Gringo's observations Part 8.

[gringo]

1. Fitness – Essendon is proving to be one of the if not the fittest team in the competition. St Kilda were dead on their feet in the last quarter, as Collingwood and Carlton have been in previous weeks. It will be interesting to see whether we can maintain the level of run and carry we currently have to the end of the seasons/finals if we get there. Our style of play has to be taking its toll on the players. A big well done to the conditioning staff at this stage though.

2. Myers – my concern when we drafted him was that he didn't have any obvious talents, other than being somewhat of a ball magnet, and he didn't have a position that he could slot into straight away. Generally speaking, a top ten pick should be of a player who is either a readymade midfielder or key position player in my view. My fears are quickly beginning to materialise. Time is still on his side however and no need for panic stations just yet. I've merely provided him with a pamphlet titled "The Junk Pile - recognising the symptons and dealing with them."

3. Lloyd – leave Lloyd in the goal square, for the love of big tits and nymphos. Am I the only one who thinks we look a thousand times better when Lloyd is playing at full forward? As soon as he was moved there in the last quarter we looked the goods. He does some reasonable work up the ground from time to time but he is far more valuable to Essendon playing FF. LEAVE HIM THERE.

4. Hooker – looks an absolute ripper this bloke. Got great poise, he's creative…he reminded me of Fletcher on the weekend to be honest. What a great find. Looks like he's got a bit of Kenny Bruce about him too once he gets ont he field which is always a plus.

5. Monfries – he needs to be told to be at the feet of our FF. With Davey up the ground we simply don't have a crumbing small forward. But that's the least of his troubles at the moment. Once Skipworth, McVeigh, Prismall, Welsh come into the team, he's going to struggle to hold his spot. He just doesn't have what it takes ol' Monfrossage.

6. Sheparding – too often players will give a handball without immediately looking to see who they can shepard. Geelong do this instinctively, as did Hawthorn when they were playing well. We need to start immediately.

7. The Loss – the players were hurt by the loss, and clearly expected to win the game. I reckon that's a fantastic sign. They clearly approach every game expecting to win which is a great mindset for the youngest team that was fielded on the weekend. Knights can take some the responsibility for this.

8. Hocking – another great game from Hocking. Plays with the maturity of someone much older and is very hard at the pill.

9. Watson – he's gone from being my most hated player to my favourite. He's just an animal around the packs. Arguably our most important player now.

10. NLM - I've liked what he's done since he returned. He adds some much needed toughness to the side and is very versatile. He needs to remain in the team for the forseeable future.

[DC]

Nice summation gringothamuel.

I think NLM gets a fair knock, but he does alright up forward and should play as a defensive forward that can hopefully snag 1 or 2 whilst shutting down some run of opposition defenses. He does add some toughness to the team which it needs but that hit on Nichola was not good. He should have lined him up earlier in the match away from goal.

Notice McPhee is much better since playing off HB. He needs to saty there. After Qtr time he was great. He has been very good the past few weeks. And its no surprise he has been playing off HB.

[gringo]

Actually, I forgot to add that I was extremely impressed with Skeletor's game. In between answering the ten mobile phones he gets around with, designing t-shirts for blokes who'd ideally be born again as Paris Hilton and throwing the muscle with his missus, he's performed bloody well. He's often a good barometer of the team actually.

[Crazyman]

A fair summation Gringe old buddy...

In regards to Skeletor, I have said it before and re-iterate now. HE IS NOT A KPP. He is our third key 'tall' that can play forward or back and will destroy any third string opponent when he is able to be used properly. For mine, this was most evident last year when he was forced to play as a CHF whilst Lucas was out injured. Look at him this year and with Lloyd & Neagle as the twin talls up forward & Hurley, Hooker & Pears coming along nicely down back (add Paddy to that list also...), he is free to do what he should be doing in terms of his place in the side...

As soon as he is put in the position of being a KPP, he gets creamed!!!!

[nomolos]

Wholeheartedly agree with point 5.

I also agree on 4,6,8,9.

Disagree on point 10. While he has been a hard body at a contest it is merely help while Mcviegh, welsh and other seasoned bodies who have more talent are out.

[swoodley]

Point 3...Lloyd playing up the ground was a major factor in the win against Hawthorn. He should play where the situation dictates he will be able to most influence the game and that is not necessarily at full forward all the time.

Point 5...whilst I completely agree with the concept of small crumbing forwards playing at the feet of Lloyd, Neagle etc, it would appear that Knights wasn't that worried about it (or it wasn't part of the plan) as I don't recall hearing that Monfries was dragged for not doing so. He may well have been following instructions to leave the forward 50 for Lloyd and/or Neagle to operate one out with their opponents.

[Windy_Hill]

The word on Myers is "lacks a motor and will be a slow burner" - basically he needs to get his body right, endurance levels up and then he can become a run all day, heavy utility.

He is a player who still needs another 2 seasons of development.

I wouldnt worry about him - now that other players are developing ahead of him - its not like we need him to be the gun recruit. I have only seen a little of him playing but on occasions he look class.

[billyduckworth]

9. Watson – he's gone from being my most hated player to my favourite. He's just an animal around the packs. Arguably our most important player now.

Wow! How the worms turns. Congratulations, Gringo, on being man enough to admit you were wrong.
We all get it wrong sometimes...I was ready to bag Pears a month ago but look at what he's doing now!

[BenDoolan]

Another good read!

With Lloyd, I guess Knights is trying to establish other avenues to goal than solely relying on Lloyd to do the damage the whole time. This enables a Neagle to become the focal point, which will only help us into the future (although we may not get the best results at present). Still (not the player) we do get good service out of Lloyd playing further up the ground with his strong marking and solid, VERY solid tackling. Lloyd just isn't in that fantastic groove he was in post R11 last year - where he really stamped his authority in that floating role.

It is time now for others to step up to the plate and contribute on the scoreboard. We are seeing a greater sharing of goal scoring this season than we have for years. This creates problems for the opposition inasmuch as we are no longer predictable in front of the sticks. This is where Gus has been disappointing. We could be so much more potent if he were causing damage on the scoreboard.

IMO, we are doing the right thing by expecting others to take more responsibility up forward than simply relying on Lloyd or Lucas. If only Gumby was available . It's a similar situation in defence. We haven't been relying so much on Fletcher these days because more responsibility is given to Pears, Hooker, Daniher etc. This is only a good thing.

[MH_Bomber]

Gringo, great summation of last weekend's game and here here to all that was said.

I am totally rapt in the way Hooker and Pears are playing. I reckon the coaching staff would be saying to eachother "Weve found one here" regarding Hooker's performances.

[tom9779]

* yeah we have got some fit blokes, but to be fair to the aints. 6 day break vs 9. massive difference.
* myers will be ok.
* like your NLM love. he has turned a new leaf. playing great footy. just the edge the team needs.
* Lloyd or Neagle FF i'm not bothered. long term when lloydy is gone, Neagle will be the FF.

[robbie67]

10. NLM - I've liked what he's done since he returned. He adds some much needed toughness to the side and is very versatile. He needs to remain in the team for the forseeable future.

He is junkety junk.