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In 2008 the Bombers were riddled with injuries across the board and by the end of the year 20 out of their 40 senior players had undergone some form of surgery. Under new coach Matthew Knights, the team was playing a new faster paced brand of footy that they were not used to. As such the team struggled to find any sort of consistency throughout the year. This was evident from the 8 match losing streak from round 4 to 11, which was then followed by 4 wins, then 7 losses out of the last 9 games (including a 108 point belting in round 22 against St Kilda). They were an exciting team to watch when they were “on” but were horrible to watch when they were not.
Backline
With an aging Fletcher and a still learning Ryder heading up Essendon’s defensive line the Bombers struggled. Although finishing 12th on the ladder they still had the third worst percentage in the league with only West Coast and Melbourne below them in that regard. The move of McPhee to the forward line just loaded more pressure on the previously named players and goals generally came freely to the opposition. Youngsters Jarrod Atkinson, David Myers and Darcy Daniher all showed promise but with all three of them having played less than 10 games in their careers they still have a long way to go.
Midfield
The area of the team that is so important to the fast paced brand of footy that Knights introduced. The ability to move the ball quickly and efficiently through the midfield is key to a team’s success (Geelong has proved this) and the Bombers tried, and sometimes succeeded, in doing this. The move of Mark McVeigh and Andrew Welsh to the middle of the ground was a stroke of genius on Knights’ part and these two combined with Brent Stanton and Jobe Watson showed that they were able to work well together. Unfortunately for the Dons though McVeigh spent much of the year on the sidelines due to injury and Watson and Stanton were in and out of the team so struggled to find a rhythm.
Forwards
This is another area of concern for the Bombers. With gun forward Scott Lucas going down in the first 10 minutes of the season with an ACL injury the task of kicking goals was left to Skipper Matthew Lloyd and an array of youngsters. With highly rated youngster Scott Gumbleton constantly injured during 2008, he failed to make an appearance yet again. Jay Neagle made a few promising appearances but he became the latest addition to the injury list and struggled to return before the season was out. Lloyd started the year below par but after copping a heap of criticism from the fans and the media alike, he bounced back in the second half of the season to finish the year strongly. When speedster Alwyn Davey went down to an ACL at training just before the ANZAC day match the Bombers lost an important forward defensive pressure player, and forward defensive pressure went almost completely out the window for the rest of the season.
Rucks
What can be said about Essendon’s ruck department other than David Hille needs support. The 2008 Essendon Best and Fairest winner had his best season, but when he was not in the ruck at the stoppages the Dons looked a little lost. Jason Laycock spent the year as second ruckman but never really got into a rhythm. Sometimes he looked lazy, other times just a bit uncoordinated, whatever the problem was, he didn’t step up enough. I remember going to the round 16 match against Richmond and noting that every time Hille was rested and Laycock was contesting the Bomber fans got much more edgy. He also had not one but two opportunities to possibly win the match from set shots and hooked them both. Hille is awesome at the stoppages, around the ground, and in front of goal for a ruckman but he can’t do the job alone.
Summary/Expected Finish
The Bombers still have a lot more rebuilding to do before they are even knocking on the door of the eight in my opinion. Consistency will be the key in 2009 because we have already seen what the team can do when they are having a good day; they just need to have good days more frequently. With the inclusion of first round draft pick Michael Hurley into the backline some of the pressure should be taken off Fletcher and Ryder, and hopefully this can be converted to lower opposition scores. Injury free years from Lucas, Gumbleton and Neagle should provide Lloyd with enough support for the team to get some numbers on the board. Likewise if McVeigh and Watson can stay injury free they should be able to rack up some possessions and move the ball forward. The loss of Welsh to a broken leg/ankle before the NAB Cup is a massive blow but if the Dons can post some wins without him it will be a good sign. With Laycock currently injured and likely to miss the first couple of rounds, young ruckman Tom Bellchambers will get the chance to stand up. If nothing else it will get him game time and confidence to maybe take a permanent position in the team. In my opinion they should make Laycock earn his place back in the team from Bellchambers once fit as it will make him value it more. I think Essendon should reach double figures with wins, and if this happens I believe the year will be an overall success for them. With players like Welsh and the newly acquired Brent Prismall currently injured, Essendon still has a bit of talent in the stands. If the Bombers can string a little bit of consistency together in 2009 and come away with some wins, they should be set up beautifully to take it all to a new level in 2010. Bombers fans should still see this season as another rebuilding season that will hopefully set them up well for future success.
10th-12th
Best 22
FB: Paddy Ryder, Dustin Fletcher, Henry Slattery
HB: Jarrod Atkinson, Adam McPhee, Courtenay Dempsey
C: Brent Stanton, Ricky Dyson, Jason Winderlich
HF: Matthew Lloyd, Scott Lucas, Hayden Skipworth
FF: Scott Gumbleton, Jay Neagle, Angus Monfies
Fol: David Hille, Mark McVeigh, Jobe Watson
Int: Tom Bellchambers, Michael Hurley, Bachar Houli, Alwyn Davey
NOTE: Welsh would be there if fit as would Laycock (unfortunately)
Tags: 2009 Previews
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