Essendon v North Melbourne Pre-Match Discussion

[Rossoneri]

What's the point in bringing in Williams? He will just end up on the wing like every other forward we have.

[paddyl90]

Some people are way too harsh on Hooker. I think he is a fantastic defender.. he seems to be a target over the last few weeks because his opponents have benefited from the pressure their team has put on our team and put so much pressure on him to defend, defend, defend. I'd say he'd mark 80-90% of everything that is in the air, and is prone to a bad error here or there but his good outweighs his bad for me. Can't get rid of him when Fletcher retires... he and Pears as our CHB & FB is what I think part of our next premiership team. You can disagree but that's my opinion. Am really loving Hardingham off the HBF too! Hibberd... chuck Dempsey back there next year. Our defence isn't as bad as I thought it once was...

[BenDoolan]

Some people are way too harsh on Hooker. I think he is a fantastic defender.. he seems to be a target over the last few weeks because his opponents have benefited from the pressure their team has put on our team and put so much pressure on him to defend, defend, defend. I'd say he'd mark 80-90% of everything that is in the air, and is prone to a bad error here or there but his good outweighs his bad for me. Can't get rid of him when Fletcher retires... he and Pears as our CHB & FB is what I think part of our next premiership team. You can disagree but that's my opinion. Am really loving Hardingham off the HBF too! Hibberd... chuck Dempsey back there next year. Our defence isn't as bad as I thought it once was...

Totally agree with this.

[Jazz_84]

only problem is what to do with Hurley if they decide he is a defender

anyway im expecting a win as i always do but the Roos are getting better so will be a test for us no doubt, hopefully Hocking slots back in seamlessly

[s'dreams]

My team for this week.

Slattery Fletcher Hardingham
Hooker Hurley Lovett-Murray
Zaharakis Watson Colyer
Lonergan Ryder Heppell
Jetta Hille Crameri

Ruck: Bellchambers Howlett Hocking

I/C Hibberd, Stanton, Monfries Sub: McVeigh

In :Stanton, Lonergan, Hocking, Bellchambers
Out :Myers, Browne, Welsh, Melksham

Gimps ... your backline is too big and too slow ... And I would drop Crameri this week ... and move Hardingham into the forward line.

My starting lineup would be

Slattery Fletcher Hibberd
Heppell Hooker Stanton
Zaharakis Watson Lonergan
Monfries Hurley Jetta
Hardingham, Hille, Colyer
Ruck: Bellchambers Howlett Hocking

I/C Ryder, McVeigh/Dyson, Reimers Sub: Lovett-Murray

For what its worth

[bueller]

I think its time to bring in Williams and see what he's got left in the bag.

ALthough i wasn't a fan of him being drafted to our club, we've gotta use his resources at some stage. We are desperate for someone to kick a goal.
Crameri is having a bad patch, Monfries is doing little, Zaharakis is becoming a passenger ,Hurley is finding his feet after injury.
Ryder and Hille will always be used as the "tall" forward.
We need a sharp shooter and i'm guessing we haven't got too many other options to roll the dice with at present.

It appears that WIlliams was one of our best in the win over Sandringham on the weekend without kicking a bag of goals. This is a good sign as he must've worked hard and got some quality touches. Something he's been lacking since discarding the colours of piss and shit.
Has he turned the corner? I wouldn't mind finding out before his expensive contract elapses and we get nothing for it other than unanswered questions.

I'm also all for Pears coming in now that he's played 2 games for Bendigo. Slattery has to go, lets face it, he's not up to it.

Therefore my changes are the following

INs" Williams, Hocking, Stanton, Pears
Outs Colyer (gets caught too often), Browne (either play him from the start or not at all) , Slattery, Welsh

McVeigh, Monfries, Myers, Crameri, Zaharakis are in the gun.

[Bomber_Fan]

Every year, we tip that we will beat North Melbourne and every year we lose. This year I'm just going to assume that we will lose, so if we win it will be a bonus and if we lose, I can say that I expected it. I hope they don't bring ex-West Coke player McGinlay to kick a bag against us and emulate his seven goal haul against us (which probably meant he got another season at West Coke). Or maybe Aaron Edwards. One thing is for sure that we are going to get arse raped by Goldstein in the ruck regardless of who plays there.

While several people have suggested that Hooker had a howler against Fremantle (I didn't watch the game to comment), Hooker is I think one of the first chosen every week because he is so important to our structure. I think there was a stat earlier in the year where Hooker was leading the uncontested marks from opposition kicks in the AFL(although we may have given tha stat to Ibbotson last week lol). While his disposal can be a bit iffy, if he tries to do something too cute, I think his strengths lie in reading the play and marking the ball. There should be somebody with better disposal to present that can be in the next chain of passes (who? I'm not sure either lol).

I think at the end of the year, we really have to make a decision about Hurley and whether he can play forward. I for one feel that he is a much more natural defender rather than a forward. If Hirdy decides the same thing at the end of the year, I think he will take Hooker's spot in the backline. It really pains me to say this, as he always looks like he is giving it 100%, but I think this might mean we should seriously look at offloading Hooker as he is one of the few players at EFC that has any sort of currency on the market. But the deal has to be good because we definitely don't need another Prismall or Williams on our hands. You really have to give up something good to get something good.

The most worrying player on our list for some time has been Zaharakis. I remember his first disposal in his debut game where he speared a 50m bullet pass straight on to the chest of an Essendon player. At the time I thought you bloody bewdy, we've got a great player on our hands I haven't seen anything like this from him for some time and I'm really worried by what I perceive as a lack of development. If things continue in the status quo, I'm really worried about having another Monfries on our hands and I'm sure we all agree that one underperformer is more than enough. So think that Zaharakis should spend some time at Bendigo.

Next player on my hitlist is Crameri. After an amazing start, the last month's output has been very very disappointing. Lack of second efforts and any marks has been really telling. Time for a stint in Bendigo for Crameri too.

So Crameri out and Zaharakis out. I think Zaharakis should be straight swap with Reimers. I don't think it's fair that he gets dropped after one bad game while other players continue to stink it up in the seniors. I think that he can play in Zaharakis' position and can rotate through the midfield. And I think we have to play Williams for Crameri, let's see whether he's got any petrol tickets left. We're crying out for a full forward of sorts so why not give him a go. I don't mean for one game either, let's give him a few weeks to prove himself unless he has an absolute howler. We've also gotta find room for Lonergan and Hocking - I think these two should come in for two of NLM/Welsh/McVeigh/Monfries. Melksham and Myers survive by the skin of their teeth as we can't make too many changes. The better start contributing or they might get the boot nex week I think. If we do choose Williams, then Monfries maybe gets the boot.

I think it was unfair to choose Welsh after a few weeks of injury as he hasn't played a senior game all year - blame the coaching staff for that one - especially on a ground like Subiaco where he is not suited. Perhaps we try him or NLM in our forward structure for a while as anything is worth a try after the abject failures of our forward line the last few months. Added bonus of giving them stints through the midfield if we're getting beaten there. I know these might be some ideas from left field but I believe we have one of the most versatile sides in the AFL and we gotta make a start at being less predictable.

[Bomber_Fan]

I'm curious as to which Essendon player people think will go to Harvey and Wells? Apparently Wells is having a good season.

[nudder12]

Well, while we're calling for Williams to be given a chance to show if he's improved or not (and I agree we ought to), I say let's get Prismall and Dyson back in there too. They've been great (by all reports) at Bendigo for around a month or more now, and they are two blokes who can actually use the ball to advantage and hit a target. In other words they'd be ideal to hit-up Williams.

[Bomber_Fan]

Well, while we're calling for Williams to be given a chance to show if he's improved or not (and I agree we ought to), I say let's get Prismall and Dyson back in there too. They've been great (by all reports) at Bendigo for around a month or more now, and they are two blokes who can actually use the ball to advantage and hit a target. In other words they'd be ideal to hit-up Williams.

For whatever reason, Dyson is completely out of favour at Essendon. If he couldn't get a game when we lost Winderlich and Dempsey, doubt that he will get one now. Think his papers are well and truly stamped - disappointed that he's not going to make it but he's been given enough opportunities. Sometimes we persist with mediocre players that we hope will one day come good for too long. And I used to be fan of Ricky Dyson's but of his potential rather than his output. Gotta bite the bullet on this one and maybe he will be better suited to another team. Maybe one day we will find out why he lost favour with this current coaching panel. As for Prismall, I am completely the wrong one to ask as he reminds me of a crab and I would never play him in the seniors.

[billyduckworth]

Every year, we tip that we will beat North Melbourne and every year we lose. This year I'm just going to assume that we will lose, so if we win it will be a bonus and if we lose, I can say that I expected it. I hope they don't bring ex-West Coke player McGinlay to kick a bag against us and emulate his seven goal haul against us (which probably meant he got another season at West Coke). Or maybe Aaron Edwards. One thing is for sure that we are going to get arse raped by Goldstein in the ruck regardless of who plays there.

While several people have suggested that Hooker had a howler against Fremantle (I didn't watch the game to comment), Hooker is I think one of the first chosen every week because he is so important to our structure. I think there was a stat earlier in the year where Hooker was leading the uncontested marks from opposition kicks in the AFL(although we may have given tha stat to Ibbotson last week lol). While his disposal can be a bit iffy, if he tries to do something too cute, I think his strengths lie in reading the play and marking the ball. There should be somebody with better disposal to present that can be in the next chain of passes (who? I'm not sure either lol).

I think at the end of the year, we really have to make a decision about Hurley and whether he can play forward. I for one feel that he is a much more natural defender rather than a forward. If Hirdy decides the same thing at the end of the year, I think he will take Hooker's spot in the backline. It really pains me to say this, as he always looks like he is giving it 100%, but I think this might mean we should seriously look at offloading Hooker as he is one of the few players at EFC that has any sort of currency on the market. But the deal has to be good because we definitely don't need another Prismall or Williams on our hands. You really have to give up something good to get something good.

The most worrying player on our list for some time has been Zaharakis. I remember his first disposal in his debut game where he speared a 50m bullet pass straight on to the chest of an Essendon player. At the time I thought you bloody bewdy, we've got a great player on our hands I haven't seen anything like this from him for some time and I'm really worried by what I perceive as a lack of development. If things continue in the status quo, I'm really worried about having another Monfries on our hands and I'm sure we all agree that one underperformer is more than enough. So think that Zaharakis should spend some time at Bendigo.

Next player on my hitlist is Crameri. After an amazing start, the last month's output has been very very disappointing. Lack of second efforts and any marks has been really telling. Time for a stint in Bendigo for Crameri too.

So Crameri out and Zaharakis out. I think Zaharakis should be straight swap with Reimers. I don't think it's fair that he gets dropped after one bad game while other players continue to stink it up in the seniors. I think that he can play in Zaharakis' position and can rotate through the midfield. And I think we have to play Williams for Crameri, let's see whether he's got any petrol tickets left. We're crying out for a full forward of sorts so why not give him a go. I don't mean for one game either, let's give him a few weeks to prove himself unless he has an absolute howler. We've also gotta find room for Lonergan and Hocking - I think these two should come in for two of NLM/Welsh/McVeigh/Monfries. Melksham and Myers survive by the skin of their teeth as we can't make too many changes. The better start contributing or they might get the boot nex week I think. If we do choose Williams, then Monfries maybe gets the boot.

I think it was unfair to choose Welsh after a few weeks of injury as he hasn't played a senior game all year - blame the coaching staff for that one - especially on a ground like Subiaco where he is not suited. Perhaps we try him or NLM in our forward structure for a while as anything is worth a try after the abject failures of our forward line the last few months. Added bonus of giving them stints through the midfield if we're getting beaten there. I know these might be some ideas from left field but I believe we have one of the most versatile sides in the AFL and we gotta make a start at being less predictable.

Good post. I agree with a lot of this, especially the last line about us being too predictable.
The last 3/4 games, even when it has been incredibly obvious to all and sundry that our "forward structures" have not been working, we haven't made any moves or tried anything different. Time for the left field to come into play, I reckon.

[little_ripper]

we won't drop Zaharakis period. he has just had a small form slump(and he is not alone).

Welsh might drop out for Hocking
Browne will prob get rested for Stanton
Not sure on the ruck situation if Bellchambers comes back in.
nor who makes way for lonergan.

[Gimps]

we won't drop Zaharakis period. he has just had a small form slump(and he is not alone).

Welsh might drop out for Hocking
Browne will prob get rested for Stanton
Not sure on the ruck situation if Bellchambers comes back in.
nor who makes way for lonergan.

Yeah, that's why i'd move Zaha to the wing, let him get some ball.

Myers to make way for Lonergan.

[robbie67]

How do you know when your team is f*****?

When your supporters are calling for the Gnome to get a game.

[Jazz_84]

we won't drop Zaharakis period. he has just had a small form slump(and he is not alone).

Welsh might drop out for Hocking
Browne will prob get rested for Stanton
Not sure on the ruck situation if Bellchambers comes back in.
nor who makes way for lonergan.

yep Zaka and Crameri are simply suffering the same fate as the entire team and are suffering most because they don't get the ball as much as some others at the best of times and even worse now

Browne should get dropped to get a full game into him after 2 games as the sub... with Hocking, Stanton and Lonergan to come back in there is no chance he'll get a spot for a full game

[j-mac31]

Some people are way too harsh on Hooker. I think he is a fantastic defender.. he seems to be a target over the last few weeks because his opponents have benefited from the pressure their team has put on our team and put so much pressure on him to defend, defend, defend. I'd say he'd mark 80-90% of everything that is in the air, and is prone to a bad error here or there but his good outweighs his bad for me. Can't get rid of him when Fletcher retires... he and Pears as our CHB & FB is what I think part of our next premiership team.

Indeed. Unless Hurley ends up in the backline.

[j-mac31]

Shagger on Gnomey this week:
"Mark had it 17 or 18 times and he actually used it really well. He put his body on the line when it was his time to go, and I thought he really led by example with the younger group that we had on the weekend. I was really pleased for him. It was good to see him get a bit of reward for the hard work he's been doing over the past few weeks. Playing further up the ground encourages you and makes you work hard both ways. You've got to be able to attack and you've got to be able to defend, and he's really starting to get a better handle on that. He probably had his best game for the year on the weekend."

[j-mac31]

Stanton and Lonergan back, Fletcher made it through training.
http://www.essendonfc.com.au/news/a/Big ... ekend/8278

[Mrs Mercuri]

I quite like the team we have this week... getting Stants, Hocking and Lonergan back is a huge plus for the midfield.

Im quietly confident but like a lot of people am a bit wary about tipping us against the Roos, they are a tricky side and we will have to start well against them.

Bombers by 15

[Rossoneri]

NLM hurt his calf, doubtful for tomorrow.

Personally I hope he doesn't play. He did play well last week so it mean he is not required for another 4 weeks.