My Essendon 2006 Player Review - Part 3 of 5.

Player: Nathan Lovett-Murray

Number: 42

Played 2006 Season: 19 Career: 56

Crichton Position: 11^th

Best Game: Round 4 vs Collingwood

Milestones: 50 Games – Round 13 vs Kangaroos, Career Best Disposals (30) – Round 4 vs Collingwood

Summary: Nathan had another solid season in 2006 consistently rebounding off the half-back flank and polling decently in the Crichton medal. Nathan was also swung forward on occasion to add a bit of a spark to Essendon’s, at times, frustrating attack.

Nathan’s best performance was the Anzac day match against Collingwood when he had 30 possessions and took 14 marks on the half back flank.

Verdict: After a solid 2005 Nathan really needed to improve his consistency in 2006 which he did averaging 19 possessions a match. The only real blight on Nathan’s year was a 3 match suspension for striking Josh Carr in Round 14 vs Fremantle, however most Essendon fans would argue that it was worth the price.

Nathan swung forward on several occasions this year and always looked dangerous. Although not quite as dangerous as his cousin around the goals, Nathan still provided spark and excitement in and around the forward fifty. However his accuracy is still an issue as he kicked 7.10 for a disappointing accuracy percentage of 41.18.

With others such as Jay Nash looking ready to step into his rebound half back flank role, Nathan may well get his wish to spend more time on ball and up forward. If Nathan is to do this however he must improve the accuracy of his disposal.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
1	1/04/2006	Sydney Swans	10	6	16	6	1	3	0	0	0
2	8/04/2006	Brisbane Lions	9	4	13	4	1	1	0	0	0
3	16/04/2006	Western Bulldogs	9	5	14	7	0	3	0	0	0
4	25/04/2006	Collingwood	21	9	30	14	0	1	0	2	21
5	30/04/2006	Hawthorn	19	2	21	9	0	0	0	0	0
6	6/05/2006	Richmond	22	7	29	7	0	3	0	1	22
7	14/05/2006	Carlton	16	8	24	0	0	2	0	0	11
8	21/05/2006	West Coast Eagles	18	4	22	9	1	1	0	0	18
9	27/05/2006	Port Adelaide	17	4	21	8	0	3	0	0	18
10	2/06/2006	Adelaide	9	5	14	4	0	2	0	0	0
11	9/06/2006	Geelong	6	7	13	4	0	3	1	0	0
12	18/06/2006	Melbourne	12	7	19	1	0	1	0	0	0
13	30/06/2006	Kangaroos	8	1	9	2	0	0	2	2	10
14	7/07/2006	Fremantle	9	6	15	3	0	4	0	0	0
18	5/08/2006	Sydney Swans	16	6	22	7	0	5	1	1	17
19	11/08/2006	Collingwood	17	5	22	10	0	1	1	1	0
20	19/08/2006	Hawthorn	12	8	20	7	1	0	0	0	0
21	26/08/2006	Richmond	10	11	21	8	2	1	2	3	18
22	01/09/2006	Western Bulldogs	10	6	16	2	0	3	0	0	0
		Total:	250	111	361	112	6	37	7	10	135
		Average	13.16	5.84	19	5.89	0.32	1.95	0.37	0.53	7.11

Player: Scott Lucas

Number: 25

Played 2006 Season: 22 Career: 225

Crichton Position: 1^st

Best Game: Round 22 vs Western Bulldogs

Milestones: Career Best Goals (8) – Round 22 vs Western Bulldogs, Career Best Goals in a Season (67)

Summary: Scott had another great year for Essendon as he carried the attack without Matthew Lloyd. Held goalless on only 1 occasion (in the Round 7 loss to Carlton), even when not on song Scott always looked dangerous and proved on several occasions that he was capable of 3 to 4 goal bursts if not minded carefully.

Although his performances at the start of the season were often patchy, he continued to improve as the year wore on. After the mid-season break in particular he seemed to hit his stride with hauls of 6, 7 and 8 goals to finish equal 4^th on the Coleman medal table with Barry Hall on 67 goals, another career best.

Lucas had several standout games, however the nod for best game goes to his career best 8 goal effort against the Western Bulldogs in Round 22 when the Bulldogs defence was unable to contain him.

Verdict: Lucas was very unlucky to miss out on All Australian selection in 2006 and was a worthy winner of his second Crichton medal. Whilst he can be accused of tunnel vision in front of goal, his conversion rate of 60.36% compared to the majority of his teammates perhaps excuses this, he is also criticised of not handballing enough and being completely without a right-side to his body.

All this matters not a whit. Scott proved again this year that he is an invaluable resource for Essendon and is arguably one of the premier forwards of the competition. Whether used at Centre Half Back or continuing in the forward line next year, Scott will continue to be a valuable contributor to the Essendon lineup.

Scott re-signed with Essendon for a further 2 years during the season, virtually guaranteeing he will remain a 1 club player.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
1	1/04/2006	Sydney Swans	12	2	14	5	0	1	4	1	19
2	8/04/2006	Brisbane Lions	13	4	17	9	0	2	1	1	0
3	16/04/2006	Western Bulldogs	6	4	10	3	0	4	2	1	0
4	25/04/2006	Collingwood	11	2	13	5	0	2	2	1	0
5	30/04/2006	Hawthorn	19	1	20	15	0	1	3	0	18
6	6/05/2006	Richmond	19	4	23	10	0	3	4	3	19
7	14/05/2006	Carlton	9	3	12	5	0	2	0	3	0
8	21/05/2006	West Coast Eagles	15	2	17	8	0	2	2	1	3
9	27/05/2006	Port Adelaide	14	1	15	5	0	1	3	2	5
10	2/06/2006	Adelaide	16	4	20	10	0	2	2	2	5
11	9/06/2006	Geelong	19	2	21	13	0	2	3	4	18
12	18/06/2006	Melbourne	11	3	14	7	0	0	2	1	3
13	30/06/2006	Kangaroos	14	0	14	9	0	2	2	3	5
14	7/07/2006	Fremantle	15	2	17	9	0	5	1	2	3
15	15/07/2006	St Kilda	14	3	17	10	0	1	2	3	6
16	22/07/2006	Carlton	19	3	22	11	0	3	6	3	24
17	29/07/2006	Brisbane Lions	18	5	23	9	0	0	7	2	24
18	5/08/2006	Sydney Swans	8	0	8	4	0	0	4	2	14
19	11/08/2006	Collingwood	16	4	20	8	0	0	1	2	8
20	19/08/2006	Hawthorn	15	4	19	11	0	0	4	3	20
21	26/08/2006	Richmond	13	3	16	11	0	0	4	2	19
22	01/09/2006	Western Bulldogs	14	2	16	6	0	0	8	2	26
		Total:	310	58	368	183	0	33	67	44	239
		Average	14.09	2.64	16.73	8.32	0	1.5	3.05	2	10.86

Player: Austin Lucy

Number: 37

Played 2006 Season: 0 Career: 0

Crichton Position: Did not play

Best Game: N/A

Milestones: N/A

Summary: Austin was taken with pick 66 in the 2005 draft after taking All Australian honours for Full Back at under 18 level. Austin played the whole year for Bendigo, with several strong performances. He has good speed and endurance for a kid his size and rebounds out of defence well.

He was also dangerous when swung forward with a particularly strong performance in Round 20 from Full Forward.

Verdict: Andrew Lee and Austin are Essendon’s two backmen in waiting. This year was a development year for Lucy and he was not expected to play senior football. Look to see him earn his debut in 2007 although he is still at least 2 years away from becoming a regular senior player.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
		Total:	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
		Average	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Player: Adam McPhee

Number: 33

Played 2006 Season: 20 Career: 104

Crichton Position: 8^th

Best Game: Round 12 vs Melbourne

Milestones: 100 Games – Round 16 vs Brisbane Lions

Summary: After struggling for nearly all 2005 with an unnamed condition (commonly believed to have been osteitis pubis), fans were hoping to see Adam back to his 2004 All Australian best.

Unfortunately Adam was one of a number of senior players who struggled to stand up and provide the leadership needed. His form was patchy and at times his efforts were questionable.

However Adam did play several serviceable games, with his best probably being against Melbourne where he worked well all over the ground providing scoring opportunities to the Essendon forward line and kicking 1.1 himself.

Verdict: Mostly injury free in 2006 Adam turned in a better season than in 2005. With a stated desire to fill a Hird-type role in the midfield and around the ground, Adam really needs to improve his efforts.

Adam still looks most comfortable on a half back flank and rebounding out of defence. Whilst he is capable of playing in the midfield and up forward, he struggles to have the same impact.

In 2007 he should look to cement his form on the half back flank where he is most comfortable. Once he is playing consistently good football, he can then be moved into the middle and up forward, however he needs to be playing well before this can happen.

Despite a relatively lacklustre year Adam still managed to finish 8^th in the Crichton.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
1	1/04/2006	Sydney Swans	12	6	18	8	1	5	0	0	11
2	8/04/2006	Brisbane Lions	17	5	22	14	1	2	0	1	19
3	16/04/2006	Western Bulldogs	12	6	18	5	1	0	0	3	0
4	25/04/2006	Collingwood	11	7	18	5	0	1	0	0	10
5	30/04/2006	Hawthorn	15	7	22	7	1	5	0	0	18
6	6/05/2006	Richmond	6	6	12	3	1	10	0	0	10
7	14/05/2006	Carlton	15	4	19	7	1	2	0	0	5
8	21/05/2006	West Coast Eagles	11	4	15	9	2	5	2	0	7
9	27/05/2006	Port Adelaide	6	3	9	5	2	1	1	0	0
10	2/06/2006	Adelaide	9	6	15	9	0	4	0	1	0
11	9/06/2006	Geelong	13	4	17	5	0	3	1	0	0
12	18/06/2006	Melbourne	18	7	25	8	1	3	1	1	20
13	30/06/2006	Kangaroos	10	6	16	6	0	3	1	0	6
14	7/07/2006	Fremantle	12	2	14	6	2	4	1	3	0
15	15/07/2006	St Kilda	14	2	16	6	1	3	0	0	21
16	22/07/2006	Brisbane Lions	15	6	21	11	0	1	1	0	11
17	29/07/2006	Collingwood	13	9	22	14	0	2	0	0	15
20	19/08/2006	Hawthorn	6	7	13	3	1	0	0	0	0
21	26/08/2006	Richmond	11	8	19	6	1	2	0	0	0
22	01/09/2006	Western Bulldogs	8	8	16	5	0	0	0	0	0
		Total:	234	113	347	142	16	56	8	9	153
		Average	11.7	5.65	17.35	7.1	0.8	2.8	0.4	0.45	7.65

Player: Mark McVeigh

Number: 10

Played 2006 Season: 21 Career: 141

Crichton Position: 10^th

Best Game: Round 8 vs West Coast

Milestones: N/A

Summary: Mark had arguably his best season in 2006 and is one of a small number of Bombers who can hold his head high at the conclusion of the season. This year Mark played several impressive tagging roles as well as contributing well when he spent time in defence. In addition to this he also provided some spark when moved into the forward line, taking several impressive grabs.

Mark’s best game of the year would be either his brilliant stopping job on the Western Bulldog’s Brad Johnson in Round 3, holding the livewire forward to 11 possessions and goalless (one of only two times Johnson failed to kick a goal in 2006). However the tick probably goes to his effort on Chris Judd in Round 8 when he accomplished the best negating job to date on the superstar midfielder in his 100^th match. Although Judd still gathered 20 possessions (and kicked 1 goal when McVeigh couldn’t get back on the ground quick enough to stop him), he had far from his usual impact.

Verdict: McVeigh had a terrific start to the season and proved that he has taken a step up from the nuggety defender role he has performed in the past. Playing with flair and more discipline than previously, he’s cemented himself as a valuable member of the Essendon lineup wherever he plays.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
1	1/04/2006	Sydney Swans	4	6	10	0	0	1	1	0	0
2	8/04/2006	Brisbane Lions	13	2	15	5	0	1	0	1	16
3	16/04/2006	Western Bulldogs	6	3	9	1	0	3	0	0	23
4	25/04/2006	Collingwood	15	6	21	5	0	9	0	3	15
5	30/04/2006	Hawthorn	19	6	25	5	0	7	0	0	17
6	6/05/2006	Richmond	8	0	8	5	0	3	0	1	0
8	21/05/2006	West Coast Eagles	5	4	9	2	0	0	0	0	20
9	27/05/2006	Port Adelaide	19	6	25	7	0	6	1	1	16
10	2/06/2006	Adelaide	6	7	13	2	0	6	0	0	0
11	9/06/2006	Geelong	16	6	22	5	0	4	0	0	10
12	18/06/2006	Melbourne	3	2	5	0	0	3	0	0	0
13	30/06/2006	Kangaroos	12	4	16	3	0	1	0	0	0
14	7/07/2006	Fremantle	6	6	12	4	0	1	1	0	6
15	15/07/2006	St Kilda	13	3	16	1	0	5	0	0	0
16	22/07/2006	Carlton	9	9	18	5	0	3	2	0	10
17	29/07/2006	Brisbane Lions	14	4	18	10	0	3	2	1	6
18	5/08/2006	Sydney Swans	7	1	8	4	0	0	0	1	0
19	11/08/2006	Collingwood	10	2	12	4	0	0	0	0	0
20	19/08/2006	Hawthorn	15	4	19	2	0	3	1	1	4
21	26/08/2006	Richmond	7	6	13	3	0	0	1	1	0
22	01/09/2006	Western Bulldogs	9	4	13	4	0	3	0	1	0
		Total:	216	91	307	77	0	62	9	11	143
		Average	10.29	4.33	14.62	3.67	0	2.95	0.43	0.52	6.81

Player: Angus Monfries

Number: 6

Played 2006 Season: 21 Career: 33

Crichton Position: 13^th

Best Game: Round 2 vs Brisbane Lions

Milestones: Career Best Disposals (21) – Round 11 vs Geelong, Career Best Goals (5) – Round 2 vs Brisbane Lions

Summary: Angus had a fantastic 2006 playing 21 games and deservedly winning the club’s Most Courageous Award. He also came 2^nd in Essendon’s goal kicking with 22.11 for the season.

Angus averaged just over 16 possessions a game in his second season and was a consistent contributor. In Round 2 vs Brisbane Lions he kicked a remarkable 5.0 and gathered 20 possessions as the Lions struggled to contain him.

Verdict: Gus is much loved by the Essendon fans and it’s easy to understand why. His attack on the ball and his apparent disregard for his personal safety are inspiring to watch and in a season where many of Essendon’s forwards struggled to find the middle of the sticks his contribution of 22.11 was very handy. After a limited pre-season due to shoulder surgery in 2006, look to see Gus stack on a few kilos over the summer to allow him to move into the middle more consistently.

Angus has stated his intention to one day captain Essendon and I don’t doubt that he will.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
1	1/04/2006	Sydney Swans	9	2	11	4	0	1	0	1	0
2	8/04/2006	Brisbane Lions	12	8	20	7	0	4	5	0	24
3	16/04/2006	Western Bulldogs	9	10	19	5	0	3	1	0	16
4	25/04/2006	Collingwood	5	7	12	3	0	5	1	1	0
5	30/04/2006	Hawthorn	9	10	19	5	0	1	0	1	0
6	6/05/2006	Richmond	6	9	15	4	0	7	1	0	0
7	14/05/2006	Carlton	8	5	13	3	0	0	1	1	0
8	21/05/2006	West Coast Eagles	8	3	11	7	1	2	1	0	0
9	27/05/2006	Port Adelaide	4	0	4	2	0	0	0	0	0
10	2/06/2006	Adelaide	8	3	11	4	0	2	0	1	10
11	9/06/2006	Geelong	10	11	21	3	0	1	2	0	0
12	18/06/2006	Melbourne	10	7	17	6	0	0	1	1	0
13	30/06/2006	Kangaroos	11	6	17	6	0	2	0	0	0
14	7/07/2006	Fremantle	8	6	14	5	0	0	2	0	15
16	22/07/2006	Carlton	7	1	8	6	0	2	1	1	0
17	29/07/2006	Brisbane Lions	8	13	21	5	0	3	0	0	0
18	5/08/2006	Sydney Swans	10	4	14	5	0	3	2	1	4
19	11/08/2006	Collingwood	6	4	10	4	0	3	1	1	0
20	19/08/2006	Hawthorn	11	6	17	6	0	1	3	1	15
21	26/08/2006	Richmond	10	7	17	4	0	4	0	1	0
22	01/09/2006	Western Bulldogs	5	3	8	5	0	3	0	0	0
		Total:	174	125	299	99	1	47	22	11	84
		Average	8.29	5.95	14.24	4.71	0.05	2.24	1.05	0.52	4

Player: Jay Nash

Number: 38

Played 2006 Season: 7 Career: 9

Crichton Position: 24^th

Best Game: Round 15 vs St. Kilda

Milestones: Career Best Disposals (21) – Round 16 vs Carlton

Summary: Taken at number 28 in 2003, Jay managed only 2 games prior to this season. Given a baptism of fire, Sheedy played Nash on Adelaide Captain Mark Ricciuto in his first match of the season. Unsurprisingly Jay struggled, although he still managed to gather 15 possessions and kick a goal.

Out of the side after the Round 11 defeat to Geelong, Jay came back in for the Round 15 clash with St. Kilda. Composed beyond his years, Jay played a vital role in Essendon’s control of the match, gathering 19 possessions and laying 7 tackles.

Verdict: Jay averaged 15.29 possessions a match in his 7 games this year. On top of this he looked composed and comfortable at senior level. His pace and foot skills are also highlights of his game.

Unfortunately for the young man he has a lot of competition for the half-bank flank and will be one of a number of players fighting for a senior berth next year. If Jay can manage 10 games next year he’ll be well on his way to becoming a fixture in the side in 2008.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
10	2/06/2006	Adelaide	11	4	15	2	0	3	1	0	0
11	9/06/2006	Geelong	4	10	14	4	0	2	0	1	0
15	15/07/2006	St Kilda	11	8	19	4	0	7	0	0	10
16	22/07/2006	Carlton	16	5	21	4	0	0	0	0	10
17	29/07/2006	Brisbane Lions	9	4	13	4	0	1	0	0	0
18	5/08/2006	Sydney Swans	9	6	15	5	0	2	0	0	0
19	11/08/2006	Collingwood	7	3	10	4	0	1	0	1	0
		Total:	67	40	107	27	0	16	1	2	20
		Average	9.57	5.71	15.29	3.86	0	2.29	0.14	0.29	2.86

Player: Jay Neagle

Number: 34

Played 2006 Season: 0 Career: 0

Crichton Position: Did not play

Best Game: N/A

Milestones: N/A

Summary: Jay was taken at 39 last year as a father son selection and was not expected to play senior football in 2006. He put in a solid pre-season and kicked 5 goals in an intra club match. Several reasonable performances for Bendigo, where he played both forward and back, showed that he had promise before an ankle injury ended his season.

Verdict: Most agreed that Jay was taken a season early, most likely due to the fact that Essendon had a big cull last year and to avoid using the third round pick in this year’s bumper draft. He put in several good performances for Bendigo and with another pre-season’s fitness base to work from may make his debut in 2008.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
		Total:	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
		Average	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

Player: Damien Peverill

Number: 11

Played 2006 Season: 17 Career: 115

Crichton Position: 15^th

Best Game: Round 19 vs Collingwood

Milestones: 100 Games – Round 5 vs Hawthorn, Career Best Disposals (34) – Round 15 vs St. Kilda

Summary: Pev had a very poor start to the season, which resulted in him being in and out of the team. However he had several prolific matches towards the end of the season (including a career best 34 against St. Kilda in Round 15), which saw his average number of disposals raise to 20.59.

His best performance of the season was his 33 disposal effort against Collingwood in Round 19. Pev is typically a player for whom the more time he spends on the ground, the better he gets, liking to work his way into a game. However this was not an option for Pev against Collingwood as he spent only 69 minutes on the ground and he ran hard and to space to have an impact on the match.

Verdict: Peverill is a favourite of many fans. As another former rookie who has managed to make it to 100 games, many would like to see Peverill remain in Essendon colours.

Unfortunately for Peverill although he tries hard, he is neither particularly pacey nor overly skilled. His disposals are often questionable and he is no longer the number one tagger in the side with McVeigh having surpassed him. If Jason Johnson remains a Bomber, it’s hard to see Peverill staying and if he does, it will most likely be as a depth player only.

Presuming JJ stays, a trade is probably the best result for all concerned in this case. Pev could be useful to a number of teams as an experienced tagger.

Result: Trade

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
1	1/04/2006	Sydney Swans	7	1	8	2	0	0	0	0	0
2	8/04/2006	Brisbane Lions	7	7	14	5	0	0	0	0	0
5	30/04/2006	Hawthorn	11	4	15	5	0	4	0	0	0
7	14/05/2006	Carlton	9	12	21	4	0	3	0	1	0
8	21/05/2006	West Coast Eagles	3	7	10	4	0	1	0	0	0
10	2/06/2006	Adelaide	7	8	15	5	1	4	0	0	0
11	9/06/2006	Geelong	14	5	19	8	0	3	0	0	5
12	18/06/2006	Melbourne	7	9	16	3	0	1	0	0	0
14	7/07/2006	Fremantle	8	11	19	5	0	0	0	0	0
15	15/07/2006	St Kilda	22	12	34	7	0	3	1	0	0
16	22/07/2006	Carlton	15	15	30	9	0	2	1	0	21
17	29/07/2006	Brisbane Lions	17	5	22	7	0	2	0	0	0
18	5/08/2006	Sydney Swans	6	7	13	6	0	0	0	0	0
19	11/08/2006	Collingwood	21	12	33	12	0	1	0	0	21
20	19/08/2006	Hawthorn	9	7	16	5	0	0	1	0	0
21	26/08/2006	Richmond	16	16	32	2	0	3	1	0	13
22	01/09/2006	Western Bulldogs	14	19	33	5	0	1	0	0	22
		Total:	193	157	350	94	1	28	4	1	82
		Average	11.35	9.24	20.59	5.53	0.06	1.65	0.24	0.06	4.82

Player: Adam Ramanauskas

Number: 9

Played 2006 Season: 0 Career: 111

Crichton Position: Did not play

Best Game: N/A

Milestones: N/A

Summary: As is well known to all Essendon fans, Adam suffered a reoccurrence of his cancer and did not play in 2005.

Verdict: Unfortunately it seems that Adam will not be able to play in 2007. We all hope he will get better and be able to resume his career in 2008.

Result: De-list

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
		Total:	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
		Average	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

End of Part 3

Hope

Some say time is a river that flows swiftly in one direction, others claim it turns like a giant wheel, doomed to endlessly repeat. I do not know if either is true, or if it is something else altogether.

I have been cursed and blessed with the ability to see moments of time out of their order, sometimes forward, sometimes back, rarely current. When I was young it made me rich and powerful, when I learnt a little more about people and life, it left me a hermit in the mountains.

When a young man of eighteen asks you of his life, do you tell him it will end with him swinging from a rope for killing his wife’s lover? When a widow asks of her husband’s final moments do you tell her they were spent on his knees begging?

For all I have seen and all I have known, the only thing I have learnt is that people are mostly the same. We like to think that there are good men and evil men, loyal wives and cheating harlots. The truth is that there is little difference between a tyrannical king and a humble farmer, it’s just a question of resources and consequences. But for all the beautiful mediocrity of humanity, there are some moments that stand out like glistening jewels. The woman who takes a blade to her stomach to save her children, the soldier who dies, refusing to leave a single injured comrade in a burning hospice.

I have seen murderers, who have known nothing but the cold hardness of the streets all their lives, suddenly sacrifice themselves to save an innocent. I have seen good, honest men raise serpents. I wish I could understand, but I suspect it is beyond anyone’s comprehension except the Creator. If such a thing exists.

It is easy for me to lose myself in other’s lives. On days where the ugliness feels overwhelming, I go searching for the gems. For the jewels that prove men are not without redemption. I see good, kind men and women loving each other, loving their children. I see a community band together to help rebuild a neighbour’s burnt barn and such visions comfort me, but it is amongst the greatest ugliness of man’s nature that the most inspiring contrasts of courage and heroism is there to be witnessed.

A fat man is framed of vile acts by his political enemies and will be killed. None will stand in his defence, it’s suicide. An old soldier steps forward, he will fight on his behalf. He has never been more than competent and he has 20 years on the King’s champion, the fight shouldn’t last a minute. It lasts nearly 30 in dead silence and at the end the merchant is killed. It would seem it was pointless, but the ripples flow outwards. A young prince sees the ridiculous courage as one man stands for what he believes in and understands something his father never did. It’s a moment forgotten by history, but it will usher in a reign of peace and stability for a whole nation.

A battle has been won and an army flees through a mountain pass. Their enemies close in on them, keen to finish them off. Forty-three men, too wounded to continue, make a stand. They fight for an hour as slowly, one by one, they fall. They are a disparate mix, old and young, some noble, others peasants. They know every minute they buy their comrades means one more life and a chance to save what is seemingly lost. There’s only twelve of them left now, but the enemy is hesitant, they have killed nearly five times their number. The archers come forward and the walking dead charge. One by one they drop, but the others run on. Only four make it to the ranks of their enemy, all with at least one shaft lodged in their body. It is a matter of pride that they kill one last man each.

As the victorious army gathers it’s wounded and prepares to give chase once more, trumpets announce the charge. The routed army has turned around, too late to save their brethren but inspired by their sacrifice. They do not prevail, but they fight like demons possessed, driving their enemy back down the pass before them. Men who had only an hour before been fleeing for their lives now throw themselves onto enemy blades and they are men once more. As night falls, the last of them dies, throwing himself into his enemy, dying with a roar on his breath and blood on his blade and free in his heart. The victorious army has slain their enemy to a man, but at the cost of nearly seven times their number. Doubt and fear grow within the men. By the end of a week nearly one quarter have deserted, after a month the threat has disappeared.

The people do not know of the sacrifice or the heroics, but amongst the enemy nation the story is told and grows in the telling, it will be generations before the two countries war once more.

A young farmer travels to the capital on feast day and accuses the King’s advisor of murder. He tells of a farm razed, a wife and child dead, all for the greed of the man at the King’s side. A trial by combat is called and the farmer stands in borrowed armour and with a sword he does not know how to use. Grief and rage and despair war within him and the advisor’s champion moves in for the kill. Something in the man’s face affects the one who has made a living of other people’s death and he throws down his sword and declaims the advisor to all gathered. The advisor is noble and they were peasants, he pays blood money and that night the champion and farmer are killed in their sleep. A King finally awoken to the corruption in his court, to the influences poisoning his land, orders the advisor hanged. He reforms tradition and law both, he attempts to make his people equals.

Another nation and another war. A burgeoning empire seeks to expand and the mountain people are in it’s path. The crisp dawn of a new era beckons and they are given the option to capitulate and be spared. The debate rages long, but in the end they are a proud people and cannot accept a foreign yoke. The armies fight and they lose, they retreat and they fight again, but there is no victory. One final time the remnants of their army prepares to face their conquerors, prepared to die for a principle. Old men, women and children stand in the ranks, this is their land, their ancestors land and they will live free on it or die. The enemy general looks upon them and cannot bring himself to genocide. Beaten not by arms, but by an indomitable will, he turns his army and seeks another way through the mountains.

I see empires rise and crumble. I see men and women, mighty and weak struggle against what seems inevitable and admire their courage. Unfortunately there are more tales of heroics that changed nothing, of dastardly acts rewarded, I look far into what is yet to be and see things that I cannot comprehend and things are much the same. But there are the gems, the jewels that show that there is some indefinable quality to humankind. Something that cannot be quantified or explained, that seems to strike without rhyme or reason, the sense that some things are worth sacrificing for. Some things, in the end, are worth dying for.

There is a quality given to all of us by these acts. It is known as hope.

My Essendon 2006 Player Review - Part 2 of 5.

Player: David Hille

Number: 19

Played 2006 Season: 21 Career: 106

Crichton Position: 9^th

Best Game: Round 17 vs Brisbane Lions

Milestones: Acting Captain Debut – Round 6 vs Richmond, 100 Games – Round 17 vs Brisbane Lions, Career Best Disposals (22) – Round 17 vs Brisbane Lions, Career Best Hit-outs (32) – Round 13 vs Kangaroos

Summary: Hille had a big season in 2006. For the first time Hille was Essendon’s main ruckman and he seemed to relish the challenge in the early rounds, figuring in Crichton votes for 4 of the first 6 matches of the season.

Hille hit a slight form slump after being named the stand-in Captain for the injured Matthew Lloyd. Seeming to struggle with the additional burden in what was a difficult season for Essendon, Hille’s on-field body language at times left much to be desired.

However after the mid-season break Hille came back and showed why he had been entrusted with the duty. Showing true on-field leadership and making his presence felt around the ground, Hille put in a career best display against the Brisbane Lions in Round 17. Coming up against All-Australian potential ruckman Charman and experienced campaigner Keating, Hille more than held his own, pushing forward for 3 goals and making his physical presence felt around the ground, Hille was a big factor in Essendon’s first win since Round 1. Hille also created the feel-good story of the season when he went to ruck opponent Jamie Charman’s aid when he fell awkwardly after a hard bump on Hille.

Verdict: A great season for Hille showed that the coaching team’s faith in him was not misplaced. Without reliable ruck back-up for most of the season, with Laycock injured and Ryder and Cartledge not seeming ready for AFL football, Hille stood tall and ranked 8^th in Total Hitouts in the competition.

The burden of leadership has been a good experience for David and look for further improvement from him in the ruck in 2007. His ability to push forward and be threatening as well as his willingness to chase, tackle and win the hard ball makes him a very valuable addition to the Essendon line-up.

However, Hille does need to work on his accuracy when kicking for goal, he kicked 13.15 for the season for a disappointing accuracy of 46.43%. With more support in the ruck in 2007, Hille should provide a better goal return.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
1	1/04/2006	Sydney Swans	8	8	16	4	18	2	0	0	13
2	8/04/2006	Brisbane Lions	5	8	13	3	24	0	1	0	0
4	25/04/2006	Collingwood	9	10	19	4	29	1	3	0	25
5	30/04/2006	Hawthorn	6	8	14	4	9	0	1	0	0
6	6/05/2006	Richmond	9	12	21	7	13	2	0	2	11
7	14/05/2006	Carlton	8	11	19	3	20	1	2	1	10
8	21/05/2006	West Coast Eagles	6	5	11	4	8	1	0	1	0
9	27/05/2006	Port Adelaide	2	6	8	5	11	1	0	1	0
10	2/06/2006	Adelaide	4	7	11	6	16	1	0	3	0
11	9/06/2006	Geelong	3	7	10	4	15	1	1	0	0
12	18/06/2006	Melbourne	4	9	13	4	17	1	1	1	0
13	30/06/2006	Kangaroos	2	15	17	6	32	0	0	0	10
14	7/07/2006	Fremantle	7	6	13	3	16	2	0	1	15
15	15/07/2006	St Kilda	3	8	11	1	23	3	0	0	0
16	22/07/2006	Carlton	9	3	12	5	27	1	1	1	18
17	29/07/2006	Brisbane Lions	17	5	22	6	22	2	3	0	25
18	5/08/2006	Sydney Swans	4	7	11	2	14	2	0	0	0
19	11/08/2006	Collingwood	5	2	7	6	14	2	0	1	0
20	19/08/2006	Hawthorn	12	8	20	5	19	4	0	1	18
21	26/08/2006	Richmond	9	5	14	4	14	0	0	1	6
22	01/09/2006	Western Bulldogs	4	14	18	6	6	2	0	1	0
		Total:	136	164	300	92	367	29	13	15	151
		Average	6.48	7.81	14.29	4.38	17.48	1.38	0.62	0.71	7.19

Player: James Hird

Number: 5

Played 2006 Season: 13 Career: 236

Crichton Position: 6^th

Best Game: Round 17 vs Brisbane Lions

Milestones: N/A

Summary: Despite another injury-interrupted season Hird still managed to contribute in a large way on the field. I could ramble on for at least 20 pages about Hird, but suffice to say that he was Hird and everything that that means.

His best performance was undoubtedly against Brisbane in Round 17. Coming back after yet another frustrating injury and with rumours about his imminent retirement abounding, Essendon fans and coaches would’ve been happy if he’d merely managed to get through the game without hurting himself. However, James Hird has never been the type of player to sit back and cruise through a game (often to his detriment) and he took the match by the scruff of the neck and helped deliver his beloved club their first victory in 16 rounds. Ably assisted by many others, Hird’s presence seemed to visibly lift his team mates as both the new brigade and the old played with passion and flair. Hird not only contributed his own 4 goals, but also had several goal assists, bringing other players such as the previously struggling Kepler into the game.

Verdict: James Hird is one of the all time greats of the Essendon football club and proved again this season that despite his age he is still a valuable and dangerous player. Whilst still useful when he pushes into the midfield, look to see him spend increasingly more time in the forward line to give opposition coaches more grey hairs as they try to cover an attack consisting of Lloyd, Johns, Lovett, Monfries, Hird and potentially Lucas.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
3	16/04/2006	Western Bulldogs	14	11	25	8	0	2	2	1	19
4	25/04/2006	Collingwood	16	8	24	8	0	2	2	2	21
5	30/04/2006	Hawthorn	16	2	18	8	0	0	2	1	18
6	6/05/2006	Richmond	10	6	16	9	0	2	1	0	10
7	14/05/2006	Carlton	2	2	4	0	0	1	0	0	0
12	18/06/2006	Melbourne	8	15	23	7	0	1	0	0	10
13	30/06/2006	Kangaroos	15	6	21	9	1	1	2	0	18
17	29/07/2006	Brisbane Lions	18	9	27	7	0	2	4	2	27
18	5/08/2006	Sydney Swans	7	2	9	3	0	2	0	0	0
19	11/08/2006	Collingwood	15	7	22	9	0	1	0	2	5
20	19/08/2006	Hawthorn	19	10	29	6	0	1	2	1	18
21	26/08/2006	Richmond	18	8	26	5	0	0	2	0	19
22	01/09/2006	Western Bulldogs	14	7	21	7	0	5	2	0	15
		Total:	172	93	265	86	1	20	19	9	180
		Average	13.23	7.15	20.38	6.62	0.08	1.54	1.46	0.69	13.85

Player: Courtney Johns

Number: 21

Played 2006 Season: 10 Career: 13

Crichton Position: 25^th

Best Game: Round 14 vs Fremantle

Milestones: Career Best Disposals (14) – Round 21 vs Richmond, Career Best Goals (3) – Round 14 vs Fremantle

Summary: Johns has had an injury plagued start to his career and 2006 was no different. Despite Lloyd’s injury in Round 3, Courtney couldn’t manage his 2006 debut until Round 8 vs West Coast. However from his first game he showed promise that he would repay Essendon’s faith.

Courtney had a reasonably consistent season, with only the accuracy of his kicking a question as his season started. He turned in a pair of 3 goal performances against Fremantle in Round 14 and Collingwood in Round 19, finishing with a 12 goal return for the 10 games played.

He was moved around the ground a little, including a couple of defensive jobs as Sheedy looked to let the young man know what AFL football was all about.

Verdict: Known as “The Messiah” or the “Great White Hope” to the Essendon fans, Courtney gave plenty for them to be excited about in 2006. His presence in the forward line always seemed dangerous and he showed both his ability to lead and take a contested mark. His work rate was also good as he at times pushed up the wings to provide a target. Couple all this together with his ability to break apart packs and his reasonable ground level skills and there’s no doubt that Johns will be a big part of Essendon’s forward line in the future.

It seems another one of Sheedy’s experiments is set to pay off.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
8	21/05/2006	West Coast Eagles	4	1	5	4	0	3	1	2	0
9	27/05/2006	Port Adelaide	7	0	7	5	0	1	0	2	0
10	2/06/2006	Adelaide	6	1	7	5	0	0	2	0	0
11	9/06/2006	Geelong	7	3	10	5	0	0	1	0	0
12	18/06/2006	Melbourne	5	2	7	2	0	1	0	0	0
14	7/07/2006	Fremantle	9	2	11	7	0	0	3	4	18
19	11/08/2006	Collingwood	7	1	8	5	0	1	3	0	0
20	19/08/2006	Hawthorn	6	0	6	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	26/08/2006	Richmond	12	3	15	8	0	0	1	0	0
22	01/09/2006	Western Bulldogs	2	2	4	3	0	3	1	0	0
		Total:	65	15	80	44	0	9	12	8	18
		Average	6.5	1.5	8	4.4	0	0.9	1.2	0.8	1.8

Player: Jason Johnson

Number: 14

Played 2006 Season: 19 Career: 170

Crichton Position: 7^th

Best Game: Round 15 vs St. Kilda

Milestones: Career Best Disposals (41) – Round 15 vs St. Kilda, Career Best Goals (5) – Round 22 vs Western Bulldogs

Summary: A dual Crichton medallist, Johnson had an interrupted pre-season thanks to a foot injury and this flowed into a poor start to his season. Struggling to find form, Johnson was eventually dropped back to Bendigo for Rounds 9 and 10. Whether this was at Johnson’s request or from the match committee was a bit unclear.

Finding form with some solid performances at VFL level, Johnson rejoined the seniors from Round 11. Johnson put in serviceable performances for the rest of the year, including some brilliant ones such as his best on ground against St. Kilda where he gathered a staggering 41 possessions to play a vital role in Essendon’s near-upset.

Also worth mention is his career best 5.1 goal display against the Western Bulldogs in Round 22 after his kicking for goal was widely criticised during the season when he missed several easy opportunities.

Verdict: Whilst Jason had a poor start to the year, it’s fair to argue that this was largely due to his foot problems. In fact it could be argued that he shouldn’t have been playing. Couple this together with his solid second half of the season which saw him finish 7^th in the Crichton voting and it’s hard to understand why Essendon appears to be refusing to offer him a 2 year contract, considering this is the first time he’s placed outside the top 3 since 2000.

The possible answer is that Essendon has concerns about his ongoing fitness. Couple this with the fact that he will be 29 by the start of next season and the club may believe that he is a risky investment. In a game which seems to be steadily increasing in pace Jason may be one of the first victims, when business dictates that sentimentality cannot be part of decisions.

The flip side to all of this is that if Jason is let go, this leaves Jobe as the sole clearance specialist in the Essendon line-up. Despite the vast improvement of Watson this year, I do not believe he is ready to be the sole contributor in this regard in terms of fitness or maturity. For this reason Essendon should make sure they retain Johnson, even if it means risking a 2 year contract.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
1	1/04/2006	Sydney Swans	10	5	15	6	0	1	0	0	0
2	8/04/2006	Brisbane Lions	7	6	13	3	0	3	0	0	0
3	16/04/2006	Western Bulldogs	10	7	17	2	0	3	0	0	0
4	25/04/2006	Collingwood	5	7	12	4	0	3	0	0	0
5	30/04/2006	Hawthorn	12	10	22	8	0	1	0	0	10
6	6/05/2006	Richmond	17	11	28	5	0	4	0	0	0
7	14/05/2006	Carlton	8	7	15	0	0	3	0	0	0
8	21/05/2006	West Coast Eagles	12	6	18	5	0	4	0	1	17
11	9/06/2006	Geelong	16	17	33	9	0	2	0	0	22
12	18/06/2006	Melbourne	2	9	11	4	0	2	0	0	0
13	30/06/2006	Kangaroos	17	9	26	6	0	3	1	1	16
14	7/07/2006	Fremantle	16	10	26	9	0	4	2	1	21
15	15/07/2006	St Kilda	24	17	41	8	0	3	1	1	26
16	22/07/2006	Carlton	11	8	19	4	1	1	0	0	0
17	29/07/2006	Brisbane Lions	12	14	26	10	0	2	1	0	19
18	5/08/2006	Sydney Swans	12	3	15	4	0	4	1	0	5
19	11/08/2006	Collingwood	18	8	26	11	1	3	1	2	13
20	19/08/2006	Hawthorn	13	10	23	6	0	0	0	0	0
22	01/09/2006	Western Bulldogs	15	9	24	7	0	1	5	1	24
		Total:	237	173	410	111	2	47	12	7	173
		Average	12.47	9.11	21.58	5.84	0.11	2.47	0.63	0.37	9.11

Player: Mark Johnson

Number: 1

Played 2006 Season: 22 Career: 174

Crichton Position: 16^th

Best Game: Round 10 vs Adelaide

Milestones: Career Best Diposals (28) – Round 11 vs Geelong

Summary: Like the other Johnson, Mark similarly struggled for form and impact early in the season although he didn’t drop to the lows that Jason did. Johnson’s season was a long way from his Crichton medal year of 2002 or even his second placing in 2005, but was still serviceable.

His best match was arguably against Adelaide in Round 10. Picking up 25 possessions, he never stopped trying on a night where very few of his team mates could say the same. His match against St. Kilda in Round 15, though netting only 9 positions, is also worth a mention with his aggressiveness in the forward 50 leading to many scoring opportunities.

Verdict: Mark Johnson hasn’t been on many fans radars this season. He’s been fairly consistent without being brilliant. Luckily for Mark he is still listed for 2007 so is unlikely to bear too much scrutiny for a season that was arguably worse than Jason’s and without his excuse of an injury interrupted pre-season.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
1	1/04/2006	Sydney Swans	11	4	15	4	0	3	1	0	0
2	8/04/2006	Brisbane Lions	6	4	10	3	0	1	0	0	0
3	16/04/2006	Western Bulldogs	12	9	21	7	0	2	1	0	5
4	25/04/2006	Collingwood	8	8	16	7	0	5	0	0	0
5	30/04/2006	Hawthorn	7	3	10	3	0	4	0	0	0
6	6/05/2006	Richmond	11	3	14	2	0	1	0	0	0
7	14/05/2006	Carlton	7	6	13	3	1	2	1	0	0
8	21/05/2006	West Coast Eagles	9	9	18	4	0	4	0	0	0
9	27/05/2006	Port Adelaide	5	1	6	3	0	4	0	0	0
10	2/06/2006	Adelaide	17	8	25	5	0	4	0	2	19
11	9/06/2006	Geelong	16	12	28	7	0	5	0	0	20
12	18/06/2006	Melbourne	13	8	21	5	0	3	1	0	0
13	30/06/2006	Kangaroos	9	4	13	7	0	1	0	0	0
14	7/07/2006	Fremantle	14	7	21	9	0	2	1	0	6
15	15/07/2006	St Kilda	3	6	9	0	1	6	0	0	0
16	22/07/2006	Carlton	7	6	13	5	2	4	1	0	0
17	29/07/2006	Brisbane Lions	10	11	21	6	0	2	0	0	0
18	5/08/2006	Sydney Swans	5	7	12	2	0	1	0	0	0
19	11/08/2006	Collingwood	10	3	13	6	0	4	1	0	7
20	19/08/2006	Hawthorn	10	5	15	2	2	3	0	0	0
21	26/08/2006	Richmond	10	8	18	3	0	3	2	2	4
22	01/09/2006	Western Bulldogs	12	14	26	6	0	0	0	0	18
		Total:	212	146	358	99	6	64	9	4	79
		Average	9.64	6.64	16.27	4.5	0.27	2.91	0.41	0.18	3.59

Player: Jason Laycock

Number: 27

Played 2006 Season: 6 Career: 23

Crichton Position: 27^th

Best Game: Round 11 vs Geelong

Milestones: N/A

Summary: Essendon had big hopes for it’s ruck division this year with Hille the senior partner and Laycock showing signs in 2005 that he was ready to play regular senior footy. Unfortunately a pre-season ankle arthroscope meant that Jason could not join the Bomber line-up until Round 6.

He showed steadily improving form, culminating in his best performance in Round 11 against Geelong with a 16 possession, 8 Hit out and 1 goal game.

Unfortunately a few days after the match it was announced that Jason would undergo a knee arthroscope (his second within 12 months), effectively ending his season.

Verdict: Whilst only managing 6 games this year, there’s plenty for Essendon supporters to be excited about with young Jason Laycock. A ruck division of Hille, Laycock and Ryder would be enough to have Sheedy drooling, given all are mobile ruckmen capable around the ground or up forward.

Laycock is currently uncontracted for 2007 and the rumour mill has the young man after more money than Essendon is currently willing to pay. The most likely reason for this scenario is due to offers from rival clubs, with a ruck needy Carlton seeking to leverage it’s #1 pick in the PSD a possible culprit. Whilst Essendon has big wraps on young Laycock, with Hille, Ryder and Cartledge on the senior list and young Lachie McKinnon on the rookie, Essendon may very well choose to play hardball and trade Laycock away for either draft picks or a promising young Centre Half Back. It’s extremely unlikely that they would allow him to slip through to the PSD.

Result: Keep/Trade

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
6	6/05/2006	Richmond	5	1	6	3	4	0	2	2	0
7	14/05/2006	Carlton	1	3	4	1	11	2	0	0	0
8	21/05/2006	West Coast Eagles	6	5	11	2	7	0	1	0	0
9	27/05/2006	Port Adelaide	4	1	5	2	5	2	0	0	0
10	2/06/2006	Adelaide	9	4	13	4	8	1	0	0	0
11	9/06/2006	Geelong	13	3	16	5	8	1	1	1	10
		Total:	38	17	55	17	43	6	4	3	10
		Average	6.33	2.83	9.17	2.83	7.17	1	0.67	0.5	1.67

Player: Andrew Lee

Number: 32

Played 2006 Season: 5 Career: 5

Crichton Position: Did not poll

Best Game: Round 16 vs Carlton

Milestones: Debut – Round 13 vs Kangaroos

Summary: Lee is a young tall that Essendon hope will turn into a serviceable Centre Half Back. Playing 5 games in his debut season, he alternated between looking completely at home and completely at sea in the backline.

He was also swung forward on occasion and showed that he knows where the sticks are and seems unfazed by pressure, slotting 1 goal after the siren against the Roos and another from 45m on a tight angle against Carlton in Round 16.

Verdict: Essendon is desperate for some tall backmen to start showing promise. They have a plethora of mobile, rebounding half-back flankers and some nuggety back pockets, however the 2 key back positions of Centre Half Back and Full Back are looking increasingly worrisome as Fletcher’s retirement looms in the next few years.

Andrew has shown good form at VFL level and some glimpses at AFL level. The question is: is it enough? With his first season ruined by a case of Osteitis Pubis, Andrew needed to show the coaches that he was worth persisting with this year. Essendon has been grooming higher profile recruit Kepler Bradley for the Full Back position for the previous few years and have U18 AA Full Back Austin Lucy slowly building his credentials in the VFL.

Andrew will most likely be offered a 1 year contract to give him season 2007 to prove himself. He has looked relatively comfortable at AFL level and arguably more comfortable than Bradley in the backline. However if Essendon manage to trade for a 22 to 25 year old Centre Half Back prospect, Lee’s career may well be over before it’s had much of a chance to start.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
13	30/06/2006	Kangaroos	2	3	5	3	0	2	1	0	0
14	7/07/2006	Fremantle	2	1	3	2	0	2	0	0	0
15	15/07/2006	St Kilda	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	22/07/2006	Carlton	2	3	5	3	0	1	1	0	0
22	01/09/2006	Western Bulldogs	3	1	4	2	0	1	0	1	0
		Total:	9	9	18	10	0	6	2	1	0
		Average	1.5	1.5	3	1.67	0	1	0.33	0.17	0

Player: Matthew Lloyd

Number: 18

Played 2006 Season: 3 Career: 212

Crichton Position: 20^th

Best Game: Round 1 vs Sydney Swans

Milestones: Captain Debut – Round 1 vs Sydney Swans, Career Best Disposals (26) – Round 1 vs Sydney Swans

Summary: There were many who doubted Lloyd’s ability to captain Essendon from anywhere, let alone from full forward. With Round 1 of the 2006 season Lloyd sent a message to his doubters, when he lead his team to a solid first round victory against the reigning premiers. Lloyd dominated with 8 goals, 6 of which set up the victory in the first quarter. In addition to his goal contribution Lloyd was seemingly everywhere as he imposed his will on the game, taking marks on the wing and in defence.

Verdict: Matthew Lloyd is an absolute superstar and the lynchpin of the Essendon attack, his value to the club being recognised by the signing of a new 3 year deal mid year. The responsibility of the captaincy has added more presence to an already dominating player. Against both Sydney and Brisbane he demonstrated that he was capable of having a material effect on more than just the scoreboard and no doubt Matthew is as excited as any Essendon fan by the potential held by his forward line in 2007.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
1	1/04/2006	Sydney Swans	19	7	26	10	0	0	8	2	27
2	8/04/2006	Brisbane Lions	10	4	14	8	0	0	4	0	16
3	16/04/2006	Western Bulldogs	5	6	11	5	0	1	1	1	0
		Total:	34	17	51	23	0	1	13	3	43
		Average	11.33	5.67	17	7.67	0	0.33	4.33	1	14.33

Player: Sam Lonergan

Number: 36

Played 2006 Season: 1 Career: 1

Crichton Position: Did not poll

Best Game: Round 15 vs St. Kilda

Milestones: Debut – Round 15 vs St. Kilda

Summary: Lonergan was picked up with pick 50 in last year’s draft and was not expected to play in 2006. The lack of depth in Essendon’s line-up saw him eventually line-up against St. Kilda in Round 15. Whilst he did not have a big impact on the game, there was nothing to fault in his endeavour or hardness at the ball with 5 tackles in his first and only senior game. His endeavour was best displayed in a passage of play where he tackled a defender, causing a spillage and then dived on the ball under a pack of players to cause the stoppage on Essendon’s half-forward line.

Verdict: There’s plenty to like about Lonergan’s game and some solid VFL form coupled with his good efforts when given his senior debut mark him as another young kid who’ll be placing pressure on those who currently have senior spots nailed down. A midfielder/forward he should get at least 4 to 5 senior games in 2007.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
15	15/07/2006	St Kilda	2	2	4	1	0	5	0	0	0
		Total:	2	2	4	1	0	5	0	0	0
		Average	2	2	4	1	0	5	0	0	0

Player: Andrew Lovett

Number: 13

Played 2006 Season: 13 Career: 33

Crichton Position: 12^th

Best Game: Round 15 vs St. Kilda

Milestones: N/A

Summary: Lovett started the season with several strong showings however his performances started to slide, most notably in the Round 7 Carlton match where despite some near-miracle like goals, Lovett looked lacklustre and disinterested. In round 8 he was suspended for a surprising 3 matches for a jumper punch against West Coast’s Adam Hunter.

Lovett wasn’t seen again until Round 14 vs Fremantle amidst rumours of personal strife. Lovett looked more interested in his football against Fremantle, but it was Round 15 where he lit up the MCG in the wet against St. Kilda. Starting in the midfield Lovett showed poise, pace and determination with silky skills and fierce chasing and tackling. He continued his fine form in the forward fifty during the second half of the match, kicking 3 brilliant goals including a crowd-lifting banana from the boundary line.

Lovett’s season ended after the Round 18 match against the Swans when he cracked a bone in his hand.

Verdict: It’s hard to believe that 2006 was Andrew Lovett’s first season on Essendon’s senior list, such was his impact when he was elevated last year. His 2006 wasn’t quite what was expected with Lovett only managing 13 games for the season. Despite his various off-field issues and lack of games, Lovett still managed to finish 4^th on Essendon’s goal kicking list with 17 majors and polled Crichton votes in 5 of his matches.

In 2007 with his personal issues hopefully behind him, Essendon will be looking for Lovett to step up to become a vital part of Essendon’s forward line and midfield rotation. He has skill and speed in abundance, he just needs to consistently show it on the football field.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
1	1/04/2006	Sydney Swans	11	6	17	6	0	4	1	1	18
2	8/04/2006	Brisbane Lions	5	0	5	2	0	2	1	0	0
3	16/04/2006	Western Bulldogs	15	9	24	8	0	2	1	4	17
4	25/04/2006	Collingwood	11	6	17	9	0	0	1	1	0
5	30/04/2006	Hawthorn	9	5	14	5	0	3	2	2	0
6	6/05/2006	Richmond	11	9	20	2	0	3	2	2	5
7	14/05/2006	Carlton	9	5	14	4	0	2	2	1	0
8	21/05/2006	West Coast Eagles	10	2	12	3	0	0	2	1	0
14	7/07/2006	Fremantle	11	6	17	4	0	2	0	2	0
15	15/07/2006	St Kilda	16	8	24	6	0	4	3	2	23
16	22/07/2006	Carlton	10	6	16	5	0	4	1	2	23
17	29/07/2006	Brisbane Lions	6	2	8	2	0	1	0	0	0
18	5/08/2006	Sydney Swans	7	5	12	5	0	2	1	0	0
		Total:	131	69	200	61	0	29	17	18	86
		Average	10.08	5.31	15.38	4.69	0	2.23	1.31	1.38	6.62

End of Part 2

My Essendon 2006 Player Review - Part 1 of 5.

As promised at the end of my season review, this is my personal review of all players on our list for season 2006 along with whether I think they’ll be kept, delisted or traded. This is probably a lot more subjective than the team’s season review as personal bias creeps in a lot easier. Also, individual moments of brilliance remain in the mind longer than perhaps consistent performances.

I have decided to split this into 5 parts. The first 4 being the main playing list review, then the 5^th being a rookie review and conclusion.

On with the review.

SENIOR LIST

Player: Mark Bolton

Number: 23

Played 2006 Season: 19 Career: 117

Crichton Position: 22

Best Game: Round 18 vs Sydney Swans

Milestones: 100 games – Round 5 vs Hawthorn

Summary: Bolton had probably his best season in the red and black. As much a victim of being picked at number 4 in the draft as anything else, Bolton has consistently failed to live up to the high expectations of the Essendon coaches and fans.

Typically a depth player brought in for particular jobs, the high number of matches played by Bolton is another indication of how stretched Essendon was by injuries. In the mid part of the season Bolton managed to capitalise on this with several serviceable performances. However after the mid-season break, despite a good shut-down performance against Adam Goodes in Round 18, Bolton started to revert to form, going missing for large portions of matches and showing poor decision making skills. This was typified by the careless pass across the face of goal in the dying stages against Richmond in Round 21, which was intercepted by Nathan Brown and put through for the sealer.

Verdict: In previous seasons Bolton has stayed on Essendon’s list through a good work ethic and fitness base along with his ability to play most positions at least somewhat competently. Add to this there were other players in the firing line before him and somehow Bolton has managed to survive for 10 years and 117 games.

Unfortunately for Bolton, this year there is no Cupido or Zantuck to be cut before him. Essendon will need to free up an absolute minimum of 5 spots on it’s list by the time the drafts come around and 6 or 7 is more likely. With a very young list, the chances of a proven mediocre player being able to hold onto his list spot ahead of one of the kids are slim at best.

Result: De-list

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
3	16/04/2006	Western Bulldogs	5	6	11	2	4	3	1	0	0
5	30/04/2006	Hawthorn	9	9	18	6	0	2	1	2	0
6	6/05/2006	Richmond	7	4	11	5	0	3	0	0	0
7	14/05/2006	Carlton	6	12	18	4	2	4	1	0	17
8	21/05/2006	West Coast Eagles	7	7	14	7	0	0	0	0	0
9	27/05/2006	Port Adelaide	9	9	18	9	0	3	1	0	8
10	2/06/2006	Adelaide	7	3	10	4	0	1	0	0	0
11	9/06/2006	Geelong	4	8	12	7	0	2	0	1	0
12	18/06/2006	Melbourne	4	9	13	4	0	1	0	0	0
13	30/06/2006	Kangaroos	5	4	9	7	0	2	1	1	0
14	7/07/2006	Fremantle	9	7	16	7	1	0	1	2	0
15	15/07/2006	St Kilda	8	2	10	2	1	1	0	0	0
16	22/07/2006	Carlton	5	4	9	2	0	4	0	0	0
17	29/07/2006	Brisbane Lions	11	4	15	7	0	1	0	1	0
18	5/08/2006	Sydney Swans	6	1	7	5	0	2	1	0	15
19	11/08/2006	Collingwood	2	6	8	5	0	2	0	0	0
20	19/08/2006	Hawthorn	6	3	9	7	2	1	1	1	0
21	26/08/2006	Richmond	2	2	4	2	0	0	0	0	0
22	01/09/2006	Western Bulldogs	1	4	5	1	0	2	0	0	0
		Total:	113	104	217	93	10	34	8	8	40
		Average	5.95	5.47	11.42	4.89	0.53	1.79	0.42	0.42	2.11

Player: Kepler Bradley

Number: 16

Played 2006 Season: 21 Career: 45

Crichton Position: 26

Best Game: Round 17 vs Brisbane Lions

Milestones: Career Best Goals (4) – Round 17 vs Brisbane Lions

Summary: Kepler has had a tough 2006 season. Expected to be Essendon’s answer to Dustin Fletcher’s future retirement, Kepler bulked up over the pre-season and was given many tough assignments in defence. Unfortunately for Kepler his extra bulk seems to have come at the cost of speed and he was exposed several times in defence as he was unable to keep up with power forwards. In addition to this he was consistently mauled in marking contests and in general looked uncomfortable.

As the year wore on Kepler was occasionally released to run on the wing, where he played in West Perth’s premiership side in 2003, and it was on the wing that Kepler looked most comfortable drifting forward to kick 4 goals against Brisbane in Round 17.

Verdict: Kepler managed a few reasonable performances this year, but most would agree that overall he took a backwards step. The real concern for Sheedy will be that Kepler looked the least comfortable when in the backline. Given that Kepler has been earmarked as a Centre Half or Full Back, his inability to keep up with most forwards and the way he was consistently out-muscled and out-marked is worrying. This was typified by the complete mauling he was given by Richardson in round 21. A slight mitigating factor is that he received next to no support as the Tigers played with 2 extra back men and Sheedy refused to allow them to run free. This opened up the Tiger’s forward line helping Richardson terrorise his younger opponent.

Hopefully Kepler has learnt from some of the hard jobs he’s been given this season. The coaches will look to increase his burst speed over the summer, whilst maintaining most of his current bulk. Next year is probably the make or break year for Bradley. Whilst he looks good on the wing or across the half-forward line, the simple truth is that Essendon already has plenty of other players available for those positions who can do the job better. Despite his young age Bradley will have to start showing more promise in the backline to survive more than another 1 to 2 seasons and avoid becoming another Henneman.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
1	1/04/2006	Sydney Swans	11	6	17	6	0	0	0	0	0
2	8/04/2006	Brisbane Lions	13	6	19	6	2	1	0	1	0
3	16/04/2006	Western Bulldogs	11	5	16	5	5	1	2	0	0
4	25/04/2006	Collingwood	9	6	15	5	0	0	0	1	0
5	30/04/2006	Hawthorn	7	3	10	2	0	3	1	1	0
6	6/05/2006	Richmond	8	2	10	4	0	0	0	0	0
7	14/05/2006	Carlton	4	3	7	2	0	1	0	0	0
8	21/05/2006	West Coast Eagles	9	3	12	5	0	0	0	0	0
9	27/05/2006	Port Adelaide	11	3	14	4	0	1	1	0	0
10	2/06/2006	Adelaide	2	3	5	1	0	0	0	0	0
12	18/06/2006	Melbourne	9	14	23	11	0	0	0	0	17
13	30/06/2006	Kangaroos	8	5	13	5	0	0	0	0	0
14	7/07/2006	Fremantle	4	0	4	2	0	1	0	0	0
15	15/07/2006	St Kilda	5	3	8	2	0	2	0	0	0
16	22/07/2006	Carlton	14	9	23	10	0	1	0	0	0
17	29/07/2006	Brisbane Lions	9	2	11	6	1	0	4	0	0
18	5/08/2006	Sydney Swans	4	3	7	3	4	0	0	0	0
19	11/08/2006	Collingwood	7	8	15	10	1	2	0	0	0
20	19/08/2006	Hawthorn	5	8	13	5	1	2	0	0	0
21	26/08/2006	Richmond	6	9	15	6	0	0	0	0	0
22	01/09/2006	Western Bulldogs	8	3	11	3	0	2	0	0	0
		Total:	164	104	268	103	14	17	8	3	17
		Average	7.45	4.73	12.18	4.68	0.64	0.77	0.36	0.14	0.77

Player: Scott Camporeale

Number: 17

Played 2006 Season: 12 Career: 245

Crichton Position: 17

Best Game: Round 14 vs Fremantle

Milestones: Essendon Debut – Round 1 vs Sydney Swans

Summary: An experienced campaigner for Carlton, Camporeale defected to Essendon via the PSD after failing to get the contract he felt due from the Blues. A somewhat controversial aging Sheedy recruit, Camporeale was brought into the club to add a little polish to the raw and workmanlike Essendon midfield and hopefully help lend his experience to the young brigade of up and coming midfielders.

Camporeale started the season quietly as he struggled to fit in with the new culture and line-up at the Bombers. After a virtually injury free career, he succumbed to the injury curse at Essendon with a hamstring injury in Round 3 vs the Western Bulldogs. After being declared fit for round 6 vs Richmond the injury recurred and he stayed out of the side until Round 12. After drawing minor public criticism from Sheedy for misjudging the state of his hamstring, Camporeale had something to prove after the mid-season break. He showed better form against the Roos in Round 13 and then had a blistering first-half against Fremantle in Round 14 gathering 19 possessions by the half-time break and finishing with 27 for the match. This was followed up by solid games against St. Kilda and his old side Carlton.

Verdict: For such a high profile and experienced recruit, Camporeale didn’t have quite the effect that most of the Bomber faithful were hoping for. His early season form was serviceable as was his late season. The biggest disappointment for fans and coaching staff alike was the large number of unavailable games.

However, despite the somewhat unreasonable expectations of some Bomber fans, Camporeale has mostly served the purpose for which he was recruited, although at times his skills weren’t what was expected. He averaged nearly 21 possessions a match and added a little more experience to an at times extremely young midfield. The biggest thing for Camporeale is to perhaps realise that at 31 years of age he is going to need to start managing his body perhaps a little better than he has in the past.

Look to see him play a few more matches next year as an experienced hand to again help out Essendon’s young brigade. Neither the coaching staff or the fans will be expecting match winning performances out of him and a series of solid performances should see him awarded a 1 year extension for 2008 and a likely end to a good career.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
1	1/04/2006	Sydney Swans	14	6	20	4	0	3	1	0	0
2	8/04/2006	Brisbane Lions	13	7	20	2	0	2	0	0	0
3	16/04/2006	Western Bulldogs	11	6	17	3	0	4	0	0	0
6	6/05/2006	Richmond	4	4	8	3	0	0	0	0	0
12	18/06/2006	Melbourne	17	7	24	6	0	0	0	0	0
13	30/06/2006	Kangaroos	13	9	22	2	0	4	1	0	3
14	7/07/2006	Fremantle	19	8	27	8	0	3	0	1	24
15	15/07/2006	St Kilda	23	13	36	5	0	8	0	0	23
16	22/07/2006	Carlton	10	7	17	2	0	4	0	0	23
17	29/07/2006	Brisbane Lions	17	7	24	6	0	2	0	0	3
18	5/08/2006	Sydney Swans	10	6	16	4	0	6	0	0	0
19	11/08/2006	Collingwood	10	8	18	3	0	1	1	0	0
		Total:	161	88	249	48	0	37	3	1	76
		Average	13.42	7.33	20.75	4	0	3.08	0.25	0.08	6.33

Player: Tristan Cartledge

Number: 22

Played 2006 Season: 3 Career: 7

Crichton Position: Did not poll

Best Game: Round 22 vs Western Bulldogs

Milestones: Career Best Disposals (13) & Hit-outs (13) – Round 22 vs Western Bulldogs

Summary: 2006 was a worrying season for young Tristan Cartledge. Despite backup ruckman Jason Laycock being unavailable for all but 6 games of the season, Cartledge was unable to win a senior berth, Sheedy instead preferring new recruit Patrick Ryder.

Cartledge first received the call up for the Round 13 match vs the Kangaroos. Unfortunately for the young man he turned in a fairly dismal performance and was immediately dropped back to Essendon’s VFL affiliate the Bendigo Bombers.

Some solid performances for Bendigo and a need for a decision to be made on the young man’s career, saw Tristan recalled to the senior side for the final two matches of 2006. His Round 21 match vs the Tigers was a better showing than earlier in the year, however it was the Round 22 match against the Western Bulldogs when Essendon fans first saw that there might be a player in the 199cm ruck prospect. With some good efforts around the ground and some nice tap work, Cartledge showed that perhaps the old adage that rucks take longer to develop may hold true.

Verdict: For 21 rounds this year Cartledge’s de-listing was a foregone conclusion to many fans. However he caught the eye of many doubters with his final match of the year. The question is, is one good match enough to justify a place on the list with 3 ruckmen ahead of him and one rookie listed?

The answer that will likely depend on what happens with Jason Laycock’s contract negotiations, which I will go into greater detail in in Laycock’s assessment. Suffice to say that if Laycock does not remain on the Essendon list, then Cartledge may well be retained. Of all the likely de-listings Cartledge probably has the best chance of remaining on the list or at the least being traded.

Result: De-List (Hard to call)

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
13	30/06/2006	Kangaroos	0	3	3	0	1	0	0	0	0
21	26/08/2006	Richmond	2	3	5	2	8	2	0	0	0
22	01/09/2006	Western Bulldogs	3	10	13	4	13	1	0	0	0
		Total:	5	16	21	6	22	3	0	0	0
		Average	1.67	5.33	7	2	7.33	1	0	0	0

Player: Richard Cole

Number: 28

Played 2006 Season: 4 Career: 60

Crichton Position: Did not poll

Best Game: Round 21 vs Richmond

Milestones: Essendon Debut – Round 17 vs Brisbane Lions

Summary: Cole came to Essendon at the end of 2005 in a virtual trade for Ted Richards. The ward of Essendon director Beverly Knight was an Essendon supporter growing up and Essendon was set to draft him in 2001, but were beaten to it by Collingwood with selection 11. Cole’s arrival at Essendon was supposed to be a round peg in a round hole after a 5 year delay. Unfortunately Cole suffered a series of soft tissue injuries and after round 15 was accused by Sheedy of arriving to pre-season training overweight and apparently unmotivated.

2 weeks later Cole was selected for his first game in Bomber colours, after a pair of good performances for Bendigo, in Round 17 against the Brisbane Lions. Cole didn’t have a particularly big impact in any of his matches, however his hardness at the player and ball was a positive, with his tackling prominent against Richmond.

Verdict: The club and fans both were disappointed with Cole’s lack of impact this season. However after the mid-season break, several performances at VFL level showed his promise. His senior call-ups, whilst lacking in impact, showed good endeavour. With a full, solid pre-season and a good fitness base Cole will hopefully manage to solidify a spot in the senior team in 2007.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
17	29/07/2006	Brisbane Lions	3	7	10	2	0	2	0	0	0
18	5/08/2006	Sydney Swans	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	26/08/2006	Richmond	3	6	9	1	0	6	0	0	0
22	01/09/2006	Western Bulldogs	5	7	12	1	0	0	0	0	0
		Total:	12	20	32	4	0	8	0	0	0
		Average	3	5	8	1	0	2	0	0	0

Player: Courtenay Dempsey

Number: 15

Played 2006 Season: 5 Career: 5

Crichton Position: Did not poll

Best Game: Round 22 vs Western Bulldogs

Milestones: Debut – Round 7 vs Carlton

Summary: Dempsey was taken with pick 19 in the 2005 National Draft, traded from Sydney for Ted Richards, and was not expected to debut in 2006. However, from as early as intra club matches, Dempsey impressed with his speed and skills including an impressive goal on the run that started on the half back line which ended up placing 5th in Essendon's 2006 Goal of the Year competition.

Some good VFL form and a large number of injuries saw Dempsey get his senior call up for debut against Carlton in Round 7. He was in and out of the side without showing too much, however a goal against Geelong after a furious burst of speed showed it was just a matter of time until we’d get to see him doing at AFL level what he was doing at VFL.

He ended the year with two solid games against Richmond and Western Bulldogs, showing off his pace, evasiveness and skill although at times he looked indecisive.

Verdict: Dempsey is a genuinely exciting prospect who looks to continue Essendon’s fine tradition of pacey and skilful aboriginal players. Watching him in the final two rounds of the season he reminded most viewers of a young Michael Long. Whilst he is still a long way from being a player of Michael Long’s calibre, he’s one of a number of exciting pacey youngsters on Essendon’s list and will hopefully see more senior time in 2007.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
7	14/05/2006	Carlton	4	2	6	3	0	0	0	0	0
9	27/05/2006	Port Adelaide	4	2	6	1	0	2	0	0	0
11	9/06/2006	Geelong	5	2	7	3	0	0	1	0	0
21	26/08/2006	Richmond	6	6	12	6	0	1	0	0	0
22	01/09/2006	Western Bulldogs	4	9	13	3	0	2	0	0	0
		Total:	23	21	44	16	0	5	1	0	0
		Average	4.6	4.2	8.8	3.2	0	1	0.2	0	0

Player: Rick Dyson

Number: 2

Played 2006 Season: 17 Career: 38

Crichton Position: 14

Best Game: Round 17 vs Brisbane Lions

Milestones: Career Best Disposals (26) – Round 15 vs St. Kilda

Summary: Ricky had a patchy start to his season in 2006 after a strong finish to 2005. In and out of the team as well as on and off the ground, he struggled to have an impact. He solidified his place in the line-up with a solid 19 possession, 2 goal display against Carlton in Round 7. He played the rest of the season (except Round 12 vs Melbourne where he was omitted) enjoying a purple patch of form from Rounds 15 to 17, culminating in a 23 possession, 2 goal display against the Brisbane Lions.

Verdict: Ricky has struggled to find consistent form in 2006, although at times his run through the middle and silky skills were breathtaking to watch. After a series of good performances in the latter half of the season his skills, which had been prominent earlier in the year, seemed to drop off as evidenced by several missed goal opportunities against the Western Bulldogs in round 22.

However to be fair to the young midfielder, there were times when he seemed to suffer from excessive bench rotations and a lack of time on the ground, which possibly hampered his confidence. Whether this was a sign of trying to keep him fresh, or perhaps dissatisfaction from the coaches remains to be seen.

Dyson took another couple of small steps forward in 2006 from his strong finish to 2005. Another solid pre-season and the competition of a hopefully more injury-free list should help Dyson find more consistent form in 2007 and allow him to solidify himself as a valuable ball-carrier and line-breaker in Essendon’s midfield.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
2	8/04/2006	Brisbane Lions	4	1	5	1	0	0	1	0	0
4	25/04/2006	Collingwood	4	4	8	2	0	0	0	1	0
7	14/05/2006	Carlton	10	9	19	2	0	1	2	2	21
8	21/05/2006	West Coast Eagles	4	2	6	1	0	1	1	0	0
9	27/05/2006	Port Adelaide	6	10	16	3	0	2	0	1	0
10	2/06/2006	Adelaide	2	4	6	1	0	1	1	0	0
11	9/06/2006	Geelong	4	4	8	0	0	0	1	0	0
13	30/06/2006	Kangaroos	9	9	18	4	0	5	0	0	0
14	7/07/2006	Fremantle	8	5	13	3	0	2	0	0	0
15	15/07/2006	St Kilda	17	9	26	3	0	4	0	0	19
16	22/07/2006	Carlton	6	4	10	3	0	0	0	0	19
17	29/07/2006	Brisbane Lions	14	9	23	6	0	2	2	0	20
18	5/08/2006	Sydney Swans	5	5	10	2	0	0	0	0	0
19	11/08/2006	Collingwood	6	2	8	3	0	0	0	0	0
20	19/08/2006	Hawthorn	8	8	16	2	0	1	0	2	0
21	26/08/2006	Richmond	7	7	14	2	0	6	1	0	0
22	01/09/2006	Western Bulldogs	10	8	18	2	0	3	0	2	4
		Total:	124	100	224	40	0	28	9	8	83
		Average	7.29	5.88	13.18	2.35	0	1.65	0.53	0.47	4.88

Player: Dustin Fletcher

Number: 31

Played 2006 Season: 16 Career: 257

Crichton Position: 3^rd

Best Game: Round 19 vs Collingwood

Milestones: 250 Games – Round 10 vs Adelaide, Career Best Disposals (28) – Round 19 vs Collingwood

Summary: Fletcher had another stellar season in what has been a fantastic career for the lanky full back. Solid all year, Fletcher held together a backline that was constantly under siege, providing drive and leadership.

Fletcher’s best showing was undoubtedly his 28 disposal best on ground performance against Collingwood in Round 19. Fletcher provided constant rebound and drive up the ground, whilst completely dominating his opponent Anthony Rocca and holding him goalless for the match.

Verdict: Not a lot needs to be said about Fletcher, he continues to be invaluable to the Essendon line-up and is proof that Essendon faithful have no right to complain about Father-Son selections for other clubs. Fletcher’s value was further underlined by Essendon signing him to a new 2 year contract in late April. The only downsides to his season were troubles with a few niggling injuries and the unfortunate drubbing Essendon received in his milestone 250^th match.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
1	1/04/2006	Sydney Swans	11	7	18	2	0	1	0	0	24
2	8/04/2006	Brisbane Lions	17	4	21	7	0	1	0	0	0
3	16/04/2006	Western Bulldogs	11	4	15	7	0	0	0	0	17
4	25/04/2006	Collingwood	15	2	17	6	0	1	0	0	14
5	30/04/2006	Hawthorn	9	5	14	2	0	1	0	0	22
6	6/05/2006	Richmond	10	4	14	6	1	0	0	0	6
8	21/05/2006	West Coast Eagles	15	7	22	8	1	0	0	0	5
9	27/05/2006	Port Adelaide	14	3	17	7	0	0	0	0	15
10	2/06/2006	Adelaide	15	3	18	10	0	1	0	0	0
11	9/06/2006	Geelong	17	3	20	7	1	1	0	0	26
13	30/06/2006	Kangaroos	10	5	15	5	0	0	0	0	21
14	7/07/2006	Fremantle	11	7	18	7	0	0	0	0	18
17	29/07/2006	Brisbane Lions	15	3	18	7	0	1	0	0	0
18	5/08/2006	Sydney Swans	17	4	21	7	0	0	0	0	11
19	11/08/2006	Collingwood	22	6	28	10	0	1	0	0	29
20	19/08/2006	Hawthorn	2	0	2	0	0	4	0	0	0
		Total:	211	67	278	98	3	12	0	0	208
		Average	13.19	4.19	17.38	6.13	0.19	0.75	0	0	13

Player: Chris Heffernan

Number: 26

Played 2006 Season: 19 Career: 163

Crichton Position: 18

Best Game: Round 8 vs West Coast

Milestones: 150 Games – Round 5 vs Hawthorn

Summary: Heffernan was brought back home to Essendon in the 2005 PSD in a typical Sheedy move. Slotting right back in as if he’d never left, Heffernan started the season well with several solid performances however his output began to drop off towards the middle of the season, resulting in him being dropped back to Bendigo in Round 14.

After a couple of solid matches for Bendigo, Heffernan was brought back into the senior side for the Round 19 clash against Collingwood.

Verdict: Heffernan served his purpose at Essendon this year, performing several roles, but mainly as a tagger. He was briefly trialled in the backline as McVeigh was moved into the midfield and forward line. However, he looked extremely uncomfortable minding players such as Gary Ablett Jr. around goals. Best used as a defensive midfielder who will occasionally chip in for a goal or two, Heffernan provides a handy depth player. In 2007 Heffernan will probably spend more time at Bendigo, depending on injuries and whom Essendon are facing. He is currently contracted until the end of 2007 and may receive a contract extension, depending on how younger midfielders come along, however it’s hard to see him as a member of the Essendon team for more than 2 to 3 seasons.

Result: Keep

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
1	1/04/2006	Sydney Swans	10	9	19	3	0	5	1	0	6
2	8/04/2006	Brisbane Lions	10	11	21	8	0	3	1	0	0
3	16/04/2006	Western Bulldogs	12	3	15	2	0	5	1	1	9
4	25/04/2006	Collingwood	8	6	14	4	0	5	1	0	0
5	30/04/2006	Hawthorn	8	9	17	4	0	3	1	0	16
6	6/05/2006	Richmond	10	5	15	2	0	4	0	0	0
7	14/05/2006	Carlton	7	8	15	4	0	5	0	0	0
8	21/05/2006	West Coast Eagles	10	4	14	4	0	4	0	1	10
9	27/05/2006	Port Adelaide	8	8	16	4	0	4	0	0	0
10	2/06/2006	Adelaide	10	15	25	5	0	7	0	0	14
11	9/06/2006	Geelong	8	6	14	2	0	2	0	0	0
12	18/06/2006	Melbourne	12	8	20	2	0	2	0	2	0
13	30/06/2006	Kangaroos	4	10	14	3	0	2	0	0	0
15	15/07/2006	St Kilda	2	7	9	3	0	6	0	0	0
16	22/07/2006	Carlton	2	5	7	1	0	4	0	0	0
19	11/08/2006	Collingwood	12	11	23	7	0	1	0	0	11
20	19/08/2006	Hawthorn	4	7	11	5	0	4	0	0	0
21	26/08/2006	Richmond	6	6	12	1	0	3	0	0	0
22	01/09/2006	Western Bulldogs	11	9	20	2	0	3	1	0	0
		Total:	154	147	301	66	0	72	6	4	66
		Average	7.7	7.35	15.05	3.3	0	3.6	0.3	0.2	3.3

Player: Aaron Henneman

Number: 3

Played 2006 Season: 0 Career: 58

Crichton Position: Did not play

Best Game: N/A

Milestones: N/A

Summary: Aaron did not manage a game in 2006, thanks to a shoulder reconstruction.

Verdict: Although Aaron is well liked around the club and even has his fans amongst the membership, his persistent injuries and inability to establish himself in his 7 years with the club leaves him vulnerable. Henneman has only managed more than 10 senior games once in his career.

Unfortunately for Aaron he falls victim to the same set of circumstances as Mark Bolton. Essendon has a young list with very little fat in it. Add to this his history of injury troubles and he does not even have Bolton’s history of good fitness to rely upon. It’s hard to see Henneman being retained for the 2007 season.

Result: De-list

Round	Date	vs.	K	H	P	M	HO	T	G	B	Crichton
			0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
		Total:	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
		Average	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

End of Part 1

My Essendon 2006 Report Card.

So, I'm an avid Bombers fan. In fact I'm the kind of fan who seems to enjoy the rough times more than the good times. I remember being bored in 2000, we had such an awesome team that winning was just what we did and the premiership was always going to be ours. At least that's the way it felt at the time, there was no way we'd let 1999 repeat.

2001 was by far and away a much more interesting season, struggling with injuries and the burdens of fighting for back to back premierships. I actually moved to Melbourne in early 2001 (my family moved to Adelaide when I was about 10) and it was a scary place to be in your Essendon colours in September 2001. The sheer amount of Essendon hatred was very potent.

Anyway, I became a member in 2002 and have kept up my membership since then (even though I'm living in Wellington New Zealand currently). I have to say in some ways this has been the most exciting season since 1993 for me personally. Subsisting mainly on web radio broadcasts and 2-3 day old replays, I've followed the 2006 season more avidly than any before it. It's surprising (although perhaps it shouldn't be) to see the sheer amount of media bias against Essendon out there, even after all this time. Obviously this is from Victorians and normally Victorians who haven't tasted success in a long time. I guess it's understandable for St. Kilda, Richmond, etc. supporters to look at the "Big Brother" of Victorian football and be jealous. Tall Poppy syndrome is well entrenched in Australian society and no matter what Collingwood supporters might say about being the most popular Victorian club, Essendon stands alone in terms of stability and success in Victoria. Others have arguably had similar success such as Carlton and North Melbourne, and Collingwood could argue that it's as stable and moneyed up as us, however no other can claim the combination.

So! Getting on to the point of my ramble, I've been reading a lot of media about Essendon this year and been largely dissatisfied with a lot of it (although not all). Rather than quote articles while I bitch and moan about them and point out the inaccuracies, I thought I would write my own. All of this pre-word stands as a disclaimer. Yes, I am an avid Bombers member and fan. Yes, I'm a fairly positive person and tend to take a glass half full approach. But, with those two disclaimers I am going to attempt not to put a "spin" on any of the down factors or ignore facts that don't illustrate my points.

Ok, with all that said I'm going to follow a similar format to the AFL website (whose report card I unsurprisingly agreed with the most) along with a nearly full list review in the near future.

Essendon 2006 Report Card

2006 record and ladder position: Won 3, Drawn 1, Lost 17. Finished 15th

2005 record and ladder position: Won 8; Lost 14. Finished 13th.

Initial Analysis/What Went Right: From a season point of view it’s easy to answer this question with “absolutely nothing” however I feel that that answer, whilst true, ignores many positives in a season that was forgettable in terms of win/loss ratio.

The first things first let’s talk about that win/loss record. Essendon won three of twenty-two matches and was arguably trying to win at least eighteen of them (the players were trying to win twenty-two, but I’m sure most supporters would agree winning wasn’t necessarily the coach’s first priority). They dropped many matches where they were well positioned to win. No two ways about it, the number of wins on the board is disappointing.

With all of that said let’s break the season down a little more:

Round	Team	Venue	Home or Away	Result	Margin
1	Sydney	Dome	Home	Win	27
2	Brisbane Lions	Gabba	Away	Loss	18
3	Western Bulldogs	Dome	Home	Loss	11
4	Collingwood	MCG	Away	Loss	17
5	Hawthorn	MCG	Away	Loss	1
6	Richmond	MCG	Home	Loss	2
7	Carlton	MCG	Away	Loss	33
8	West Coast	Dome	Home	Loss	21
9	Port Adelaide	Dome	Home	Loss	60
10	Adelaide	AAMI Stadium	Away	Loss	138
11	Geelong	Dome	Away	Loss	42
12	Melbourne	Dome	Home	Loss	36
13	Kangaroos	Dome	Away	Loss	7
14	Fremantle	Subiaco	Away	Loss	37
15	St Kilda	MCG	Home	Loss	3
16	Carlton	MCG	Home	Draw	0
17	Brisbane Lions	Dome	Away	Win	37
18	Sydney	SCG	Away	Loss	43
19	Collingwood	MCG	Home	Win	13
20	Hawthorn	Dome	Home	Loss	18
21	Richmond	MCG	Away	Loss	16
22	Western Bulldogs	Dome	Away	Loss	22

There’s our season and there’s a couple of pretty horrible games in that lot. However if you have a good long look at it there’s only two results where we got done by more than 50 points (being Port Adelaide and Adelaide in rounds 9 and 10). Conversely let’s have a look at some of the other teams that didn’t do so well this year:

Team	Win	Draw	Loss	For	Against	%	Avg. Margin	Avg. Win	Avg. Loss
Richmond	11	0	11	1934	2245	86.15	-8.41	28.18	-48.45
Hawthorn	9	0	13	1834	2140	85.70	-13.91	30.22	-44.46
Brisbane	7	0	15	1844	2240	82.32	-15.32	31.57	-41.13
Nth. Melbourne	7	0	15	1754	2167	80.94	-17.50	18.29	-37.53
Essendon	3	1	18	2021	2469	81.86	-20.77	25.67	-29.17
16	3	1	18	1791	2415	74.16	-28.36	20.33	-35.39

Now I’ve deliberately excluded Port and Geelong from this table, as I agree with the assessment that Port has gone into rebuild mode early and is actually in pretty good shape and Geelong… well if anyone knows what the heck is going on down at Kardinia I’m sure Thommo would appreciate the call.

In an effort to see how we stack up against the other bottom teams, I believe this table actually gives us some pretty interesting results. The most glaringly obvious one is the average losing margin, ours is the lowest in that table, being -29.17 points. Richmond’s is a staggering, -48.45 due to the large number of drubbings they got, conversely their average winning margin has been propped up by a couple of big wins towards the end of the season.

Unfortunately for Carlton supporters, it becomes quickly apparent that although they finished with the same win/draw/loss ratio as Essendon, their team is in a league of it’s own. Despite having the 2006 Coleman medallist, Carlton’s percentage is a woeful 74.16 with only North having scored less during the season. However, whilst North’s against is an almost respectable 2167, only Essendon conceded more points this year than Carlton.

The most surprising statistic is the fact that Essendon scored more points than any team outside the final eight (including Geelong and Port), all this without champion spearhead Matthew Lloyd. In fact the average margin in Essendon’s games -20.77 is less than Lloyd’s average contribution of 22 points. The flipside to this is that Essendon has conceded more points than any other team.

Many will say this points to serious concerns in defence and it’s true that Essendon is lacking a reliable Centre Half Back. More importantly though, Essendon allowed opposition teams to rebound from it’s forward fifty far too easily. Time and time again Essendon’s attacking drives would falter along the Half Forward line, allowing opposition teams to send the ball back into attack to punish our defence.

Compounding this problem was Essendon’s accuracy.

Goals	Behinds	Conversion %
291	275	51.41%

Essendon’s Conversion rate of 51.41% is quite simply atrocious and this doesn’t include shots that went out of bounds on the full or failed to make the distance. In fact if you remove the 25.10 160 victory over Brisbane that conversion rate becomes exactly 50%. Essendon kicked more behinds than goals in 12 of 22 matches in the 2006 season.

This inexcusable conversion rate teamed up with Essendon’s poor forward fifty pressure and accountability helps explain what appears to be a woeful defence.

What went wrong: Injuries were a big factor in Essendon’s 2006 season. Through a combination of injury and suspension Essendon had a total of three players play all 22 games this year: Scott Lucas, Mark Johnson and Brent Stanton. No matter which way you look at it, it’s hard to string together good performances with team structure constantly changing. Putting aside the injury to Matthew Lloyd which was easily the most damaging, it was injuries to players such as Winderlich and Laycock as they were running into consistently good form that really hurt Essendon’s efforts in 2006.

Skills were also a big issue in 2006. Aside from the woeful kicking for goal, Essendon’s skills around the ground were at times simply painful to witness. In what is becoming an increasingly skill orientated game the clangers and turnovers at key times truly hurt and frustrated the fans. The most trying thing about this is that it wasn’t always the young players who were guilty of this, at times it was senior players such as Jason Johnson who were the culprits and flowing on from this, the lack of leadership and accountability displayed by a large number of senior players after Lloyd’s injury was extremely disappointing.

In my opinion a big part of the skills issue with the younger players was confidence related and this was reflected in the way Essendon went about losing it’s games, because make no mistake Essendon gave away more of it’s games than it’s opposition took. In fact throughout the season Essendon looked far more comfortable chasing down seemingly insurmountable targets than capitalising on opportunities to take or increase their lead. Time and time again when Essendon was in a winning position from playing free-flowing, running football the players would become overly concerned with protecting their precious lead rather than continuing to play the football that had bought them the lead in the first place. This lead to a large number of narrow losses (and the Carlton draw) where the opposition would manage to steal the victory from an increasingly nervous and clumsy Essendon lineup.

Who stepped up: There are several players who stepped up this year and the biggest one in anyone’s estimation has to be Jobe Watson. The transformation in Son of Tim between 2005 when many were calling for his delisting and 2006 is astronomical and this was recognised by the fans and club in his winning the Tag Heuer Player of the Year, the Nobby Clarke and his second placing in the Crichton Medal.

Another young player who had a stellar season was Brent Stanton. Continuing on from his fine 2005 where he placed 3^rd in the Crichton Medal, Stanton was a model of consistency, performing week in and week out. Although his disposal by foot was questionable in the early stages of the year, by the end of the season it had improved to the degree where he was being trusted with kick-ins in Fletcher’s absence. Stanton’s season was duly noted with a 4^th placing in the 2006 Crichton Medal.

Two senior players who stepped up were Scott Lucas and Dustin Fletcher. Scott had a patchy start to the year, however as the season wore on his presence in the forward line grew stronger and stronger, culminating in a career best 8 goal haul against the Western Bulldogs and another career best tally of 67 goals for the season.

Fletcher was a rock in a backline that was often under siege. Fletcher’s consistency, skill and rebound from the backline was simply sublime. So good was Fletcher’s efforts this year that despite playing only 16 games for the season (some of them obviously carrying injury), he finished 3^rd in the Crichton medal count and was talked about as an outside chance for the All Australian Full Back position (and not just by Essendon supporters).

As always there was James Hird and Hird, as always, was brilliant. Another injury troubled season saw Hird manage only 13 matches some of which he was obviously hampered in. Coming back from injury in Round 17, Hird lit up Telstra Dome against the Brisbane Lions in a vintage 27 disposal, 4 goal display. Once again it was Hird’s 1% contributions and the visible lift his presence gave his team mates that were large factors as he lifted the Bombers to their first victory since Round 1. Hird finished 6^th in the Crichton medal.

Finally there is David Hille, the young ruckman given the responsibilities of acting skipper. Whilst Hille struggled early on with the responsibility, he matured into the role as the season wore on and provided real leadership. He also had a good season in the ruck where he was largely without support and his efforts around the ground made his presence felt in his ability to push forward and his willingness to chase and tackle.

Missing in action: Essendon had several stars missing for large portions of the year. Most notable was captain Matthew Lloyd, however most tragically was of course Adam Ramanauskas. Dean Rioli’s injury ravaged career also came to an end in 2006 with Sheedy making sure he made it to his 100 game milestone.

Young ruckman/forward Jason Laycock once again was troubled by injuries managing only 6 games, whilst Henry Slattery managed 8 and Jason Winderlich 9.

Rising Star: Essendon failed to win any Rising Star nominations in 2006, which disappointed many fans. However this was mainly a result of having already blooded many of it’s potential young stars. Players such as Angus Monfries, Brent Stanton, Henry Slattery and Ricky Dyson having played more than 10 games prior to the start of the season (in fact Brent Stanton became a 50 game player in round 16 at the age of 20), whilst players such as Courtney Johns were disqualified due to their age. Jay Nash was the only real potential Rising Star for Essendon this year, playing 9 games, possibly hampered in his nomination by some tough assignments early in the year from Sheedy.

In terms of Rising Stars within the club, Jobe Watson and Brent Stanton have already been mentioned as a pair of young players who made themselves integral to Essendon’s midfield this year. Angus Monfries continued to win the hearts of Bombers fans nationwide with his tremendous courage and desire for the football. Many other players showed that they will be part of Essendon’s future such as Winderlich, Dyson, Dempsey, Ryder and Johns.

With 3 picks within the top twenty in this year’s draft, look to see Essendon to snare at least 1 nomination in 2007 and potentially two to three, with Dempsey and Ryder still eligible and looking to be stars of the future.

Best Win: With only three wins to choose from, this should be an easy task to pick the best win. The Round 1 win over Sydney was a fantastic win to watch and allowed the faithful to hope that 2005 had been an aberration. Then came the Round 17 win over the Brisbane Lions breaking the horrible 16 round drought, over the team that denied us back to back premierships in 2001. However, the best win has to go to the Round 19 win over Collingwood.

Collingwood was gifted the easiest final four rounds of the home and away season with matches against bottom teams Essendon, Port Adelaide, Carlton and the Roos. Going into the match Collingwood had everything to play for, however it was Essendon who were out to ruin the Pies’ party. Essendon were the hungrier outfit from the first bounce and quickly skipped out to a handy lead eager to make amends for the 17 point Anzac Day loss.

Unfortunately, Essendon fell back into bad habits in the third and early fourth quarters, allowing the pies to draw level. Essendon fans throughout the magnificent G mentally resigned themselves to the ignominy of losing twice to the hated Pies in one season. When Kepler Bradley fumbled a handball under pressure to Jason Johnson on the Half Back line it seemed the Pies would rush forward again and take the lead. However Kepler made up for his mistake, crashing through two Collingwood players to deliver to JJ, with the result a Scott Lucas goal. Two more quick goals to Nathan Lovett-Murray (courtesy of a brilliant Watson handpass) and Brent Stanton sealed the eventual 13 point victory.

Collingwood went on to win it’s final 3 matches but missed out on a top four berth care of Sydney’s percentage and were bundled out in the first round of elimination finals thanks to the Western Bulldogs.

And to any true Essendon fan, the only thing sweeter than seeing the Collywobbles out of the finals is being able to deliver a gift-wrapped wooden spoon to Carlton with the same blow.

Worst Loss: As opposed to the previous category there’s a plethora of losses to choose from here. The three main contenders are probably the Round 7 33 point loss to Carlton, the Round 9 60 point loss to Port or the Round 10 138 point drubbing from Adelaide.

Whilst the Round 10 loss was the heaviest loss of any team this season, I would argue that the Round 7 loss narrowly edges out the Round 9 for the worst loss of the season.

Essendon went into the match clear favourites after a series of narrow losses since their Round 1 win over Sydney, however Essendon just didn’t seem to be interested in winning on the day. Despite some Andrew Lovett magic in front of goal they ultimately went down by 33 points to the worst side in the competition. Whilst the Port loss two weeks later after a spirited West Coast match was similar in nature, it’s my opinion that the Carlton loss was the one that really robbed the players of all self confidence given that they really should have won it. And taking into account the difference in class between Carlton and Port, the Round 7 match is a lot less palatable.

You’ll forgive me if I choose not to dwell here any longer ;).

Shopping List: It will seem astounding to most that I don’t see Essendon as having any desperate needs in their playing list. Despite our win/loss ratio Essendon has been competitive for most of the season and has shown that it’s young list is the result of some good recruiting over the past 3 drafts. A Centre Half Back and Full Back is needed for the future, however potentials Andrew Lee and Austin Lucy are building up their credentials in the VFL and Lee has shown some promising signs at AFL level.

Dustin Fletcher will be around for 2 more seasons and Scott Lucas can be used on the Half Back line in the meantime. Many argue that given his outstanding season up forward this year, moving him down back is lunacy, however with Matthew Lloyd and Courtney Johns as the two key forwards he can arguably be spared unless we want to stretch a defence. The flexibility of being able to swing Lucas forward from Centre Half Back also allows us to give young potentials time in the position without leaving them to have their confidence shattered by the power forwards for four quarters.

With Andrew Lovett and James Hird hopefully playing full or near-full seasons next year, the defensive pressure in the forward 50 should hopefully rack up a couple of notches. Add Mark McVeigh to the half-forward line as another nuggetty forward who can take a mark and put Lloyd in the centre half forward spot (rotating through full forward with Courtney) and suddenly Essendon’s forward line looks incredibly dangerous.

The midfield is probably still Essendon’s weakness as it has been for the past 2-3 seasons. Jason Johnson and Damien Peverill have likely saved their careers with strong finishes to the season and a raft of speedy midfielders are coming through with the likes of Winderlich, Dempsey and Dyson now available. However accountability in the midfield is still lacking as are skills when under pressure. Another in-and-under ball winner to support Jobe and a fast, skilful ball carrier would help out here.

Arguably Essendon’s biggest shopping list will be non-list related. The club has already indicated an increase in recruitment spending and the addition of a sports scientist position and most fans would argue that a new skills coach is needed. Whether the proposed football department changes announced earlier this year are enough remains to be seen.

Summation: In what has been a disaster season for Essendon, somehow the team has managed to remain competitive and play an extremely enjoyable brand of football. The question is, did Essendon hit rock bottom this year, or is there still further to go? There’s been an acknowledged hole in Essendon’s recruiting from 1999 till 2001, with only two players from this period remaining on the list in acting skipper David Hille and Andrew Welsh. However the recruiting from 2002 onwards looks to be paying dividends as evidenced over the fierce debate over de-listings on fan forums. Many fans struggle to eliminate more than 5 from the existing list.

In my opinion this has been the first season since 2003 when Essendon hasn’t relied upon a rapidly diminishing number of premiership players to carry their increasingly fragile and mercurial list. It’s fair to say that Essendon’s finishing position has been an accurate reflection of the inexperience of the list after last year’s clean out. Just as accurate is the vast improvement in form towards the end of the season, starting with the Round 15 loss to St. Kilda, as the harsh lessons of the AFL were impressed upon the young list.

With the return of it’s Captain, a big focus on skills during the pre-season and the team bonding and confidence from this season, expect a better return from Essendon in 2007. Whilst it won’t be a dramatic turn around, I think we’ll see the same level of competitiveness but with and increase of confidence and a hopeful increase in skills I believe Essendon will be winning a lot more of the close matches next year. We should also see less throwing away of games, with a 6 to 8 finish unlikely, but not unreasonable. Anything below top 10 would at this stage probably be deemed as unacceptable and if it happens, expect to see coach of 25 years Sheedy moved on by Essendon’s new president.

Next instalment will be my individual player analysis in the next few days. Hope you enjoyed my review.

Modern Day Dae

'Cos knobbins went to the effort of hassling me, here's one of the aforementioned short stories that have been lying around in a half complete state. This still isn't complete... long way to go, but it's further along than most of the others.

I've been writing a lot of stuff about Amon's people the Daelentii recently, trying to get a better handle on their national psyche. Thought it might be interesting to place them in a modern setting and view them from an outsider's perspective.

This piece is a quasi-journalistic recounting of events around the Dae. As I said, it's not complete and I'll do another installment sometime in the nearish future to complete it.

Back in Amon's time (at some unspecified point in history, but at least 1 - 2000 years prior to this setting) they were an incredibly regimented and focused people. Their Rantin system of ranking even ranks art and philosophy, things which arguably cannot be ranked. They believe they were once human and were modified by a wizard to save the world from a particular war-like disaster. This disaster still seems to be pending in the modern day setting... a bit like the Jewish Messiah I guess. If indeed what they believe is true, the question could be asked how they'd recognise it.

This has lead to a society where the average person (be he banker, scientist or construction worker) is more deadly than a member of the SAS, or Rangers or what have you... and their soldiers are truly deadly. It's also a society that is focused nearly entirely on continuing to improve their method of combat and the technology used.

Still haven't thought my way through all of this as you may be able to tell, but there's nothing wrong with a ramble for a preamble.

Here tis:

It’s a truly disconcerting sight to witness; a young Daelentii police officer lecturing gang members against the use of violence as he stands amidst the carnage he has just wreaked to stop the inter-gang warfare.

To human eyes he looks no older than his early twenties, but the markings on his daen marks him as third rank so he’s probably at least fifty.

He singles out the leaders and tells the rest to leave their weapons and disperse. Amazingly they comply. Or perhaps not so amazing, fifteen of their fellows lay dead, more than likely would have died had the battle been allowed to rage.

Ten years ago, this would have been unthinkable. A Daelentii walking a beat in the slums of Greater New York. Until very recently the Daelentii were a small to mid-sized nation located along the northern side of the Himalays and almost pathologically xenophobic. Only once in reliable history had they ever interfered with the world outside their own borders. On January 20 1951, after a lack of action from the United Nations, the Dalai Lama formally requested the help of the Daelentii against the incursions of China into their close neighbour Tibet.

The Daelentii response was to formally declare Tibet a protectorate of the Daelentii Empire and warn the Chinese government to withdraw within fourteen days. China ignored them as it had the West, the Daleantii “Empire” was a small country, what could they do?

On February 8^th 1951 after the expiration of the fourteen day grace period, an estimated 5,000 Daelentii soldiers entered Tibetan territory and proceeded to engage the Chinese forces. Political Commissar Wang Qiemi and his high command were assassinated on February 10^th by unknown parties, presumed to be Daelentii in origin. With their commanders dead, Chinese forces in the region fell into disarray and on March 1^st Spokesman Derren Bladenstill declared Tibet free of occupation. An estimated 75,000 Chinese soldiers were killed or captured in the brief Daelentii campaign to free Tibet.

On June 1^st 1951 the Dalai Lama and Spokesman Derren Bladenstill signed a Mutual Protection Pact between Tibet and the Daelentii. The Daelentii also agreed to provide troops to help keep Tibet free until such time as a standing Tibetan army could be trained and equipped.

After this brief interference in international affairs the Daelentii once again retreated to their isolationist policy, aside from a brief resurgence to rout an attempted re-invasion by the People’s Republic of China in 1959.

There were several fallouts from these interludes and a lot was learnt about the Daelentii from a militaristic viewpoint. The first was the capture of an estimated 10,000-20,000 Chinese troops who were never returned. Despite this being a direct violation of the Geneva Convention, the Daelentii refused to return any prisoners it might have or even allow them to communicate with their homelands. Even under threat of military action the Daelentii refused to acknowledge that they held any prisoners and pointed out that they had not signed the Geneva Convention and were not bound by it’s terms even if they did.

This stance of the Daelentii was cause for a great deal of civil controversy in most Western nations, with civilian populations divided between the fear caused by such a flagrant break in international law and the observation that the Chinese were clearly the aggressors and only the Daelentii had been willing to militarily involve themselves. Though never resolved, eventually the issue was laid aside and the Daelentii Empire was formally invited to join the United Nations, which they refused.

Aside from the political ramifications of Daelentii involvement, vast technological strides were made as a result of military equipment abandoned by Daelentii troops. The Daelentii technology was vastly superior to that of other nations of the time. Sophisticated nightvision and communications equipment as well as advanced weaponry were retrieved. Although no working samples of any Daelentii technology were recovered, the broken remnants still helped both military and civilian technologies leap forward.

The final fallout of this military action, was the realisation of the Daelentii Empire as a real military force. Aside from their advanced weaponry, the Daelentii tactics were quite revolutionary. During their initial freeing of Tibet, the Daelentii used a combination of assassination and guerrilla warfare to unsettle and ultimately rout the vastly superior forces of the PRC. Initially the presumption internationally was that the Daelentii had a small, highly trained defence force. However when repelling the attempted re-invasion in 1959 the Daelentii committed a much larger force of approximately 150,000 soldiers as well as heavy artillery, supersonic bombers and fighters. This vastly superior force crushed the invasion attempt and once again displayed their vast technological superiority over their opponents.

The Daelentii troops involved were described as extremely tall, seeming to average at approximately 7’6” in height. When seen without combat headgear, they had elongated ears and large, slanted eyes. Standard combat weaponry appeared to be a semi-automatic rifle of some sort, as well as two handguns and a long katana-style sword.

Of more concern to nations internationally was the response and deployment time of Daelentii forces. This also spoke of a highly efficient intelligence gathering network. On September 13^th 1956 the Daelentii Empire wrote to the Secretary General of the United Nations formally warning all nations that any attempt to gain intelligence of it’s territories via land, air or space would be met with deadly force. This extraordinary statement once again caused ripples of unease amongst nations. It’s worth noting that the first official satellite launch by the United States of America did not take place until January 28 1958. Once again, this pointed to a highly efficient intelligence network.

However, despite concerns of the superpowers of the time, the Daelentii Empire showed no interest in imposing itself on it’s neighbours or otherwise becoming involved in international affairs. This was broken only by the formation of the Daelentii Tibetan and Nepalese Defense Alliance (DTNDA). Indeed there were no further incidents until June 2004 when it was leaked that the PAS 6 satellite that was decommissioned in March of that year due to power system difficulties, had actually been struck in flight after photographing Daelentii territory.

This was the last acknowledged involvement of the DE (aside from continuing to train and equip the Tibetan and Nepalese National Armies) until the infamous “Line In The Sand” War in 2023. The on-again off-again war between Israel and Lebanon had once again blown up into outright conflict. However this time China, in an effort to expand it’s influence internationally after a prolonged period of domestic focus and growth, openly supported Lebanon, arming Hezbalah and other domestic militant groups to help them match against the US backed Israeli army.

The US, in an effort to reassert itself as the dominant global culture after growing unpopularity due to it’s interference in the Middle East and it’s “War on Terror” in the early 21^st century, escalated the conflict by sending military aid to Israel and declaring Lebanon a terrorist state. China responded by sending it’s own troops to the area as well as declaring economic sanctions against the US for it’s unreasonable use of force.

Nations began to line up on either side of the conflict. Traditional allies Great Britain, France and Australia lined up with the US. However Asia sided almost exclusively with China. Japan and South Korea both declared themselves neutral, it is believed they were pressured by a threat from China to help arm North Korea against them if they interfered.

Into what was slowly building into World War III stepped the Daelentii. At the bequest of the XVth Dalai Lama, on August 13^th 2026 Spokesman Derren Bladenstill issued a letter to the Secretary General declaring that the Daelentii Empire was representing the civilians of Lebanon and Israel in accordance with the wishes of the Dalai Lama. The letter warned all nations to stand down their forces or the Daelentii would be forced to retaliate, any nation continuing the conflict after August 17^th 2026 would be seen as being in violation of this warning.

On August 18^th at approximately midnight GMT President Howard Raines of the United States of America, Prime Minister Robert Taylor of Great Britain, Premier Wong Zhongyou of the People’s Republic of China, President Gerard Legoussart of the French Republic and Prime Minister Timothy Blake of the Commonwealth of Australia were all assassinated along with most of their senior cabinets. As the world reeled in shock from this unprecedented attack, the Daelentii Empire went to war.

By August 21^st, all non-commercial satellites had been rendered ineffective, including several commercial satellites which relayed military feeds and communications. With most international early warning systems rendered ineffective a series of guerrilla attacks accompanied by ICBM’s sought to neutralise the international community’s nuclear arsenal, knocking out military radar and communication centres throughout Asia, Europe and the Continental US.

Widespread panic was felt worldwide. It was terror warfare on a scale never before dreamed of and most nations were crippled in their ability to respond. Hostilities in the Middle East were ceased as nations who only days earlier had been enemies, became allies and sought to overcome this new threat.

It seemed to the world that the Daelentii were everyone’s worst nightmare of a terrorist state. A state that not only supported terrorists, but provided them with technology that far outstripped anything developed by superpowers such as China and the US.

On August 28^th 2026 100,000 DTNDA troops landed throughout Israel and Lebanon, taking control of Jerusalem and Beirut. With precision bomber support these troops neutralised international forces in the area, disarming them and ordering them out of Israel and Lebanon.

On August 30^th 2026 Leader Bairen Laintessin of the Daelentii Empire held a press conference for international media, declaring both Israel and Lebanon wholly under DTNDA control, with all military and militia’s disarmed and all foreign troops removed. He announced the immediate withdrawal of 50,000 of the troops currently in the area, the rest comprising of 10,000 Nepalese, 10,000 Tibetan and 30,000 Daelentii troops would remain as a police and peacekeeping force until such time as Lebanon and Israel could come to a mutually agreeable peace agreement to be negotiated in the UN assembly in the US.

A few paragraphs. (Galaius part I?)

Hey, a very short post that I had a sudden urge to write. Sorry for the complete lack of new stories recently. I'm a long way from done on Amon (OMG shutup Dave :P), but that's a pretty involved story with a lot of elements, so I need time to figure out how I want to progress it. And time is something I'm a little short on at the moment ;). I've been considering re-writing the whole thing in a different style, but then decided I had a different character that style would suit more.

Err rambling post. Neways, I have a lot of ideas for this Galaius character and his world/timeline, hopefully soon I'll have the time to pursue it and flesh it out beyond this brief teaser. Teaser... hah!

Here 'tis

Galaius watched as his army steadily went about the business of winning the battle.

The enemy, poor primitive creatures that they were, fought bravely. From his vantage he regularly witnessed acts of stupendous heroism and courage. On the left flank three comrades impaled themselves upon the spears of a phalanx to tear down the tall shields and make an opening for the men behind them. For a moment the wall rippled and many of the front rank fell, but the middle warriors with their short swords swiftly killed the attackers as new spearmen moved forward to fill the breach.

The way they fought was inspirational and Galaius privately urged them on. Towards the centre from the recovered phalanx a giant of a man swung a massive broadsword, shearing through shields and armour. The barbarians around him surged forward, inspired by the indomitable strength of the man. Blood streamed from at least four wounds, two arrows decorated his chest, as Galaius watched a third suddenly sprouted from the left eye socket and the man fell, a timely shot from one of the marksmen who watched for such situations. The Shining Legions were too canny to allow individual heroism to turn the tide of battle.

A shout came from the right flank as a spotter sighted the enemy cavalry charging in in an attempt to cut off the temptingly strung out third cohort. A bugle sounded, two short burst followed by a slightly longer and the cohort coalesced into a bristling fixed phalanx, spears braced for impact. Even as the cavalry smashed into the suddenly bristling barrier, Galaius’ own cavalry smashed into them from behind, grinding them up against the wall of spears.

All across the battlefield similar scenes played themselves out. No matter what the barbarians tried, the Legions had seen it before and had drills to combat it and the heart was going out of the dying enemy.

Galaius turned to his sub-commander.

“All seems well in hand Luceus, you may take it from here.”

Galaius headed for his tent. There was a large bottle of brandy waiting for him and he needed the sweet oblivion of drink to sleep.