warren dean

Exactly how we should all feel about our clubs. Good post Ash.

Until the time he went off with 5 minutes to play in the third quarter Sloane had 8 disposals. Vince did his job very well.

They were a better side tonight than us and deserved to win. 45 points was disappointing as we had played well enough after quarter time to give ourselves a chance. Certainly a lack of assuredness - Frost, Hibberd, Wagner, ANB all fumbled at critical times. I still think Watts is so crucial to our forward structure. He creates space and we rarely look congested deep when he plays. He reads the play so well and moves into the right spots. Having Tyson back next week will make a massive difference. I fancy our chances against them anywhere with a full side. Hannan is a good footballer but he is not an AFL standard centre square player. Not a disaster.

6. Lewis - composed and used the ball well 5. Vince - clearly beat his man - not many did tonight 4. Hunt - great run and that goal!! 3. Kennedy Harris - got a lot of it 2. Hibberd - was disappointing with his ball use and a little fumbly but was still better than most 1. Melksham - kept us in it in the first half

Could not disagree more. He was very good tonight and I doubt he'll get more than a fine for the contact made tonight.

Really a much better win than it looked. 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th from last years Bluey didn't play for us today against a team that has rolled GWS and Sydney and ran the Crows to 2 goals last week. Carlton, as much as it pains me to say it, are actually not a bad side and within a couple of years will be a good side if they can keep Kreuzer fit. Young Curnow will be a player.

6. TMac 5. Jetta 4.ANB 3. Oliver 2. Frost 1. Wagner

Agreed. The man has accepted he's done the wrong thing and acted accordingly. Let him move on.

I'm old enough to remember our 1987 run - we were media darlings for that whole run into the finals and then right through September. Same in 1998 and 2000. The media love a good story. We will probably still be that if we can win 4-5 of the next 8. Unfortunately, some undisciplined actions have brought the blowtorch upon us. That's fine and deserved. It's part of becoming a successful and mature club. Our leadership group need to pull a few egos into line. Not the media's fault.

Tyson is absolutely integral to our side and is very underrated here. He is a slow starter because he lacks a yard but he finishes games better than just about anyone else in red and blue. His body strength on the inside is a real asset and he is a great decision maker despite the fact that the execution is sometimes lacking.

You're not wrong!

Extraordinary. There weren't 11 better players for the Demons last night than Dom Tyson.

Spot on. Real admiration for Vince's game tonight. Was very steady early and brilliant in the last. Displayed the urgency required to help us win the game in the last. Some of his sharp field kicking was wonderful.

Was watching at the ground today with an Essendon fan who used to work at the Bombers in the 80's and 90's. He made an interesting comment about Oscar. He said his development curve is very similar to a former Bomber premiership player in Kevin Walsh. Gifted games early in his career because Sheedy saw something in him; lampooned and ridiculed by fans for his first three or four seasons; by the time he hit about 50-60 games he was really finding his feet. Ended up a dual premiership player, multiple state player and All Australian. I think Oscar showed today in the second half that he can be a very good AFL player.

Petracca - like Tim Watson Tyson - influential second half

It's a reason why Vince in the mid field is a good thing for us. His first instinct is to kick, unlike any of our other midfielders. Oliver 4 kicks 24 handballs Viney 12 kicks 20 handballs Lewis 11 kicks 19 handballs Tyson 10 kicks 18 handballs You can add to that Jones 13 kicks 15 handballs. Vince had 19 kicks and 10 handballs and had a disposal efficiency the same as Viney and only marginally worse than Lewis. I like that Bernie prefers to kick and I think it's going to be really important in the next phase of the season, where the grounds get heavier, the ball gets wetter and over possessing results in lost possession and costly turnovers.

Other than Viney very difficult to give votes. Our "catastrophic" first quarter was as poor as I've seen us play and that includes some of our pathetic performances immediately post Daniher and during the Neeld years. That we righted the ship somewhat in the second and then dominated the third only made it even worse. So, for what was largely a 3 quarter effort: 6. Viney 5. Frost 4.Lewis 3.Tyson - he is very harshly judged here 2. Oliver - far too much handball but at least he wins his own ball 1. Vince - we are a far better midfield unit when he is in the guts because his first instinct is to kick, unlike the rest of them who want to throw around 1 metre handballs Jones was horrid in the first quarter - at least three kicks straight to Hawthorn and two critical fumbles at clearance where he had first hands, lost the handle and Hawthorn cleared for two goals. He improved during the game as a player of his experience and stature should, but when we needed his leadership early it was sadly lacking.

Loved that the match report on afl.com.au listed TMac as our best player and did not have Watts in the best!! Anyway 6. Watts - according to the Essendon supporters around us he was the main man. 5. Oliver 4. Pederson 3. Lewis 2.Petracca 1. Hunt Special mention to Vince who proved in the second half that he still has it as a midfielder.

Injuries caught up with us, but our lack of defensive organisation really hurt us all game. Unfortunately Jones is really struggling, his poor decision making was very evident tonight. We created a lot of opportunities in the first three quarters which we couldn't capitalise on. Fairly similar story to the last couple of weeks.

6. Watts - a very good effort from Jack and today he played like a leader who cared. 5. Spencer - big shoes to fill and performed admirably 4. Petracca - nearly won us the game in the last quarter. Love that he runs, carries and kicks long to a dangerous position. 3. Garlett - a typical opportunistic game from Jeffy. Chased hard too. 2. Tyson - if only he could use it better but at least he made a contest in the middle. 1. Hunt - takes it on and love his attack in the air as well.

One thing I noticed today was the number of left footers in our side who can't use their right foot and continually either turn into trouble or use handball when they should kick opposite foot. Bugg, Hannan, Viney, Tyson and Kent all made at least one error today due to the inability to use their wrong side. Salem was OK on his right but I think this is a real problem and Fremantle were clearly aware of it, as I'm sure everyone else is.

Vince is easily in our best side and is probably being played out of position due to the lack of class in our backline. He tries the impossible a little too often coming out of defence and has made the odd poor decision, but he isn't alone there. I'd prefer to see him up the ground, on a wing perhaps. I thought today would have been a good chance to move him up field in the last. He's a fair way from finished and a long way from the reason we lost today. For the second game in a row we had more scoring shots and managed to lose. Lack of composure in front of goal is fatal.

Here's my best 25. It's bloody hard to do and I have placed a premium on versatility and big game performances: 1. Carey 2. Matthews 3. Lockett 4. Ablett Sr 5. S Madden 6. Ablett Jr 7. Voss 8. Judd 9. Riccuitto 10.Dunstall 11. Bartlett 12. Hird 13. Doull 14. Hart 15. G. Williams 16. Hudson 17. Flower 18. Blight 19. Scarlett 20. Stewart 21. G. Jakovich 22. Jesaulenko 23. T. Daniher 24. G. Wilson 25. Roos Unlucky: Buckley, Silvagni, Glendinning, Brereton and Wayne Johnston. Could easily substitute these 5 for the last 5 on my list. Apart from the 2 Fitzroy boys, Flower, Ablett Sr and Lockett all of them are premiership players. Many of Flower's very best games came in the State games. What a player he was!! Blight, Jezza, Daniher and Roos all wonderfully versatile and that's what made all of them so valuable.

My all time non-Melbourne favourite is Terry Daniher. Wonderful captain and a top fella. Probably the best genuine utility player I've seen with Ross Glendenning and Paul Roos not far behind. Wayne Carey an absolute star and the most brilliant match winner. Bruce Doull a fantastic player and had some great duels with Daniher. Chris Mew, easily underrated amongst the Hawthorn Hall of Fame of the '80's but just as important as Brereton, Dunstall, Ayres etc. Garry Wilson the best little man just ahead of Weightman and Platten. Always enjoyed watching Paul Van der Haar as well. Keith Greig a genuine champion and probably the fairest player I have ever seen along with Flower. From the modern era, Bob Murphy, Nick Riewoldt, Scott Pendlebury, Luke Hodge. Great topic!

Tough one. In no particular order: Gerard Healy (had his number on the duffle coat in the early 80's) Flower Warren Dean (class but injury prone) Danny Hughes Sean Wight Brett Lovett Schwarz Stynes Jakovich Wilson