Essendon Bombers AFL News

2010 AFL Season Preview - Port Adelaide
By Allblack Port is a hard team for me to review. Mostly because no team in the AFL holds less interest for me and secondly because their form doesnt match their supposed talent. Last year would have been a nightmare for those at Alberton and they will be expecting a lot more improvement this year. Their backline is attacking but give up a lot of points. Only the bottom three teams gave up more last year and they only gave up 7 goals less than Melbourne over the season. That is a pretty big gap to improve on. They went reasonably tall in the draft recognising their deficiency but we all know big men take time. Schulz was pulled in as a quick fix and I think he will play more back. Chaplin has come a long way and still has improvement left. I am not sure how much run Chad Cornes has left but he is important back there. They will be hoping Trengrove will show more this year on the field rather than off it. Nash will be an interesting acquisition this year. You would suspect he has been recruited to be a playmaker from the half back line, he certainly hasnt shown signs previously of being able to play defensively. I would expect further improvement from Surjan this year as well. Carlisle still has improvement left Their midfield should have been a strength last year but they lost their best player to Hawthorn in Burgoyne. Kane Cornes didnt seem anywhere near as effective last year. Cassissi is consistent but not what I would consider a match winner. They recruited a gun last year in Hartlett who will improve massively this year. Boak is primed for some serious improvement as well as Salopek who after a slow start is finding his feet. Pearce and Krakeour need to work on consistency or will be spending less time in the middle and more at the opposite ends of the ground although with no Burgoynes this year it really is time for them to step up. Their forward line has promise but with Tredrea having to go around again we know the depth isnt there. Justin Westhoff had a bit of the second year blues last year but looks a quality prospect. Daniel Motlop is a freak but those pictures of him during the preseason looking very out of shape must be a concern. I know he has been injured but in this day and age turning out like that is unacceptable. Rodan will kick his 20 odd goals but he seems to be finding it harder as well. Gray did well last year as a smaller forward but think he may start to move towards the midfield this year. Will be curious to see if Butcher gets a run this year, I think he might and might also go ok. Their ruck stocks have plummeted. No more Lade leaves Brogan to carry a very big load. You know when you have to take Cameron Cloke as a mature age back up that you are thin in the big man stakes. If for any reason Brogan cant play they are in big trouble. They have some young rucks coming through but I wouldnt want to expose them just yet. Mark Williams is a very good coach. At least he is capable of being a very good coach. Things went off the rails last year and it is pretty each to question his commitment to the job from everything we saw and heard. He lost some of the senior players and the results show a team who didnt perform to their potential. I think Port are capable of being a top eight team but whether they can find that sort of form or not is a pretty big question mark. I have them around the 10 mark again. I have trouble seeing enough improvement in them to push into the eight at this stage unless there is a lot more commitment. Click Here for the BomberBlitz.com Forum Thread »
Added: 1 month ago, Source: Bomber Blitz

I never wanted to leave Essendon: Welsh
Veteran Andrew Welsh explains that he never had any intetion of walking out on the Bombers last year »
Added: 1 month ago, Source: AFL.com.au

2010 AFL Season Preview - North Melbourne
By Allblack North is harder than most teams to work out. At the time the Richmond and North jobs were up most people rated the list of Richmond above North but there has been a pretty serious change in philosophy since then and North seem rated much higher. If I miss players during this review you will have to forgive me as they are a team I am not as across as others. Starting with their backline. Hansen last year started to show why he was rated so highly and is the player the backline will be built around in coming years. Gibson will be missed this year despite him being undersized. Grima showed a bit last year and Harding is nothing if not reliable but will probably play more in the middle. Thompson had his breakout year and looks the goods for a time to come. Urquhart is a very good find and gives the run they need as well as racks up finding the ball. Firrito is very reliable and along with Pratt will allow them to swing Hansen forward as needed. The midfield leaves too few people to do the work. Harvey is a gun although time is not his friend. Ziebell will be one hell of a player once he gets a few more games under his belt. They found a very good player as well in Liam Anthony who if he can stay on the park will continue to find the ball and uses it pretty well. Swallow was solid. I would expect Cunnington to play a bit this year should give them more grunt. Rawlings is getting on but still expect him to get the job done each week. I was tempted to leave Wells out entirely but you never know, he may come good this year. He has the talent but I am not sure he will ever realise it on a regular basis. All in all though the midfield lacks depth and would think they will struggle against the harder and classier teams. I was tempted to leave Wells out entirely but you never know, he may come good this year. He has the talent but I am not sure he will ever realise it on a regular basis. The forward line is the weakest point for North. Petrie lead the goal kicking last year with 27 goals. The much talked about combination of Thomas and Campbell didnt really perform to the hype in which they were mentioned. Whilst Hale has had some good games I dont buy him as a Key Forward. The forward line is one of the weakest in the AFL. I dont see them being able to kick enough goals to beat many teams this year. McIntosh is a top shelf ruck. After him we are probably looking at Goldstein who shows promise but is still a way off. There is nothing to speak of after than. Hale and Petrie are probably next in line but are needed elsewhere. The coach is a hard one to rank. What I have seen and heard of him looks impressive. He was a slightly left field choice at the time but looks a solid one. They also have an up to date training facility as well now so we will have to wait and see what difference that makes. They are a hard team to predict and will win a few games this year but I am far from convinced about them or the depth of their list. For mine I think they will be bottom three. I cant see them scoring enough goals to trouble many teams. I think the midfield isnt strong enough to compete on a regular basis. A key injury or two could see them fighting off the wooden spoon. Click Here for the BomberBlitz.com Forum Thread »
Added: 1 month ago, Source: Bomber Blitz

2010 AFL Season Preview - Sydney
By Allblack So what to make of Sydney. They have just had their worst season in a while. Lost their best two forwards, one of the best rucks in the country and the coach announced his future retirement. Still consensus would tend to indicate people expect them to bounce back next year and not without good reason. Their backline is bolstered with the return of Kennelly although a lot of the hard work is done for them by the midfield controlling the speed at which the ball can be moved forward by the opposition. LRT played a lot of football last year which I have to say I think is a bad thing. The sooner he isnt in their best 22 will be an indication they are getting better. Richards has been reliable when on the field but his output definitely seemed down last year. Bolton is not getting any younger but keeps on going and finds a way to negate the good forwards. Mattner proved a very good pick up as did Shaw who for mine still needs to tighten up. Malceski is a bit of a wildcard for them, he was a very good player before his “experimental” knee surgery and if he can rediscover that form he will make them a better team. The midfield is hardly going to excite you. They will get the job done more often than not. Bolton though is showing signs the body has copped enough of a beating. Kirk is in a similar boat with his output dropping off a little last year and I expect it will drop further this year. McVeigh still has some improvement left. I rate McGlynn as a very handy pick up and think Kennedy will also be really good for them. I dont see either as a game breaker though. Jack shows promise and I would expect to see a little more of Goodes back in the midfield this year after spending more time up forward last year. I dont think the midfield has improved which must be a worry for Roos. The forward line looks good. Bradshaw is a gun. If he can keep his body right I think he will have a really strong year. I think Rohan and Jetta will see game time up forward this year and both are exciting prospects. Okeefe started to find some form again towards the end of last season but expect he will spend more time bolstering the midfield. Jesse White is a really exciting prospect who I think will come along even further under the guidance of Bradshaw. I would also think Veszpremi will get more games this year and should show improvement. The rucks are going to be interesting. They have invested heavily in bringing across Seaby and Mumford. I dont know whether Seaby is good enough to justify first ruck status and whilst I think Mumford still has improvement left I have no doubt Sydney paid above the odds. They have Pyke as well but would be hugely surprised if he is still on the list come season end. Overall though they have enough options and should be pretty solid. Roos is a proven coach. His record is amazing with the talent he had had at his disposal. For that reason I would never write them off. He builds a unit better than anyone else in AFL football. At the same time I suspect a lot of the coaching duties were undertaken by Longmire last year and expect maybe even more this year. I dont rate him nearly as highly. I think those talking of the Swans making the 8 are premature. I am not convinced last year was a down year but more the aging list struggling with a heavy game plan. I think even with some good trading and drafting last year they will still struggle to improve enough to make the 8. I think 10-11 for them is about the mark. Click Here for the BomberBlitz.com Forum Thread »
Added: 1 month ago, Source: Bomber Blitz

2010 AFL Season Preview - West Coast
By Allblack West Coast finished off last year with a bang. Just when everyone thought they were tanking they came good and finished off the year with a climb up the ladder and we saw a lot of their younger players start to step up. Was it a precursor to a good year in 2010 or was it like Richmond on 08 and instead the arrival of a false dawn. Their backline is good enough to get the job done most weeks. Glass is a very high quality defender although at times may have struggled with leadership and his on field role. There will be high hopes for Spangher this year who finished off last year with a very tantalising look at what he is capable of, he is a good size and can find the ball. Waters still has improvement left and there are few people in the AFL who can kick the ball as well as Hurn. Jones is the prototype running defender and it looked like Nicoski may not be far away from being back to his best. As Embley starts to have less impact on games I would think Scott Selwood will develop further and may even play more midfield this year. The midfield is deceiving. We all associate West Coast with their midfield of five years ago but they dont have that level of class any more. Kerr is elite but his body and his abaility to handle a hard tag bring into question his ability to be the number one midfielder. Priddis gets a lot of the ball but whilst being a dream for fantasy footy players I dont think he hurts the opposition nearly enough for the amount of ball he gets. Rosa started to show touch towards the end of last year when settled into a midfield role but also doesnt hurt opponents enough. Masten will be a gun, he still has a lot of improvement left. Dalzeill ran a 16 beep test and will be a very handy pick up and as usual Adam Selwood . Swift and Ebert will be looking for more game time and should add to a handy midfield. It isnt a world beating midfield yet but they will hold their own against most teams. They need Kerr to stay fit. The forwardline is much improved. LeCras is all class. I know there is talk of him playing more time in the middle but when a small/mid sized forward kicks 58 goals in a season he isnt going anywhere. McKinley for mine is promising but still yet to show consistency. Kennedy will embarrass Carlton this year as he develops further and is the player the forwardline should be built around. Lynch played a lot of ruck last year but think he will be settled back into the forward line. I really rate Mitch Brown. I dont know where Hansen is going to fit in and think he will struggle to get a game unless down back. The rucks cant be argued with. Cox is the best in the game. His body is the only question mark there. NicNat is only going to improve and this will be another building year for him. They have Lynch is needed as a third ruck. I have never really rated Worsfold which sounds like a strange thing to say about a premiership coach but his game plan always seemed to rely on too few to do the work and class players seemed to carry the team. This year will show if that is right or not as he needs a good game plan and a much more even contribution. Their list should be one that challenges for the top eight this year. The home ground advantage and some quality young players should bring its natural progression. They will be in the battle for 8th spot and I think they may just miss out and finish around 9th but dont be surprised if they win an extra couple and finished around 7 or 8. Click Here for the BomberBlitz.com Forum Thread »
Added: 1 month ago, Source: Bomber Blitz

Training Report - 18/1/10
By Ball Magnet Training was this morning at Windy Hill. Windy, showery and cold conditions. I read about the superboot thing last night and was wondering why nobody was there. I thought shit, that went down like a lead baloon. Apparently its next Monday. Anyway, not too much to report. Myers walked laps with his thigh strapped. I think something was mentioned last week about a hamstring. His fitness will be at a high base so I doubt it will be a huge interruption for him. Laycock jogged laps (must be incredibly frustrating for him), Daniher just did 200 meter runs, Tyson Slattery did some training but left early. Neagle left the track a little early, but I didn’t notice any problems with him. Hurley trained without impediment. It was interesting to see them handle the wet and windy conditions. I was impressed at their skills for about the first half-hour, but it got pretty scrappy after that though. Fatigue and the elements made for some missed targets and a bit of fumbling. Just a few random observations: Jetta looks good. Melksham moves nicely and can kick beautifully. Crameri is quite a big unit. Neagle’s skills are pretty impressive for a big man. I took particular notice of Gumby and while his speed is good, he seems to me to need more work on his agility. He just looks a little awkward when bending down, changing direction etc. But I might be expecting too much from an almost 200cm guy coming back from a back operation. Simon Madden was there helping all the rucks which was great to see. Knights did some work in a group with all the new recruits. Teaching young players really seems to be an important characteristic of his coaching. Click Here for the BomberBlitz.com Forum Thread »
Added: 2 months ago, Source: Bomber Blitz

Training Report - 15/1/10
By gluteus cransberg My first training session since the 2000 grand final last session. As such, I was pretty rusty on being able to spot anything other than a blur of players. The regulars: Tyson Slattery – was just running laps but looked in real good nick to me. Neagle – lumbers around. At first I thought it looked like he’d dropped a few kgs but I changed my mind. Hocking – as others have noted, has trimmed down a bit it seems. Hopefully he’s our Brad Sewell. Hurley – I spent most of the training session thinking he was another person. There was a kid with a similar blonde buzz-cut who had a guard on one of his arms and was not participating at all. Turns out it was not Hurley (do you know who that was AN10?). Anyway, once I found Hurls I was relieved to see him doing full training but still obviously favouring the one arm. Looked great. Jetta – I’ll echo what others have been saying, he looks in good shape. Myers – I hate the way he runs when he has the ball in his hands. So awkward. Looks in ripper nick though. Pears & Bellchambers – Units. Fletch – was so good to see him instructing Hurley in one of the drills. Without a blink of an eye, Hurls just did what Fletch told him to. Part of me wants to see Hurley kick bags up forward, but I also think with Fletch’s tutelage he could become a great KPB. Quinn – has definitely added a bit of muscle and his kicking was decent. Was doing some soccer/motlop-esque juggling of the ball and then kicking from about 35m out. Came very close a couple of times… Bock – I refuse to believe this guy will ever play senior footy. It’s like he has a concave chest, absolutely not muscle there to speak of. His arms and legs are also like sticks. Come on Bocky, you’ve had a year to put on some weight. »
Added: 2 months ago, Source: Bomber Blitz

Knights plays down Hurley's wrist injury
Essendon coach Matthew Knights says young key position player Michael Hurley's wrist injury setback is a minor one »
Added: 2 months ago, Source: AFL.com.au

Hurley knock 'not serious'
ESSENDON coach Matthew Knights isn't worried about a knock to the heavily strapped hand of young star Michael Hurley. »
Added: 2 months ago, Source: News.com.au

Training Report - 11/1/10
By sandbelt Today in Melbourne is hot even by Perth standards so I set myself up on a bench in the shade of trees at the school end, fortunately close to the pocket where the team does its stretches and warmups. Practically half the team was shirtless, and Koala up in a distant grandstand can eat her heart out at missing the view from close range; but more to the point I had a chance to notice that both Zaka and Leroy have become unexpectedly solid in the upper body. I don’t think that Leroy is any more slightly built than Gus nowadays (anyway above the waist; he still hasn’t developed thick legs). Everybody looked fine and athletic apart from Jay Neagle, who you can see jiggling a bit in the waistline area on days like this. Good news is that Michael Hurley is still alive and well, though wearing a protective glove and going a bit gingerly with the handball. I hear that after all that time in a cast his thumb muscles have become both weak and sore, and it is not a surprise that he doesn’t like getting banged on them. But he can push himself off the ground with his right hand, and mark two-handed, and do ruck taps with a right-handed open palm. Kyle Reimers has reappeared from last week and is running OK, though I didn’t like his kicking much: too often too short or too long. David Hille continues his progress and might be going at about 80% – not moving with full fluency but not looking hampered either. The modified group was as last week, containing only Laycock, T Slattery, Daniher and Skipworth. I believe that Still was absent, and all this year’s intake were given a rest. Training itself was light, as you may expect. Every quarter of an hour the whole team went inside for five minutes to cool down. After an hour I went away. If there is any news from the last stages of the session you may hear of it from somebody else. Click Here for the BomberBlitz.com Forum Thread »
Added: 2 months ago, Source: Bomber Blitz

Bombers turn up heat
ESSENDON turned up the heat on its pre-season today when the Bombers sweated it out in the sun in training at Windy Hill. »
Added: 2 months ago, Source: News.com.au

Training Report - 8/1/10
By Alan_Noonan_#10 There seemed to be only 3 in the rehab group for the entire session, Laycock (calf), T Slattery (stress in fibula), Darcy Daniher (don’t know), but Carlisle was just doing a lot of sprints. And I’m not too sure Reimers trained. It’s hard to get familiar with all the new guys….but I’m pretty sure we picked out most of them – I don’t know if I could recognise Silverlock or Howlett. There’s only one bit of news to report, and it’s not good. Looks as if Hurley has hurt his hand or wrist. He went off late in the session and there was a bit of walkie-talkieing from the fitness guys. Everyone else seemed moderately sharp but it wasn’t the best session I’ve ever seen, nor anywhere near the worst. It was pretty damn warm out there. Click Here for the BomberBlitz.com Forum Thread »
Added: 2 months ago, Source: Bomber Blitz