The Offseason:The Off-Season for Essendon revolved around Brendon Goddard signing as a restricted free agent. Goddard crossed to Essendon on a four-year contract worth well in excess of $3 million according to reports and offered a position in the Leadership Group. Goddard was given life membership at St Kilda, and was reportedly offered the captaincy if he stayed at the Saints, but he knocked back the 3 Year deal worth approximately $550,000 a season.
Trade/Free Agency:The Free Agency Period started off with a bang for Essendon. The Recruitment of Brendon Goddard was the biggest signing of the Off Season with Essendon identifying a need to support reigning Brownlow medallist Jobe Watson. Goddard will step straight into the Essendon midfield, as a three time Grand Finalist, and a well-seasoned campaigner who is set to reignite his career with the mighty bombers. Adding Goddard to the midfield will really allow Brent Stanton to play more of a freewheeling role, and won’t be tagged out of games so regularly, and it will allow David Zaharakis to damage teams as he pushes forward with a licence to roam. If Bomber fans weren’t already excited about Goddard’s signing, then they went to the moon and back with excitement with future star, and father/son pick Joe Daniher making his way to the bombers. The dons did however let a few go to make way for their new arrivals; they lost Gus Monfries to Port Adelaide, and also made some cuts, including the hard luck story of Brent Prismall and Sam Lonergan and even more so – Brendan Lee who showed glimpse of class in 2012. The much loved Mark “Spike” McVeigh also retired, which was a rather emotional retirement.
The Draftees:The Bombers got the biggest steal of the draft with selecting Joe Daniher as a Father Son Selection with Pick No.10. Daniher would of rivalled Lachie Whitfield as the first pick in the National Draft in 2012, and has been exceptional in his development after committing to Essendon a few years ago, choosing the Bombers over Sydney. Daniher is still a very raw talent and will take a few seasons to fully develop his huge 201cm frame. His athleticism is what makes him stand out - he has a huge leap and his pace off the mark is outstanding. He has already been emarked as the answer to club champion Matthew Lloyd, with many people at the club already believing that he will eventually lead Essendon to a flag.
Jason Ashby was the next kid to come to Windy Hill. Ashby plays as a rebounding defender who is lightening quick and could move into a wing role as his career develops. He is really strong overhead, and puts the after burners on, taking off front contests – he is deceptively quick.
Dylan Van Unen is another mature defender the Bombers have selected. Playing as a Medium Defender with Frankston where he flourished in 2012, Expect him too make an immediate impact if he can break his way into the Bombers Defence. Early indications are that Van Unen will see senior action early in 2013.
Martin Gleeson is a lightly built midfielder who has lightning quick pace and elite endurance but will find it extremely difficult to break into the bombers midfield this year. He is more of a development player at this stage, but one to take note of in the future.
Nick Kommer is another midfielder added to the list. Kommer has been training with Essendon since the start of their Pre-Season, and was taken on the back of some really promising sights. He Loves the contested ball and has played as an inside midfielder and as a tagger in the WAFL during 2012. He could make an immediate impact if he can make his way into the team, replacing the delisted Sam Lonergan. Unlike Lonergan, Kommer has pace, and plays all the one perceters.
The last pick to come into the Bombers is the “Young Dustin Fletcher”, Sean Gregory. He is the definition of a project player; very tall and very light, but has long legs, long arms and already he has drawn comparisons with Fletcher. Unlike Fletcher, Gregory won’t be seen much, if at all in his first season. He will need to hit the gym and really build on his rig, but is seen as a future key defensive player.
What To Expect:The honeymoon is over, And it is make or break for James Hird and his Bombers in 2013. After showing so much potential in 2012 in the first half of the year then dropping off dramatically with only two Wins in the second half of the season against the Power and the Bulldogs, Hird is coming into his third season with a 50-50 win-loss ratio. He is expected to win 13+ games to make the 8 or James Hird might start to feel a tiny bit of pressure as the expectation continues to rise on the former favourite son.
To the bombers credit – and nobody likes to mention “injuries” – however there is a stat that cannot go unmentioned. The bombers 17 players, well within their best 25 that succumbed to soft tissue injuries in 2012. Now that stat is alarming. It did revolve around “The Weapon” and his choice of preseason training, however he has been supported in his position at the club, with the board putting injuries down to simple bad luck.
The other great off-field feature of Essendon this year is that the completion of their Melbourne Airport home ground is not too far away, and what is possibly better? The fact that Essendon will welcome 2013 with a standalone team in the VFL, after ditching affiliate Bendigo. It enables the club to do what Collingwood and Geelong are currently doing, and that is to coach the reserves team, with the same game plan and style to that of the senior team. It will also help fast track the development of youngsters, and allow the club to run how it pleases. The reserves team is shaping up well, with quite a bit of depth now surfacing at the Hanger, and with the acquired former AFL players Josh Toy and Matthew Bate.
The Recruitment of Brendon Goddard will strengthen the Bombers overall side immensely, he has the potential to be the an elite midfielder like he was in the 2009 and 2010 season for St.Kilda or as the General across the Half Back Flank.
We’ve got Essendon at ninth position currently, and that’s only because there are 13 odd teams all jostling for a position inside the 8. They will battle Richmond and Carlton for a top 8 position, and will also have to do better than North and Freo if they are to budge a team out. Based on the first half of the season, there are some great indications that this side is not only a top 8 side, but a top 4 side too.
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2013 11:13 am