Bombertalk

I saw about 90 per cent of today's game. Some observations:

Jetta - when he decides to run, he runs. Fastest on our list IMHO. Worked hard but didn't do much.

Davey - a clone of his brother Alwyn. Will play Round 1. Kicked 3 in the last quarter, one crumbing goal and two in general play.

Houli - has nice pace but the thing that stands out about him is his second and third efforts.

Gumbleton - was out of sorts. Had Fletcher following him for most of the game.

Bradley - he really was great in contested situations. Potentially this guy could be anything.

Ryder - showed more intensity than I have seen from him. Took quite a few marks. Played half forward, half back and full back (on Lucas).

Dempsey - a couple of electrifying runs through the centre. Looks more confident this year.

Johns - had Michael on him, kicked a couple of goals at least. Contested well.

Lovett - sensational. Worked really, really hard.

Winderlich - showed what we expect from him. Poise, pace and creative off half back/wing.

From Mick C

This gumbleton business is concerning.. hopefully he just needs more time to settle in..

thanks filth

Gumbleton took one very solid mark.
He was wearing yellow, which meant he was not allowed to kick though.

I took a few photos and I'll write what i thought of it, today or tomorrow when i get some time. Just quickly, a few times the players linked up very well running through the middle, lovey and davey were great.

Where were you gossy? Should have sat with the group of us.

Tell me about this 'wearing yellow not allowed to kick' thing?

Danstar I was sitting first row in the stand with my younger brother and my dad. It was alright there, out of the rain, and i presumed that was you lot over next to the bench. There was a few of you!

Megan- Only Gumby and MJ were wearing the yellow. Dodoro was behind us at the begining and said that Gumby was not allowed to kick, and MJ did not get tackled so i guess thats what it meant for him.

Yep, that was us lol. Making all the noise.

getting a bit scared hearing about gumby, im sure he will come good, but on the other hand i herd the youngsters were looking pritty quick and should be one of the quickets midfeilds?

OK then... A few notes from what i noticed. Reds- 'Sheeds best XVIII' Black- the rest. Also Skipworth and Cloke played for the black team.

Bolton- Looked alright, got the ball, disposal wasnt too great.

Bradley- Was quite impressed with him. Did quite well in some of the 1 on 1s and seems to be a little quicker than last season after losing some weight.

Campo- Hardly saw it. Was instructing a lot of the players in the black team during the breaks, showing good leadership.

Cole- Injured

Davey- Did very well, got a bit of the ball, linked up well with Natrat and Lovett, kicked three good goals. Has plenty of speed and invasive skills.

Dempsey- Another very good effort, got a bit of it, with a few break away clearances and pretty good disposal. Also chased a little which is something he could be really effective at like Aaron Davey at Melbourne.

Dyson- Injured.

Fletcher- Did well on Gumby, kept him quite and could be dangerous getting the ball on the defensive fifty and kicking it long.

Gumbleton- In yellow (not allowed to kick) did little, but took a good mark on the boundary.

Heff- DNP

Hille- Played mainly as a forward and did not do too much. Chartes played well on him, although he did well in a couple of contests.

Hird- DNP

Hislop- Was quite good early on. Was in the engine room for the blacks, therefore i could not see all of him but what i could i liked a lot.

Houli- Got a bit of the ball, was caught a few times when running with the ball, kicking was off at times, so he lost confidence and generally handballed. Did well at one stage getting out from between two players.

Jetta- Looked good in patches with plenty of speed.

Johns- Did well in the forward line for the blacks, kicking 3 i think. Took strong grabs on the lead like we saw last season.

JJ- Did alright, was generally in and under as usual so couldnt see too much.

MJ- Was wearing yellow too- couldnt be tackled- showed a bit of dash from the backline as we know him to.

Laycock- Played very well, great hands, found the ball all around the ground and did well in the ruck. Should have a good season, looks fit.

Lee- DNP

Lloyd- DNP

Lonergan- Did alright without being brilliant, another player around the packs that i could not see too well.

Lovett- Good to see him playing like he used to. Great pace and agility through out the match and set up some good attacks.

Nat Rat- Played like last year, solid off the half bank flank running through the middle. Did not get a huge amount of the ball I thought.

Lucas- Did very well especially after the first 1/4. Kicked about 6 goals, and was playing full forward for most of that time.

Mcphee- Gathered a lot of the ball around the back, nothing too great early on. Got better as the game went on, hopefully can get back to 04 form.

Mcveigh- Played very well, especially in the middle where his passing was nothing short of pin point perfect most of the time. One of the bets imo.

Michael- Wasnt up to scratch fitness wise but looked rather solid in the body on body stuff, will be better than last year no doubt.

Monfries- Did very well, played a fair bit through the midfield and his passing and desicion making was sensational. Another step up from last season.

Nash- DNP

Neagle- DNP

Peverill- Didnt notice him too much, as we know what he is like. He looks fit and doesnt stop putting in.

Reimers- DNP

Ryder- Was a standout during the first few quarters. Very good hands and can position himself well. Better than last year. Was played in various positions. Did best in the forward line I thought.

Slattery- Very solid lad, who did very nicely. Disposal was good including to the leading forwards.

Stanton- Got better as the game went on, back to his old self by the end, getting a lot of the ball, kicking a nice long set shot goal too.

Watson- Didnt see much of him around the packs from where I was, but looked to be the extractor. Played similar to his prominent self of last season.

Welsh- Looked really good imo. Played in the midfield generally, disposal was lovely and got a lot of the ball. Hopefully signs of things to come from him.

Winderlich- Looked good, quick can carry the ball and good around the packs. Will be a big improver this year.

Rookies----

Chartes- Very impressive against Hille. Could be a good find.

Dick- Good size about him, did a lovely balk to get past two players at one stage.

Hocking- I thought he did quite well, saw a fair bit of him, kicked a clever goal off the ground.

Mckinnon- In the ruck most of the day where he looked alright. Certainly a tall lad, I stood next to him yesterday on a step a foot off the ground and he was still a head taller than me! (mind you im not too tall)

Rama- DNP.


Generally the play was quite attacking, although slow at times. There was one stage where a few of the reds came streaming through the middle, linking up from the defensive fifty with Nat Rat, Lovey, Froggy, then to Slatts who stuck it onto Lucas chest for a shot after the siren at half time. That was quite impressive. I'll post some pictures when i get home tomorrow, not as good as the ones on bomberblitz though.

Any questions just ask and I'll try and answer them as best as possible.

Koala wrote:Gossy I had dvd's for you!!

shit, i completly forgot!!! So sorry.

Sorry brendan...

Hmm.... I'll try and work something out.

bloody hell gossy, what a great post, thanks for that, i was just thinking i hope there would be a post like this.

haha, no problem mate. Remember this is what i saw from where i was, so some others might have some different views, so anyone that was there feel free to post.

i think you probaly would be right, hahah cant get ovah how good that post is.

My brother spoke to Jason Laycock this afternoon he rang me and said that he played well and kicked 1.4 which is good in the sense that he is getting back up forward because he can kick plenty of goals and prove a problem for defenders. Hope for his sake he has a injury-free season as I hope every other Essendon player.

Ahhh good one Will!!

How many photo's are there Koala? You might be able to upload them....?

Gossy wrote: Any questions just ask and I'll try and answer them as best as possible.

Just out of interests sake, how did Cloke go??

I'm puzzled, what benefit would anyone get from MJ not being allowed to be tackled? Is he a bit proppy?

84859300- Cloke wasnt too special at all. Desicion making wasnt great, looked a class below in my opinion but may have just had an off day.

Megan- I believe MJ must have been injured. He isnt normally that soft

Nice work Gossy. Two questions.

1. Do you have the match-ups?
2. Who won?