Bombers 2006 Report Card

Windy_Hill · Post by **Windy_Hill** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 11:28 pm

Pretty fair report I think - taken from AFL.com

2006 report card: Essendon
4:39:56 PM Fri 8 September, 2006
Ben Wise
Exclusive to afl.com.au
2006 record and ladder position: Won 3, Drawn 1, Lost 17. Finished 15th

2005 record and ladder position: Won 8; Lost 14. Finished 13th.

What went right: It isn't too heartening for Essendon fans that the best thing to come out of the season was that the club enters 2007 with bragging rights over arch rival Collingwood following the upset round 19 win. The victory over the Swans in round one - when skipper Matthew Lloyd booted eight goals of which six came in the first quarter - was hardly a sign of what would follow, but may also be something the 'red and black' army can smile about - if they can remember back that far. In terms of the playing ranks, there were a number of Essendon youngsters who showed either significant improvement, or put their hand up to be the core of the Bomber line-up for years to come. Essendon finished ahead of Carlton.

What went wrong: A shocking run with injury - one of the worst in the competition - was the catalyst for Essendon's miserable season. This was a major factor in the club's poor form, a lack of stability in the team and a drop in confidence, which ultimately produced its worst season since 1933. It also achieved its worst-ever losing streak, dropping 14 matches in a row from rounds two to 15, while Essendon drew with Carlton in round 16. Essendon's 138-point loss to Adelaide in round 10 was the heaviest defeat suffered by an AFL club in 2006. Just three players - Mark Johnson, Scott Lucas and Brent Stanton - played every match for the season. Conversely, Essendon was without Matthew Lloyd for 19 matches, James Hird (nine), Dustin Fletcher (six), Adam Ramanauskas (22), Scott Camporeale (10), Andrew Lovett (seven), Richard Cole (10), Jason Laycock (15), Dean Rioli (15), Henry Slattery (nine), Paddy Ryder (seven), Aaron Henneman (21) and Jason Winderlich (nine) - these figures indicative of how many games were missed due to injury and suspensions not including when the players represented the Bendigo Bombers.

Other than the losses to Port Adelaide, Adelaide, Geelong and Melbourne from rounds 9-12, Essendon can not be criticised for lacking endeavour, nor can its players' ability to win the Sherrin in most 2006 contests, but the Bombers as a collective unit had arguably the worst skills in the competition. The side's turnovers at the most inappropriate of occasions were almost as costly as the injury list. How does the Essendon board feel about Mark Harvey's season with the rampant Fremantle?

Who stepped up: Stanton and Jobe Watson displayed supreme ball-winning skills, and with another pre-season - where they should work predominantly on their disposal by foot - under their belts, they have the potential to be All-Australian midfielders next year. Stanton racked up 25 or more disposals on five occasions, including 35 in a narrow loss to the Kangaroos in round 13, but he needs to add the finishing skills to his repertoire before he can step up from being one of the Bombers' best midfielders to being one of the best in the game. 'Son of Tim' was third in the AFL handball category with 276 but didn't break into the top-100 in kicks. While it might be easy to assume that Stanton - who finished ninth in the league in kicks (332) - and Watson compliment each other in the midfield perfectly, the latter must get the ball onto his boot more often, and only a glaring improvement in his disposal by foot in 2007 will give the Essendon No.4 the confidence to do so. That all being said, Watson had played only 13 games in three years heading into 2006 and he should be congratulated for a great year.

David Hille took on the task of filling in for the injured Lloyd as captain and made a good fist of it. The 25-year-old displayed a steadfast commitment to courageously insert his body in the way of opposition forwards on a lead, he rucked admirably if not superbly (276 hitouts, seventh in AFL) and was willing to do the hard things some big men shy away from like chasing and burrowing into the bottom of a pack when necessary. A strong mark and someone with agility that belies his size, Hille does need to present as a target more often, whether that be from kick-ins, across the middle of the ground or when resting in the forward line. Dons premiership player and best and fairest winner, Scott Lucas, booted 67 goals - including a best-ever bag of eight in the final round loss to the Bulldogs - and looks a strong chance to add both a second Crichton Medal, and an All Australian selection, to his kit bag.

Angus Monfries continued his development as a small forward by booting 22 goals (including five against Brisbane in round two) in 21 games, and reminded many of a former Essendon star, Mark Mercuri, with strong overhead marking and evasive skills prevalent in his game.

James Hird played enough good games - his 27 touches and four goals in the win against Brisbane in round 17 had Leigh Matthews and Michael Voss hailing the effort as one of his best - to remind the Brownlow Medalist himself that he should shelve retirement plans for one more season. Dustin Fletcher was sensational as usual and will retire as one of the best defenders in the club's history when he eventually calls it a day. Jason Johnson and Damien Peverill - who had an amazing 30 or more possessions in five of his last seven games - may have saved their careers at Windy Hill with strong finishes to the season.

Andrew Lovett showed a glimpse of his prodigious talent in the three-point loss to St Kilda in round 15 - one of the better individual games turned in by a Bomber this year - and his admission of his battles with depression should be commended. Expect him to emerge as one of the better players to watch in 2007 as he finds consistency and continues recovery from his mental illness.

Missing in action: Dean Rioli's year turned out to be his last. The 28-year-old will be remembered for his sublime skills and a respected commitment to his Aboriginal heritage. Many pundits compared Rioli to triple-premiership player Darren Jarman when he was on song, but unfortunately, he was unable to ever really shine for a sustained period of time. He also never got the chance to win an AFL flag, memories of an injured and suit-clad Rioli in tears with then assistant coach Robert Shaw after the 2000 grand final sadly indicative of his career - so close. Scott Camporeale was exactly what the hard-working but poor-finishing Bombers midfield needed, but his great foot skills were seen in only 12 games. There is a place for the former Blue at Windy Hill if he can avoid injury. Adam Ramanauskas' career is in serious doubt as the speedy left-footer continues his battle with cancer.

Rising Star: Essendon had eight players - Courtenay Dempsey, Slattery, Ryder, Tristan Cartledge, Andrew Lee, Jay Nash, Ben Jolley and Sam Lonergan - who tasted senior action that were eligible for AFL NAB Rising Star nominations, but none were bestowed the honour. Courtney Johns was ineligible as he turned 21 just before the beginning of 2006. Of the Bomber youngsters, Johns and Ryder in particular showed that the massive wraps they had on them coming out of junior ranks are a chance to be on the money, while lightning-quick Queenslander Dempsey finished his debut year off strongly with pleasing efforts against the Bulldogs and Richmond. Johns registered 12 goals in ten games and his long-left foot kick started to straighten up as the year wore on, most notably against Collingwood. He is a strong pack-mark and will be a good third forward target behind Lloyd and Lucas in 2007 - creating match-up problems for opposition defences. Ryder, taken at pick No.7 in last year's draft, managed nine senior games in his first season, and as the 18-year-old's body develops in the next few years he and Hille may become one of the more dominant ruck tandems in the competition. Slattery figured in nine matches also this year, and though he missed the last six games through injury, the Dons re-signed him for two years in July indicating their high opinion of the tough midfielder.

Best win: The 10.14 (74) to 9.7 (61) win against Collingwood cost Essendon's major rival a top-four berth and the victory also ultimately helped the Dons finish ahead of other cross-town enemies, Carlton, on the ladder. Dustin Fletcher embarrassed Anthony Rocca by holding the Magpies forward to four touches and a behind while winning the ball 28 times himself, and the Bombers' win came on a night when Hird lowered his colours to James Clement. McPhee shut down Chris Tarrant, though history may prove that to be not such a big deal, and Mark Johnson did a sound job on Nathan Buckley. Veteran midfielders Peverill (33 possessions) and Jason Johnson (26 posessions and a goal) were well-supported by Watson (28 disposals, ten marks) and Stanton (25 and a goal). Johns booted three goals for the Bombers and Lucas worked hard all night.

Worst defeat: The obvious one would be the 138-point defeat at the hands of the Crows in round ten, but it was the ten-goal loss the week before against the Power that stung the Bombers the most. Heading into the game as favourites against a Port side that was in 14th position on the ladder and had managed only two wins despite having six of their first eight matches at home, Essendon turned in its lamest effort of 2006 in Kevin Sheedy's 600th game as coach. Second to the ball all match and looking a tired and beaten side early on, the debacle was punctuated by the record-low Telstra Dome crowd of just 29,232 on a black night for the club. Kepler Bradley played Warren Tredrea back into form and the Bombers had no clear winners on the night.

Shopping list: With the return of Lloyd to a forward line which includes Lucas and Johns, Essendon is unlikely to go for a tall forward in the off-season exchange and draft period. Sheedy has mooted that midfielders are what he craves, and with Essendon lacking a genuinely skilful and high-possession accumulator, publicly-named target Jason Akermanis would certainly help the Bombers whether he started at half-back, in the middle or on an attacking flank. The Dons recruiting staff will also be salivating at the prospect of having picks two, 18 and 20 in the 2006 'Super-draft', though to get Aker, pick 18 or 20 and possibly a player may need to be offered to the Lions. If Carlton opts to select a much-needed key position player like a Mitch Thorp or Scott Gumbleton and bypasses midfielder Bryce Gibbs with the No.1 pick, Essendon would undoubtedly secure the hyped South Australian teenager. With Fletcher in his twilight years, the Dons should also be on the lookout for a key defender, maybe Gumbleton, Thorp or Lachlan Hansen will fit that bill if Gibbs heads to MC Labour Park. Other options for the Dons with the coveted second pick could be Queenslander Ricky Petterd - a midfielder with pace to burn and a strong overhead mark - or Vic Country's Daniel Connors.

What the coach says: "(It was a) very frustrating season but we didn't shy away from trying to make the right decisions when we felt that we may not make the finals that we're going to keep playing most of the players we felt we needed to look at on the ground. And in the end we may have found a couple of players that we weren't sure about. I think a lot of coaches just play experienced players and lose the same loss of four premiership points. We probably lost this year a lot of games hopefully going into the right direction. But you look, it's three-and-a-half wins and they're the facts. You've got to have a look at the cold hard facts," Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy said after round 22.

What we say: Was it really just the injuries? Essendon (13th last year) and Brisbane (11th last year) had comparable seasons, with gun forwards Lloyd and Jonathan Brown respectively missing in action for large parts of the season. The Lions also had All Australians Chris Johnson, Jason Akermanis and Nigel Lappin sidelined for extended periods, former AFL Rising Star winner Chris Scott missing the entire season and the retirement of club legend Justin Leppitsch to contend with - yet they still managed four more wins than the Bombers. Dean Solomon had a poor year. Other than forcing his coach to undergo shoulder surgery after he cleaned him up at training accidentally, Solomon was left out of the senior side in round 19 for turning up late to a recovery session the day after the loss to Sydney when he reportedly stayed out drinking until after 5am. He also showed that he is not quick enough to deal with mobile smaller forwards - Robert Murphy killed him in round three - and while he can be used on bulky tall forwards like Fraser Gehrig when Fletcher is out or required elsewhere, the jury is out on whether Sheedy plays the right hand in those instances - Barry Hall proved the match-winner in round 18 when manned up by Solomon. Kepler Bradley was destroyed by Matthew Richardson in round 21, and though he can fashion periods of solid play, his kicking is ordinary and he is inclined to commit crucial judgment errors.

Sheedy can deflect the attention from himself all he likes with talk of the game being comparable to basketball at times and declaring that flooding is the cancer of football, and even though he may not be far off the mark with these comments, the veteran super-coach, who has had a superlative career with four premierships, will once again have to fend off the doubters in 2007.

bomberdonnie · Post by **bomberdonnie** » Fri Sep 08, 2006 11:37 pm

Yeah read it before and thought it was pretty fair to be honest except the last bit. I think we will be making some of the so called experts eat their words next year I really do.

Liked how they said that Jobe and Stants can be AA with a good pre season under their belts.

Overall a good sumation of where we are at I think

Windy_Hill · Post by **Windy_Hill** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 12:00 am

definitely an improvement on most of the crap that comes out of AFL.com

bomberdonnie · Post by **bomberdonnie** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 12:02 am

Windy_Hill wrote:definitely an improvement on most of the crap that comes out of AFL.com

Wouldn't take much

azza78 · Post by **azza78** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 3:16 am

McPhee shut down Chris Tarrant, though history may prove that to be not such a big deal, and Mark Johnson did a sound job on Nathan Buckley.

Love that line. Tarrant = squib.

swoodley · Post by **swoodley** » Sat Sep 09, 2006 4:29 pm

Seems like a fairly well balanced summary with the reporter not showing a bias either way.

Good to read after some of the other crap that's been floating around

tom9779 · Post by **tom9779** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 10:15 am

spot on.

we need to get rid of solomon, bolton.

recruit best CHB going around and the best midfielder with our first two picks.

our first pick #2, should be used on the best available player regardless of position and need.(should be fairly obvious....hansen or gumbleton, or if carlton have a brain explosion, then gibbs).

uptick · Post by **uptick** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 11:08 am

azza78 wrote:
McPhee shut down Chris Tarrant, though history may prove that to be not such a big deal, and Mark Johnson did a sound job on Nathan Buckley.
Love that line. Tarrant = squib.

uptick · Post by **uptick** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 11:09 am

Put him in charge.

tom9779 wrote:spot on.

we need to get rid of solomon, bolton.

recruit best CHB going around and the best midfielder with our first two picks.

our first pick #2, should be used on the best available player regardless of position and need.(should be fairly obvious....hansen or gumbleton, or if carlton have a brain explosion, then gibbs).

mrredfox · Post by **mrredfox** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 12:05 pm

suprisingly fair article. Can't disagree with much except comparing us to Brissy was questionable as we had some very close losses that could of seen us with 4 more wins.

I think we all look forward next season and i for one expect us to prove the doubters wrong

Post by **danstar84** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 12:09 pm

Fair article. Looks at both sides of the coin.

Can't stand the some of articles with a complete negative focus.

Boyler_Room · Post by **Boyler_Room** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 12:57 pm

Some good points. They key points I thought were the fact that our poor disposal at critical moments cost us dearly. More so than any injury list, IMO.

The other point, which is kind of on the same lines... Stanton and Watson will be All Australian next year or the year after if they can lean how to dispose of the ball well... and Watson learns how to kick a footy.

We need a CHB. We have a fair whack of guys who "might" be able to fill the position, but so far we've been pumped in that area week in week out. Bradley is not a CHB. Solomon has had a shocker of a year. McPhee has been down but is more of a flanker. Lee could be used but I don't know if he's ready for that yet. Henneman is not a CHB and should be delisted at the end of the season (but won't be). Lucy is still green and hasn't been tried at AFL level... and I haven't had to opportunity to see him play at VFL level. Do we pick up a Hansen to fill the void? If we do, then what happens with Lee, Lucy and co?

king_rasto · Post by **king_rasto** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 6:28 pm

Spot on the Money.

Rossoneri · Post by **Rossoneri** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 7:11 pm

Windy_Hill wrote:definitely an improvement on most of the crap that comes out of AFL.com

Thats because Paul Gough didnt write it.

Boyler_Room · Post by **Boyler_Room** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 8:32 pm

Or Patrick Smith?

gringo · Post by **gringo** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 1:58 pm

Not a bad article. The author seems to think we will be junk again next year, and there doesn't appear to be any reason to doubt him. A few guns to come back from injury, but will be another year of getting games through the young fellas and wondering why Hird, Lucas Lloyd and Fletcher are still names as our best, week in and week out.

Tipping Stanton and Watson as possible All-Australian midfielders in 2007 made me giggle. Neither of those two would get a gig in the West Coast midfield, let alone All-Australian. Racking up the disposals doesn't mean anything when you can't dispose of it properly. If Jobe didn't have the ol' Watson tag, no one would know who he is. Same with Reynolds. Actually, people would know who Reynolds is 'cos he is so insipid on the the football field that he stands out.

Defence next year is going to be a mjor problem for us. We have no one who can play CHB or take a big Richo/Brown type player up back. Bradley isn't far off being delisted and Cole makes Rioli look like one of the Olsen twins (the skinnier one, if there is a difference).

Skills will also be an issue. Our skills were by far the worst in the league, and since these players have played football since they started to walk, I can't see them making any serious improvement over a pre-season.

Forward line is good. Delivery to them is rubbish yet they still manage to kcik decent scores from time to time.

All in all, I reckon we'll finish 14-15. I'm still going to buy my membership though

RING A DING DING, GRINGO'S THE KING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

robrulz5 · Post by **robrulz5** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 2:19 pm

Quite a fair assessment.

Filthy · Post by **Filthy** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 3:32 pm

Boyler_Room wrote:Some good points. They key points I thought were the fact that our poor disposal at critical moments cost us dearly. More so than any injury list, IMO.

The other point, which is kind of on the same lines... Stanton and Watson will be All Australian next year or the year after if they can lean how to dispose of the ball well... and Watson learns how to kick a footy.

We need a CHB. We have a fair whack of guys who "might" be able to fill the position, but so far we've been pumped in that area week in week out. Bradley is not a CHB. Solomon has had a shocker of a year. McPhee has been down but is more of a flanker. Lee could be used but I don't know if he's ready for that yet. Henneman is not a CHB and should be delisted at the end of the season (but won't be). Lucy is still green and hasn't been tried at AFL level... and I haven't had to opportunity to see him play at VFL level. Do we pick up a Hansen to fill the void? If we do, then what happens with Lee, Lucy and co?

Good summary. Boyler, the skills thing I think is

a)down to having a lot of kids in the team

b)Injury's all the time means that the team cannot get its flow going

c)Just losing what was it 13 by 4goals or less is going to screw up your confidence...you get it and you're thinking "don't stuff it up, don't stuff it up" ...and what happens with that lack of confidence and the added self imposed pressure...you DO stuff it up.

Thought he might have pointed out the close losses and the fact we were 6th for inside 50's crap disposal notwithstanding....otherwise good spiel.

Boyler_Room · Post by **Boyler_Room** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 9:42 pm

13 games by less than 4 goals says to me that had a few things gone our way we could have just as easily been sitting in or just outside the 8 at season's end rather than fighting it out for the spoon (on percentage).

I agree that injury hurts a lot, but not because gun players are going down. It hurts because you don't have a consistent team on the park that knows and understands how each other plays, knows where they run to, where they'll be when the ball comes out of the pack, where and when they'll lead, if they'll be running past on the overlap, and just be used to playing with them. Sydney go well because they have the same team on the park week in, week out every game of the year. We used 41 (i think) players this season to their 31 (of which 4 played 4 games or less and 17 played 22 games or more). Big difference.

gringo · Post by **gringo** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 9:19 am

13 games by less than 4 goals says to me that had a few things gone our way we could have just as easily been sitting in or just outside the 8 at season's end rather than fighting it out for the spoon (on percentage).

Every game we won was close as well, so you could argue we were lucky to win those. Truth of the matter is we are junk at the moment and you don't usually win close games when you are junk.

Look at basketball for example. Evergame inevitably comes down to the last two of three possessions, yet the good teams always end up in the finals, playing for the championship.

I've never understood it when people on this site, let alone football coaches, use losses in close games throughout the duration of a season, as a way to promote a team as being better than where it finished on the ladder.