Jaded No More

Seems to have lost all the penetration in his kicking. Two examples yesterday were his two shots on goal, one from a set shot and one on the run. They both were horrible shanks and barely made the distance, let alone accuracy. I suspect injuries are hampering him, because he has never been this bad with his kicking. Some of his kicks this year have been diabolical!

Pretty pathetic from Essendon fans to boo any of the players who left after being injected with god knows what. But then again, what more would you expect from a club that is labelling this season a "comeback" as if they are some hero soldiers returning from war, and not a bunch of drug cheaters returning from a suspension!

His brain and hands are twice as fast as anyone I've seen on a footy field. This is why I get so angry when an ump, from 100m away, pings him for throwing!

Yeah pretty ordinary performance not to crack the 30 disposals mark.

He might not be physically quick, but he's mentally very quick. One of those players who finds time and space, and also has superb awareness around the contest. Much like Watts, their basketball background gives them great spacial awareness which makes them able to almost "slow down" the play around them. On an unrelated note, I think people are judging Brayshaw harshly. He was superb in his 1st year and had a rotten run with injuries last season. He is a very talented player and a wonderful ball winner. I think he'll become a mainstay in our best 22 in the very near future. Not every player can do an Oliver. It's completely normal for a young mid to take 3-4 years to really hit their straps, especially when injury has curtailed their development. Just look at Salem, finally injury free and nicely hitting his straps.

Not true. If Gawn was fighting instead of taking the centre bounce, during a close game when we are getting beaten in the midfield, I would have been just as annoyed. It's got nothing to do with Watts as a player. There is no doubt we let our emotions get the better of us last weekend. We gave away silly frees, we have two key players suspended, and we got distracted from the game at times. It's a good learning curve for a young team, and I hope we've learnt from it.

So we all agree Lever is a gun but then we don't want to give up a good player for him in return? Brayshaw for Lever is a fair trade until sentiments get involved

I have no issues with Watts fighting or standing up to teammates, I do have an issue when he does so and as a result misses his primary job which is to go up in the ruck contest. Oliver won the tap sure, but he could have just as easily not won it, or injured himself trying to battle an experienced ruck etc... It's just not the mature thing to do and I have no doubt Goodwin would have had a go at not just him, but everyone else, including Lewis, who got himself suspended for 3 weeks and Hogan for 2, because they can't control their emotions on the field.

I lost my sh*t as Watts was trying to rough up Silvagni LOL! He was so busy doing that, that he missed the centre bounce. What a joke. Hope he copped it! Fancy Watts trying to be tough by picking on a 2nd year player who weighs 3kgs wet, and completely missing the centre bounce.

And Hogan But Predergast still needs to be hung

PLEASE lets beat North this year. I am so sick of losing to them. MCG game. No excuses.

My Essendon mate texted me as soon as the deal went through and said "he's a f*&cking fighter, you'll love him"

And because we don't wanna waste good picks next year upgrading players. Might as well do it this year with late 4th/5th round picks.

Why? Hibberd is a very very good player, and will make a great structural difference to our side, by allowing Hunt and Salem to play wings. He is in his prime at 26. Pick 29 has a 50-50 chance of being a dud. We have so many kids on our list, draft picks aren't what we need right now. Good deal, and welcome Hibbo. My Essendon friend is crying into his coffee as we speak!

Aside from Mark Neeld quotes making me want to vomit, this is such a good article with plenty of insight into the character that is Viney. I reckon someone else with his unremarkable traits- average height, average speed, average kick, would have turned out to be an ordinary run of the mill player. Instead Viney has become an extraordinarily talented midfielder, one of the best young talents in the competition, not because of his natural gifts, but because he worked harder than anyone. What a brilliant culture changer to have around. I look forward to him holding that premiership cup as captain in a few years.

Lotto numbers?

I said he was my big improver for 2016, and I'm glad he proved me right. For such a slight frame, he isn't afraid to go hard. He always finds time and space, and gees he can use it. Reminds me of Watts in terms of footy smarts and ball use. Massive upside too.

He had sooky tendencies last year. I pointed them out on this board and got shot down. I think he just feels more comfortable on the field now, so there is perhaps a sense of entitlement to complain more than he did last year. His body language has gotten better the longer the season has gone on, but he is not a perfect player and anyone who refuses to see that is just being blinded by the potential. Is he an amazing talent? Yes. Is he playing beyond his years and experience? Yes. Does he need to do better defensively and watch his body language? Yes.

It would probably be a cheaper option than buying him a gold mansion and filling it with naked ladies who feed him grapes all day

Season is basically done. We are going into the 4 hardest weeks of the season without arguably our best player. Good times.

I've been in Russia this week. It took me 6 hours to download the second half of the game against the GC. What a win! Putin seems to not care for Jesse Hogan, so can someone summarize for me what all the drama is about? Has he gone to Perth to "look at the facilities"?

Don't get me started on this [censored] home game at Etihad against a team that plays all their home games at Etihad, thus having a complete advantage. Awesome work by the AFL yet again.

Not ideal for my stress levels, but makes perfect sense If he's worth a million a year now, just imagine what he will be worth this time next year. He has two years left. If he signs with a year to go, that's pretty good. Here is hoping we start getting our [censored] together on the field. It's the only way to keep our good players, not just Jesse.

Kid probably tackled his own placenta on the way out. Had 3 weeks off for rough conduct.