Bombertalk

There will be at least one forced change this week. Fletch is gone, so I expect Hooker to continue in the team. He showed plenty I thought.

Ryder will ruck, but will Bellchambers make an appearance or not?

Is Lucas in danger of a rest?

Is there anyone from the two's that may displace a senior player?

Does Knights drop a few after one poor game?

Mark McVeigh has already been ruled out of this week's meeting with the Hawks while defenders Michael Hurley and Darcy Daniher will return from injury through the VFL.

Lucas out...as announced elsewhere.

Taylor is disputing the 2 match ban, risking a 3 match ban. Renouf is their other ruck option?

Makes you wonder what was the value of playing McVeigh in round 4 if he hasn't even come up 3 weeks later.
Not sure the philosophy of playing Daniher in the 2's, he has only missed two weeks. Hurley needs to play in the 2's and get some fitness back.

limited changes i think.

lucas out.

i think we will put a mid in. maybe houli and play a smaller forward line.

ins: houli
out: lucas.

expecting knighta to throw numbers behind the ball and open up our forward 50. try to get lloyd one out. instruct our mids to run and carry.

we looked best on saturday when lovett, davey etc were running into goal. i;d be happy if we ran and carried all day.

knighta won't bring in any players not ready against hawthorn. he will want to see us run the game out with 22 match fit men.

i am worried like against brisbane, we will get smashed on turnovers. he won't worry about the result, but just worry about the amount of game time essendon is dictating play, not letting hawthorn dictate it.

Tom, you forgot out: Fletcher.

I'd love to see Hurley on Roughead, so pity he's not playing.

Perhaps Pears on Roughead and Hooker on Franklin? Not many other options. If one starts getting belted, switch them. Might as well get them the experience, even if they get plenty of goals kicked on them. If our midfield can create pressure, at least our backs will have a chance for some one-on-one footy, instead of lace-out passes to Roughead/Franklin that can't be stopped.
McPhee must not play on Franklin based on the 9 kicked a couple of years back.

j-mac31 wrote:Tom, you forgot out: Fletcher.

I'd love to see Hurley on Roughead, so pity he's not playing.

Perhaps Pears on Roughead and Hooker on Franklin? Not many other options. If one starts getting belted, switch them. Might as well get them the experience, even if they get plenty of goals kicked on them. If our midfield can create pressure, at least our backs will have a chance for some one-on-one footy, instead of lace-out passes to Roughead/Franklin that can't be stopped.
McPhee must not play on Franklin based on the 9 kicked a couple of years back.

edit:

lucas, fletcher out.

ins: houli, williams
out: lucas, fletcher.

Don't like losing fletch or seeing big scotty dropped, but those two boys will do the club proud(williams and houli).

Mcphee if given Buddy will do a better job this time around, franklin looks fat and lazy.

I'm more worried about Roughead and Williams.(Pears and Slatts?(on williams?) will get em I think).

i;ve been hanging for this game. essendon better come out playing hard footy. i hope davey goes to rioli for a bit of the game at least.

I know hawks should probably win by a lot, but heck if they give our boys space, i reckon we could make em pay a little as well.

Bummer. Taylor got off...

was starring at 2 weeks and then gets off...... just shows what a discrepency there is

wonder if the media beating up the fact if it wasn't Taylor would he have gone at all helped him a bit

im a little disappointed that both Hurley and Daniher wont be in the seniors this week. I know they are coming off injuries but it makes our defence look even more shakey not having them in the lineup.

Surely TB will have to play so Ryder can go back and help if needed.

In: Bellchambers, Neagle/Houli
Out: Fletcher, Lucas

Interesting to see if Knighta wants to bring in a forward or a mid to replace Lucas. Williams could be an option as well.

Mrs Mercuri wrote:im a little disappointed that both Hurley and Daniher wont be in the seniors this week. I know they are coming off injuries but it makes our defence look even more shakey not having them in the lineup.

Surely TB will have to play so Ryder can go back and help if needed.

In: Bellchambers, Neagle/Houli
Out: Fletcher, Lucas

Interesting to see if Knighta wants to bring in a forward or a mid to replace Lucas. Williams could be an option as well.

i think knighta will persist with Hooker as the other ruck. Bellchambers hasn't been mentioned as one of bendigos best for a while has he?

Not sure on form, but I really likes the look of John Williams in the preseason....might he just step up?
Houli is a must in i'd say, good head on his shoulders, has a bit of firsts experience.

If we manage to get up, I'll be getting on the piss for a month.

Article from afl.com.au I reckon they'll avoid pulling the trigger on Bellchambers, although that would leave us playing someone like Mcphee on say buddy when Hooker relieves Ryder.

Would be a mistake(IMO) to play Ryder back...he is much better on the ball.

Bombers to reshuffle deck

1:24 PM Tue 05 May, 2009
ESSENDON coach Matthew Knights is likely to reshuffle the Bombers' structure this week in order to cover the absence of injured defender Dustin Fletcher and omitted forward Scott Lucas.

Three-gamer Tom Bellchambers could come in to bolster the side's depleted ruck stocks, which would allow Paddy Ryder to spend time down back against Hawthorn's talent-heavy forward line.

"We'll work on that structure this afternoon," Knights said on Tuesday.

"We've predominantly focused on getting our 22-, 23-player squad and then we'll make the final structural decisions this afternoon.

"With a quick week we wanted to get moving. We've got training this morning and then we'll see how everyone gets through.

"We'll reveal the structural things on match day."

However, Knights conceded the Bombers were set to be inexperienced in defence whichever way they set up, with injuries to Fletcher and ruckman David Hille robbing the backline of options.

"Blokes like Tayte Pears and David Myers are going to have the ride of their life, but we can only support them," he said.

"Jarryd Roughead and Buddy Franklin are brilliant players and they did it on the big stage all last year. It's a good test for our young men."

Emerging backmen Michael Hurley and Darcy Daniher will return from injury this weekend but will play for the Bendigo Bombers.

"We think it's important for those guys to get some match conditioning before they come back into senior football," Knights said.

"We're keen to give Cale Hooker and Tayte Pears another opportunity as well."

Knights said Pears "held his own" against Brisbane Lions' goal-kicker Daniel Bradshaw last weekend, while Hooker "stayed around the action" when opposed to Jonathan Brown.

He said while the side was currently very young in the defensive half, the future of the Bombers' backline was promising.

"They're budding young defenders along with Hurley, Daniher and Myers, so we really think we are going to be strong in that area in time, but at the moment we must get games through them," he said.

Essendon ruck coach Simon Madden said Bellchambers was coming along well, with Knights keen for the 19-year-old to figure in the Bombers' side in the second half of the year.

"They say ruckmen develop somewhere between 23 and 25, and the more you play in the ruck, the more you understand and the better you get at it," Madden said.

"He's got a lot of potential and he's still raw in lots of ways, but I think he's got a lot of potential.

"As long as he puts the work in, he'll see the fruits of his labour."

Madden also threw his support behind Lucas and said he was confident the 31-year-old would recapture his goal-kicking best with a stint in the VFL.

"How you get [confidence] back is you go and play footy. If you can't get the form in the seniors, you get the form in the VFL," he said.

"Scotty Lucas has been a sensational player for this club, and he'll get his form back."

Picking Williams could be the rocket Neagle needs up his arse to start performing.

j-mac31 wrote:Picking Williams could be the rocket Neagle needs up his arse to start performing.

I'd pick him, although Knighta might go with Neagle being the bigger bodied player. I want to see big jay regularly putting away 4+ sausage rolls in the twos before he gets called up. I don't think he has been doing that so far.

I think john williams might be a little more tricky for Hawthorn to match up against. He seems like quite an agile big man in the glimpses I caught of him and he took that lovely mark in his first hitout preseason(i think it was against collingwood).

I like that, if he is a bit more mobile, it might help dragging the 2nd man off lloyd. I would also love to see us try get Lloydy one out on more occasions in the forward line.

Some players don't work like that.

Pick him and tell him he has a few weeks to make a name for himself without fear or retribution.

But, highlight to him in a subtle kind of way that everyone's used-by-date expires!!!!!!!!!!

Williams - good over head. something sorely missing in our forward 50.

I say go for him.

Something else should be said of this game. Last year, playing Lloyd, Lucas(kicked 3), Fletcher, McVeigh, Hille etc and we lost the game by 51 points.

I think we are absolute rank underdogs, but I reckon our young boys have a decent chance at improving on the result. our midfield is light years better even without the presence of hille.