Wells 11

They say that because he's leaving.....as we would if we were losing a star also.

they were SUCH horrible years. Ive often wondered if Prendergast really was the magnitude of the stupid F@ck he looks like or he had some other stupd F@ck telling him to pick a certain type of player ie someone higher up and more stupid absolutely misread the way the game was going. in other words did he plot to kill the club alone or was there a group of them? Anyway...no point dwelling on the past. We're sooo close to living in happy times,

I reckon we throw the sink at crippling expectations . Im sure if we bring him in then everything will take care of itself.

I know people are emotional after that...but jeez theres some garbage being written tonight.

Personally I would have been over the moon if we'd landed Zac. Bernie and Jordan in their last year or 2 .....we need some mids.

Its still a bit like we're going under the radar. pisses me off a bit but I think these days are passing.

Excellent company! But it did pain me a little to see that Sloane and Wines should have been Dees as well. Anyway I guess its a futile argument because we get one of them then maybe we dont finish in the same ladder positions to get the others. Also, it just mght be that Oliver is the best of them all. I thought he was brilliant as a first year player last year but I didnt expect the jump in quality he's showing this year.

Agree, and think he is developing into something special. Not sure how great the cost but surely the club would be at least looking at it. If so we definitely have the inside running. One thing about the dees since Roos we're almost never listed as being interested in anyone...tight ship these days and its how I like it. Let the Roos be interested in everyone and be laughed at when they get no one.

Hope you're right Abe. If he is, we could be really be something special as a team.

Was trying to compare them to their first years Saty. Both were match winners on occaisons before they became who they are now. Granted its tricky with Trac missing a year. Dont get me wrong Im a trac fan...I just remember waiting around for Morton, Cook, Gysberts, Trengove ( heartbreaking) etc to be "stars" so Im sceptical now when we're claiming one. I just want to see him really express what it looks like he has to express a few times before I get too excited or smug re Mc Cartin.

A question about Petracca. Super talented yes and I def look forward to his progress. He was described at the time of being drafted as being something like a Dusty or a Wines. I cant quite see the explosive pace in him of Dusty or the mongrel of Wines. Remember BOTH of those players were making marks in their first season. I think trac is coming on nicely without taking anything by storm ( practice match v the blues excluded) Before I start bragging re not choosing Mc Cartin I want to see him really bust a few games open this year. I also think we lucked out ( or in) with this one...just want to really see the proof.

Funny that this is the LEAST talked about point in all of this. Robbo and his puppy Ralphy are constantly drawing threads to Essendon re WC. Its just another way of airing more pro Essendon complaints imo. I can hear the not so subtle sub text How come despite "the lack of proof" Essendon got hammered where WC got off. Or its clear now that this has obviously all been a conspiracy against Essendon. The only reason EFC got hammered is that ASADA got involved or it would have been swept under the carpet like everything else. Even then they tipped them off and organised a trial that would find them innocent. Everything gets swept under the carpet except the tanking saga...because hey, that was really serious! Or so said the betting agencies that was paying big bucks. I still feel angry about the public shaming the dees got in that period of time. For doing something that probably half the comp had done. Despite enjoying much of her work since....I also can never fully forgive Caro for going so hard. For questioning our right to exist as a club and Stynes' legacy.

...and the more open game that is being pushed by the AFL will suit him. He wil be a star imo. But so will Clarry . Im expecting both to be A grade. I highly doubt anyone from EFC or MFC will regret who they recruited. Would have been satisfying to have Toumpas V Wines situation run in our favour for once....but it wont be the case.

Agreed! why end it? .....theres still lots more pleasure we can get out of this yet.

Im not sure if the author actually expected us to believe that line but I, like you, read that incredulously and laughed out loud. lets see, they injected their players with PED's en masse for a full season. They then had a viral spate of soft tissue injuries that completely gave the game away. They were tipped off ( a move the AFL must regret daily) They then burned the records, denied everything and hired a hit man to shut everyone up. They then tried to run both ASASDA and WADA out of town , shame them as much as possible and just litigate the crap out of everything that moved on the story. Hird who at the VERY least was a part of it if not the instigator, took the heat. But not before it was made clear to us all that really the AFL was to blame and going on air for an hour to say how innocent he was. But no "tanking" is what REALLY bring the game into disrepute. Now we are endlessly bombared with "returning heroes" stories and "Jobes new love"stories and "Poor Hird" stories..like they were all set upon for no reason. This story is THE biggest scandal in the AFL in my lifetime, perhaps in its entire history ...and somehow its all swept away now. The club should have been suspended for a year.

Agreed . Except if Gil goes down its going to be portrayed as he was guilty and the bombers were innocent. Part of me would love it to be opened up again and the real extent of the performance enhancing drug use to be made public, Essendon to shamed all over again and Gil to be sacked.

Its frikn unbelievable this resurfaces it really is. These c#ckheads at the Sun and at EFC ( is there a difference?) dont know when to take a break. It 100% exposes that a Gil spoke of a deal with the bombers that he had to change. Thats IT. Is it a scandal that the head of the AFL would try to do a deal to get a club off after it had monstrously flouted the most important rules in the game? . Yes. But we all already knew that and that this thing stunk. Does it in any way show that the EFC didnt drug their players ...no. Does it any way clear any of them ...no. All It shows their utter arrogance and outrage at being confronted by their own cheating. And how they are determined to get back at Gil for having the temerity to try and save them somehow. Somehow the story their spinning is how Gil backed down from his "deal" not that the bombers were drugging their players???? In some ways I think the dees had a small part in this. We lay down so easily over the tanking "scandal" that Gil thought he knew how to handle things. He accepted a "not guilty" from us but let the papers shame us unmercifully before and since. With the bombers the deal was the opposite. You accept guilty ( because we cant possibly rescue you from this) and we'll make sure the penalty is as small as possible and that the press support you. ie we'll try to make it go away. He forgot that the bombers had way more money than we did and were prepared to sacrifice several million to save face. But in the end...the players were still doped, Drugs were still in the club and being injected into the players. Forget the word "supplliments". I wish ASADA had banned the team for a year ....and I wish Gil wasnt such a [censored] and saw past his own need to have a " no mess" situation and get how SERIOUS performance enhancing drugs in football really is. Can we ban the sun for a year too? sheesh....this stroy made me angry

is there some way that he can he be impeached as well?

Is it just me ? I cant help but feel Dom is consistently under rated here. I see him as SUPER important to our set up. Kelly may be great...MAY be great. So MAY Salem. Dom is already on the cusp of that imo.

Great picks but the suffering involved in getting them was immense. Happy to leave that party!

Could have been worse. i think he's been carrying some niggles yep agreed. He's not the type to accept he needs time off for injury I don't thnk , so it may be a blessing in disguise. Gawd help us against the hawks though.

wow....thats scary. Jeez we've been shite haven't we. A nightmare in several parts. Im 100% confident we're out of those dark woods but its yet to be seen how good this team is or could be. We need CP and Weed in to really know what our potential is I think. But having a game we "should" win is a novelty all by itself.

Agreed. But for once I think this works in our favour. Let Parish wear all the heat of that and Oliver quietly go about his business. By seasons end Ill be happy if Olivers in the headlines ( for the right reasons) but only then. We learnt a hard lesson trying a marketing ploy with a young recruit ( Watts) Let Essundone suck on that lemon....we've got bigger fish to fry.

Way too early to come to this MD. If he puts off talks this time NEXT year then Im with you. What it does do is underline what a massive year this is going to be for our club. We have to either make or get close to the finals.

hope your right. Calling bronlow winners as draftees is loaded. But hey....its February! Footy is never as rosey as it is at thsi time of year.