Maybe Caddy can be a point of difference fwd.
Unknown quantity for opposition. Start him in the 1’s. Plays against cats if fit. He’s keen and hates losing. Might inspire a few others. If he gets roughed up blokes need to fly the flag so he knows team mates have got his back.
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From what I saw yesterday a first round loss to the Hawks is a real possibility……then it’s Swans in Sydney ………they were inspid yesterday and that’s being kind
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Exactly GWS has a decent list so could turn it around quickly. We don’t.
I agree. Structurally and cohesion was really disappointing. Saints looked much more advanced. And a more committed, organised outfit. Typical Ross Lyon!
So what’s gonna change between this year and next?
So for me there is no way of disguising it. It was a poor first showing. Saints for me were a great team to get early on as we know Ross Lyon teams are very well drilled and normally their disciplines, team defense and structures are spot on. It was a huge wake up call yesterday that i would argue we shouldn’t have needed again but here we are.
Above was the actual score 7 mins into the 2nd Qtr and it was a fairy even contest. I actually thought the first 7 mins of 2nd Qtr we had all the play and missed some easy chances. But how do we then in around 60 mins of footy lose 84-23 and have all structures break down so easily. People can say well Merritt, Stringer, Goldy etc all went off at half time. But half time was 50-17. After this 7 min mark of 2nd Qtr, the Saints completely dominated and it was back to back inside 50’s. key area we broke down in was our half forwards. The defensive pressure lifted right off and suddenly the Saints could run through half back and the middle easily. We have seen this tape before sadly. Caldwell, Guelfi, Menzie and Perkins just lost their structure and many times went ball watching or too many at one time over committed in getting the ball and not understanding who stays out and defends space or the key opponent. Its the tricky situation of sometimes mids playing on their instincts as mids but not playing the small or medium half forward craft to what team needs. Further to the pain was our tall forwards could not mark or bring the ball to ground enough and the Saints themselves marked too easily at times.
The mids and Goldy at stoppages were actually ok. We won the ball a lot but thinking through the possession and presenting to team mates advantage was just not there. Even Merritt found it hard to hit targets. Saints seemed much more use to the home ground conditions on that front.
Backline talls sometimes ran to the same spots too much and that i understand more. McKay only came back to training in Jan and with Ridley out and Hayes often playing for red team intra club sims- they were not always in sync. So thats more time to gel as a back group. So that should improve. Ridley entrance from here on will balance the back 6 hugely.
The positives were everyone heathy and it’s a genuine one. The frustrations are transition defense looking so shaky. It’s been such an emphasis over pre-season so its a scratching the head moment. Glad we play Geelong as it’s another team that beats us up structurally. Nowhere to hide at the Catery and we have to face it and improve. Rather this scenario as a lead up to Hawks. .
Small positives was Duursma attention and focus to help our defenders. Gresham very creative. Durham in patches looked good as an inside mid. Reid positioned himself well. Langford looked dangerous. Not much else really.
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I’d be interested in opinions from some of the regular track watchers - how they saw yesterday’s performance, effort and game plan
I was saying preseason how lots of others teams were focused on gut running and we were focused on strength and competitive work.
Yesterday the saints out worked us by running up and down the ground consistently like Collingwood do. We simply don’t gut run to cover ground and players.
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40 games into Ried, Caddy, Martin, Hobbs, Durham, Perkins, Bryan and Tsatas.
Still might not be good enough, but the list will start to mature.
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We need to get those guys to 100 games. 40 games is nothing. That’s 4 seasons for some.
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I got laughed at when i said that I have Hobbs up there next to Parish as a requirement for the midfield.
We need harder ■■■■■ and hes one. We also need Draper back in and knocking blokes over.
Im positive we’ll be better than last year but unless we step up the aggression then nothing else can fall into place.everything else looks like trash if your not bringing the physicality.
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When do we start hearing that “we’re in a HEAVY TRAINING LOAD”
Then the next one is, “it was always going to take the first half of the season for things to GEL.”
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If other teams have improved more than us we go backwards on wins/losses
Don’t forget:
“The new players need time to learn the game plan.”
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So the reason for our match sims being roughly 1st team vs reserves is to build synergy between the players most likely to be playing Round 1. It worries me that we saw 0 synergy yesterday. Instead we saw players who looked like they’d forgotten what it’s like to play against AFL level players, which is probably what the black tops’ experience has been throughout preseason.
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Ahhh, I love Essington pre-season games. Where he best we hope for is no injuries, and we get plonked by 10+ goals. I bet the Cats can’t wait for their practice run.
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Yeah, so if we need 4 years and major work on the list to come, why are we expecting to be awesome now?
True. There’s no doubt fitness and conditioning is a chronic weakness and an area that needs more work. Injury, year after year robs players of the YOY gains and this is something Essendon has suffered from.
Essendon can’t be fixed in a preseason. These areas like development, fitness and conditioning (strength) take years to build on.
Firmest step is a generally healthy list that has completed a preseason together. That has benefits everywhere, it just takes a frustratingly long time to be realised on the scoreboard.
But what do you do? The club have clearly prioritised simulation, game style, set plays and chemistry this preseason. You can’t argue that in Essendon’s case this isn’t the top priority. The fitness and conditioning will build as they hopefully complete full preseasons and get through seasons playing with continuity.
You’re damned if you do, damned if you don’t. Essendon is behind most clubs in many areas, fitness and gut running being one of them.
I was expecting the team to be up and about early given our first 8 rounds are very tough. With what I saw yesterday we could easily be 1-7
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It’s a long year. Yesterday was a…t on many fronts. A let down (again). Just have to be realistic above hoping for something that isn’t.
Essendon is starting from a distance adrift on many fronts. It’s not going to be fixed in one preseason. I just hope they remain fit, don’t get injured and all play together. That gives us the best chance to improve faster and close the gaps on many fronts as quickly as reality allows it.
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