Yep, another waste of a rookie slot.Wouldn't be surprised to see him re-rookied.
Sure we need ruck backup, but that isn’t the way to do it.
How would you do it then?
There is no real point rookieing someone who is a known quantity to not be good enough in his role at AFL level.
Take another rookie who has the potential/upside to do so.
That said he knows the game plan and definitely has a crack so if it happens it happens.
If only English would slide to our second pick!
That would be unbelievable really.
If SPS gets to Freo at 7 and they took him there then other clubs with far better list structure for talls could prefer to take other types with their first rounders. Especially as skinny rucks can be perceived as a risk.
GC however has 4 top 10 picks so out of anyone they would take a mix of players tall and small IMO. They do have a strong ruck division already though plus English is from WA which would be a factor.
In a draft that is strong for mids at the top I guess it could be possible. Intriguing draft coming up.
I think we might be farewelling Shaun today.
wow.
Did not see that coming. We must have other contingency plans in place if true.
What this also tells me is the club really didn't rate Gach in terms of pure footballing
Well whatever is telling you this is misinforming you.
Won’t believe it until I see it. I love you SMACK
What this also tells me is the club really didn't rate Gach in terms of pure footballingWell whatever is telling you this is misinforming you.
So is it that we couldn’t realistically develop Gach in our VFL side if we have 2 rucks on top of Gach in our VFL side (this year there were Jamar, Smack and Michael in front of him as ruck options), or was he not disciplined enough in terms of following club rules?
I think it is a no brainer to replace Smack if it is a choice between foregoing pick 41 or keeping him. There is going to be at least a 20 plus year old who will be a better ruckman available who is ready to go like Darcy Cameron or Rowan Marshall (even at a rookie pick), who still has upside to their development.
I’m not surprised that Smack prioritised getting his body right at the end of the season, because of his trouble this year being fit and the fact that we want a relatively physically reliable player as a back up ruck, given if they are not semi reliably fit, there is no point having them on the list if they are last in line for a game. But if we can get a better ruckman, we should be looking for one who can replace Leuey and TBC eventually, which isn’t Smack either and unfortunately it wasn’t Gach as it turns out.
If only English would slide to our second pick!I hope we can get him too, fingers crossed. Although, anyone who has watched him play and show his wares, you'd have to think will be gone in first 15 picks or less, not slide. Watched him play on video the lad could be anything. Great mobility for a big man who is still growing, can kick goals, take a good mark as well as rucking. Here's hoping.
You would think Mckernan is insurance to keep JD out of the ruck if both Tbell and Leuy break down, which is quite possible.
Hope he stays.
I’m ok with the rookie list move.
TBell and Luey should both be fit at round 1, and Smack is there in case one goes down long term
And as injury prone as TBell and Luey are, we’d be pretty unlucky if both had 2-3 week injures at the same time
Bull - ■■■■.
Interesting…thought if they were going to delist him they’d just do it altogether, but at least he’ll remain to provide backup which is a huge relief
Well that’s a smack in the face for him…
i hate this demote to the rookie list business.
Wow. Struth. WTF? Seriously?
Essendon has made a further change to its squad ahead of the 2017 season, de-listing Shaun McKernan from the senior list.
However, Essendon List and Recruiting Manager, Adrian Dodoro, said the Club is committed to re-drafting McKernan at the upcoming AFL National Rookie Draft.
“Shaun is a very focused and competitive young man, and when given the opportunity at senior level he’s shown he can add real value to the team particularly in his versatility to play as both a key forward and ruckman,” Dodoro said.
“Shaun is driven to play regular senior football and we hope with a big pre-season and continued development in specific areas of his game, he can achieve this goal at Essendon
■■■■ what a waste
I think it’s a good decision. It gives us some insurance and him one last chance.
I’m not, absolutely ridicoulous move for mine.
Ensures we have to pick up a mature ruck in the ND or as a DFA. Otherwise, we get to round 1 and Leuy pings his hammy and TBC does his medial and suddenly our rucks are JoeDan and Ambrose for the next 3-4 weeks.
Might not be good enough for a spot on the senior but given his age, position played and the fact he is a known commodity (be does not have the ability to get considerably better at the role we want him to play), he is not good enough for a spot on the rookie lost either.
And now Rolo with a message from the future…
- Essendon has made a further change to its squad ahead of the 2018 season, de-listing Shaun McKernan from the rookie list.However, Essendon List and Recruiting Manager, Adrian Dodoro, said the Club wishes McKernan all the best in the future.
“Shaun was a very focused and competitive young man, and when given the opportunity at senior level he’d shown he can add real value to the team particularly in his versatility to play as both a key forward and ruckman,” Dodoro said.
“Shaun was driven to play regular senior football and we hope he enjoys whatever the hell he does next year.”
I enjoy wandering over to Talking Fark Carlton after we’ve beaten them to read through their misery.
I’m sure Jackets has just trolled Blitz. “They were so upset when we flagged dropping Yestin back to the rookie list. They think it shouldn’t be done at all. What if we do it to McKernan as well!!! LOL”
Hi Adrian, love your work.
Not sure what that means re picking another ruck. We should be planning for the long term at some point, but I think it is rubbish when you are playing 3 rucks in your VFL side, you always think somebody will be able to play forward, but most rucks want to ruck 80% of the time, otherwise if they are good enough as a key forward and ruck, you are going to play them in the AFL.
I wonder if we would consider Rowan Marshall who can play key defence also, that way you could play TBC (assuming he is second in line) as main ruck, Smack forward, rotating with TBC and giving Marshall the ruck job in defence on occasions where the main ruck hasn’t got back quick enough.
