The Bombers 2010 Predictions
24/02/10 23:44
Good evening,
As we are now only a few
short weeks away from kicking off the 2010
season, it is time for me commit my thoughts,
dreams, aspirations and fears of the mighty
Essendon Football Club's performance this coming
season.
First off, it seems that this is one of our most injury-free pre-seasons in living memory. Of course, you need to exclude Jason Laycock, Scott Gumbleton and Jay Neagle from that assessment as they are perennially overweight or limping...
Let me start with the positives. I do like our defence. Tayte Pears, Cale Hooker, Dustin Fletcher, Henry Slattery, Courtenay Dempsey, and perhaps NLM all going around make for a tall-ish, quick-ish, skilled back half. If the odd player goes down with injury we can slot some others in like Michael Hurley and Darcy Daniher.
I am less sold on the mid field. No question that our new captain, Jobe 'Son-of-Timmy' Watson is now an elite 'in and under' mid fielder but he is not overly quick. Throw in Andrew Welsh, Heath Hocking, Brent Prismall and Mark McVeigh and while we have the ball, all is well, but on the rebound, that group is a tad slow. I know that Ricky Dyson and Jason Winderlich will be thereabouts but I still fear the defensive run with / shutdown element of our mid field. Alwyn Davey could be tried in the midfield to provide that defensive pressure with superior speed & run.
If you thought I was a bit negative about our mids, wait till we go forward! It is irresponsible to build a forward line around Scott Gumbleton and Jay Neagle. Not because they don't have talent, as they have it in spades but they haven't proven that they have the hard bodies to play 22 weeks plus finals. Mark Williams will be a 40 goal addition, Angus Monfries needs to continue his improvement, but Matthew Lloyd, Scott Lucas and Andrew Lovett will be sorely missed. Let's hope Hurley can continue on from his stunning debut last year. But it will be tough for the six guys down there to regularly kick a winning score I reckon.
I like the ruck division. Ryder is clearly a class act, Hille would die on the field for his mates and Tom Bellchambers has bulked up a bit and looks like a real candidate in the medium term. I have a lot of time for Brent Stanton as a runner who makes sensible position and gives 100%.
Wildcards in 2010? David Myers, Jake Melksham, Kyle Reimers and David Zaharakis will be worth watching. On the flip side, I think 2010 will be a make or break year for Leroy Jetta, Michael Quinn and Bachar Houli.
So, where do I think 'The Wonderful Wizards from Windy Hill' will finish? Certainly above Richmond and Melbourne, probably on top of North Melbourne but similar to the Swans, Fremantle, West Coast, Port Adelaide and Carlton so anywhere from 13th to 8th. Best guess: 10th. Let's hope Matthew Knights and the boys can prove me wrong. Go Bombers!
As for the flag? A Geelong and Hawthorn Grand Final for mine with the Hawks re-discovering their desire and will win the Big One.
Bye for now, BomberBoy
First off, it seems that this is one of our most injury-free pre-seasons in living memory. Of course, you need to exclude Jason Laycock, Scott Gumbleton and Jay Neagle from that assessment as they are perennially overweight or limping...
Let me start with the positives. I do like our defence. Tayte Pears, Cale Hooker, Dustin Fletcher, Henry Slattery, Courtenay Dempsey, and perhaps NLM all going around make for a tall-ish, quick-ish, skilled back half. If the odd player goes down with injury we can slot some others in like Michael Hurley and Darcy Daniher.
I am less sold on the mid field. No question that our new captain, Jobe 'Son-of-Timmy' Watson is now an elite 'in and under' mid fielder but he is not overly quick. Throw in Andrew Welsh, Heath Hocking, Brent Prismall and Mark McVeigh and while we have the ball, all is well, but on the rebound, that group is a tad slow. I know that Ricky Dyson and Jason Winderlich will be thereabouts but I still fear the defensive run with / shutdown element of our mid field. Alwyn Davey could be tried in the midfield to provide that defensive pressure with superior speed & run.
If you thought I was a bit negative about our mids, wait till we go forward! It is irresponsible to build a forward line around Scott Gumbleton and Jay Neagle. Not because they don't have talent, as they have it in spades but they haven't proven that they have the hard bodies to play 22 weeks plus finals. Mark Williams will be a 40 goal addition, Angus Monfries needs to continue his improvement, but Matthew Lloyd, Scott Lucas and Andrew Lovett will be sorely missed. Let's hope Hurley can continue on from his stunning debut last year. But it will be tough for the six guys down there to regularly kick a winning score I reckon.
I like the ruck division. Ryder is clearly a class act, Hille would die on the field for his mates and Tom Bellchambers has bulked up a bit and looks like a real candidate in the medium term. I have a lot of time for Brent Stanton as a runner who makes sensible position and gives 100%.
Wildcards in 2010? David Myers, Jake Melksham, Kyle Reimers and David Zaharakis will be worth watching. On the flip side, I think 2010 will be a make or break year for Leroy Jetta, Michael Quinn and Bachar Houli.
So, where do I think 'The Wonderful Wizards from Windy Hill' will finish? Certainly above Richmond and Melbourne, probably on top of North Melbourne but similar to the Swans, Fremantle, West Coast, Port Adelaide and Carlton so anywhere from 13th to 8th. Best guess: 10th. Let's hope Matthew Knights and the boys can prove me wrong. Go Bombers!
As for the flag? A Geelong and Hawthorn Grand Final for mine with the Hawks re-discovering their desire and will win the Big One.
Bye for now, BomberBoy