Fly
Essendon recruit Craig Bird is the only premiership player on the Bombers’ list and the former Sydney Swan is ready for the challenge of helping his new side back into the finals.
Bird joined Essendon as part of a three-way trade that saw the Bombers lose Jake Carlisle to St Kilda in October’s exchange period.
The hard and tough inside midfielder, who featured in the Swans’ 2012 Grand Final win over Hawthorn, played just six games in John Longmire’s team this season and said the interest from new Essendon coach John Worsfold swayed him to make the switch.
“It wasn’t until a couple of days before the [trade] deadline and I was interested in a new opportunity somewhere and Essendon approached me. I was pretty excited to come down here and John Worsfold was keen to get me down here,” Bird said on Wednesday.
"‘Woosha’ saw a spot for me in the team and he was pretty keen to get me down here. I was obviously disappointed to leave Sydney.
“I loved my time in Sydney and we had great success there but I think Essendon were a bit more keen to get me down here than what Sydney was to keep me, so at the end of the day I was pretty excited by that and I’m looking forward to working under Woosha.”
Long-term injuries to Jobe Watson, David Myers and Heath Hocking last season showed the Bombers were light in depth for ball-winning midfielders, with Bird’s addition helping to bolster that area of the ground.
Bird expects to spend the majority of his time in that role, but has also been earmarked to be used off half-back, a spot he was occasionally placed in his 137-game career with the Swans.
But Bird faces a new task at Essendon, which finished in the bottom four last season and has not won a final since 2004.
In the 26-year-old’s eight seasons with the Swans the club missed the finals just once (in 2009) and he hopes his new teammates can build towards sustained success like his former side.
“It’s exciting, there’s a lot of new faces and a lot of young players here. The challenge is getting back in that final eight, whereas at Sydney we were probably up there a fair bit in my career,” he said.
“It’s a bit of a different challenge but it’s exciting at the same time. I’m looking forward to seeing these kids develop and some of the older guys having some success.”
The retirements of Dustin Fletcher and Paul Chapman last season left the Bombers, for a short time, without a premiership player on their list.
Brendon Goddard and James Gwilt both played in Grand Finals for St Kilda, but Bird’s arrival at Essendon means he is the only player at Tullamarine to have tasted flag glory.
He sees it as part of his adjusted role at Essendon to steer the group as much as he can using his experience.
“At Sydney I wasn’t really one of the veterans, but coming down here I’m probably one of the more experienced players. I think I’m going to help out some of the younger guys and help push them along,” Bird said.
“A few guys have played in Grand Finals so they know what it takes to make one, but it was good having that experience of the premiership so I can pass some of that knowledge on to the other guys and give a bit of feedback to them about what it takes to get there.”
I am trying to look through all the crap and get excited by the challenge of the season ahead. It will be good to see lots of our second tier players/new recruits on the park and the one I am most genuinely excited about is Craig Bird. He knows how to find the pill when let loose in the midfield.
INB4 Craig Bird, 2016 Crichton Medalist.
Bet this guy is wondering “What have a I got myself into”
Bet this guy is wondering "What have a I got myself into"Bet he's just glad to be consisently best 22.
Bet this guy is wondering "What have a I got myself into"12 weeks ago he was surplus to requirements and looking at a long season in the Swans feeder team.. 2 weeks ago he was the 'steak knives' in a deal and probably looking at minimal game time and potentially in a forward pocket. Now he is looking at serious minutes and a chance to lock down an inside mid position...
I’d say he is one of the bigger ‘winners’ out of this entire shitstorm.
I got a laugh at training two weeks ago when a few of the boys were doing agility drills. Bird knocked over half the witches hats and Hepps yelled to him “good old twinkletoes Birdy”.
He’s now the no.1 midfielder at an AFL. I bet he never thought that wouldn happen.
He's now the no.1 midfielder at an AFL. I bet he never thought that wouldn happen.
See your point but I would put Zerrett, Goddard and probably Zaka in front of him. I also wouldn’t be shocked if Laverde and Parish are in front of him by Round 10.
He's now the no.1 midfielder at an AFL. I bet he never thought that wouldn happen.See your point but I would put Zerrett, Goddard and probably Zaka in front of him. I also wouldn’t be shocked if Laverde and Parish are in front of him by Round 10.
Could well be.
But I bet he’ll be standing in the centre square for the first bounce, in round 1.
Bird is a good AFL player and is a very good acquisition for our team, even if we had the 12 players on our list still. You have to remember he was in a team with an outstanding midfield with lots of great young talent too. That is what ultimately made him surplus to the swans, not his lack of AFL ability.