The season reports are in ladder position they finished so first up we had Melbourne Demons who finished 16th, then Richmond Tigers, Fremantle Dockers, North Melbourne, Sydney Swans, the West Coast Eagles, Port Adelaide and yesterday the Hawthorn Hawks, that rounded out the bottom eight. Now we start on the teams that finished in the finals starting with the Essendon Bombers who finished 8th.
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Knights brought the Bombers back into the finals but the way he has handled Lloyd & Lucas has left a sour taste in a few fans mouth.
The Year It Was
- Finished: 8th with 10 wins
- Kick2Kick Season Prediction: 11th
What Went Right
A lot went right for Essendon at various stages of the year including wins over rivals Carlton (twice), the undefeated St Kilda and Collingwood.
Other players stepped up to fill important roles in the team that will stand the club for more finals football next year. Paddy Ryder was ‘pigeon holed’ as a backman who played ruck after the Anzac day match and if Hille can return they will have a ruck tandem to challenge any clubs.
Tayte Pears, Michael Hurley, Jobe Watson, Lovett, Monfries and Winderlich all showed enough for the club to be built around them.
What Went Wrong
Injuries did not help. Hille played 5 games until he went down with a knee. McVeigh, Laycock, Reimers, Houli & Fletcher also all missed chunks of the season which did not help the club as they looked to keep in touch with the 8.
The young players also seemed to run out of legs towards the season especially when they had to travel to Perth twice in four weeks, the result? 2 horrible losses that almost cost them a shot at finals.
The running saga between Knights & Lloyd is almost becoming embarassing, Lloyd was average at times but he is the captain and he has showed he could do what Hird did in his last season by playing 13- 16 games and having an impact.
Knights also looked likely to be a part of Lucas‘ early retirement and in the finals, with no Lloyd they had no forward structure.
Player(s) that Stepped Up
Paddy Ryder had his best year in the position he played as a youngster in the ruck and Jobe Watson stepped up to be fancied as the next Essendon captain.
Trade Bait/ Goodbye’s
Scott Lucas retired mid season and in the final they needed him. Matthew Lloyd also looks likely to ‘pushed’ into retirement.
I would not expect Essendon to get rid of many players or use them for trade bait however Andrew Lovett would appeal to a few clubs including West Coast and any other club needing pace.
Improvement Needed by
Jay Neagle, Scott Gumbleton and Jason Laycock have showed promise but due to injuries, form and an indifferent work effort they have yet to fire and show why they are seen as Essendon’s future. If they do not step up in 2010 they will be shipped out.
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