When the Bombers Were Better Than the Eagles
Fox Footy may not be on but there are still some occasional replays on Foxtel for AFL fans to watch. One game they showed was round 3 2004, Essendon versus West Coast. The Bombers won, but it has been downhill for them ever since while the Eagles obviously turned a corner to be the dominating team they are now.
Essendon fans will have been thinking that their team has changed a lot in just over two years since the game was played. Rioli and Solomon are no longer on the team, as Rioli retired and Solomon was sent to Fremantle during trade week. Henneman, Richards and Reynolds had little impact on the game that was shown, and they have all be shown the door. Richards was traded to Sydney a year ago so at least they got something for him, while the other two were delisted recently.
Another thing the Bombers would have seen is a failure by Sheedy with recycled players. The jury is still out on Camporeale, but for the former Carlton players who were there in 2004 the verdict was given long ago. Murphy played well in this game but he was too old at that time to help Essendon for more than a season or two. Matthew Allan was an even worse move by the Bombers, he had one kick in this game so that was his usual performance for Essendon that year. Both players took the spot of a young player, who if he was played then would be better than they are now.
Misiti and Mercuri were also in this game. Misiti is missed but many of the things that he did have been replaced by Watson and Stanton. Mercuri was a small forward who played tall, and could also go on the ball, the Bombers haven’t found someone to fill his role yet.
In the 2004 game Essendon won due to Lloyd, Hird and Fletcher. Their reliance on that trio has not changed since then.
Eagles fans will have enjoyed this replay of the game, not for the end result but as they could see clearly how their team has changed for the better. At that time they were trying a forward line of Phil Matera, McDougall and Sampi. Lynch would be played further out from goals, and even Glen Jakovich had an appearance in the forward area. The setup in this game was very different to big Lynch alone in the goalsquare with Hansen going on long leads from centre half forward.
While McDougall never became a big contributor for the Eagles there were plenty of things for fans of the Bulldogs to like from this game. McDougall kicked 3 goals, also went into the middle to play in the ruck for 8 hitouts, and he finished the game with 15 possessions.
But the onball setup was the current one, with Cox feeding Judd, Cousins and Kerr. Cox had 29 hitouts, Judd had 23 disposals, Cousins had 30 possessions and Kerr had 8 tackles. Cousins and Kerr also combined to kick 5 goals. No need for that structure to be changed by Coach Worsfold.
It was a game that was worthy of jacket-waving, as the Bombers won by a goal. But looking back now you can see how much the Eagles have improved since then and also see what the Bombers have not replaced from their team of 2004.
Round 3
April 10 2004
Essendon 137 defeated West Coast 131
Essendon fans will have been thinking that their team has changed a lot in just over two years since the game was played. Rioli and Solomon are no longer on the team, as Rioli retired and Solomon was sent to Fremantle during trade week. Henneman, Richards and Reynolds had little impact on the game that was shown, and they have all be shown the door. Richards was traded to Sydney a year ago so at least they got something for him, while the other two were delisted recently.
Another thing the Bombers would have seen is a failure by Sheedy with recycled players. The jury is still out on Camporeale, but for the former Carlton players who were there in 2004 the verdict was given long ago. Murphy played well in this game but he was too old at that time to help Essendon for more than a season or two. Matthew Allan was an even worse move by the Bombers, he had one kick in this game so that was his usual performance for Essendon that year. Both players took the spot of a young player, who if he was played then would be better than they are now.
Misiti and Mercuri were also in this game. Misiti is missed but many of the things that he did have been replaced by Watson and Stanton. Mercuri was a small forward who played tall, and could also go on the ball, the Bombers haven’t found someone to fill his role yet.
In the 2004 game Essendon won due to Lloyd, Hird and Fletcher. Their reliance on that trio has not changed since then.
Eagles fans will have enjoyed this replay of the game, not for the end result but as they could see clearly how their team has changed for the better. At that time they were trying a forward line of Phil Matera, McDougall and Sampi. Lynch would be played further out from goals, and even Glen Jakovich had an appearance in the forward area. The setup in this game was very different to big Lynch alone in the goalsquare with Hansen going on long leads from centre half forward.
While McDougall never became a big contributor for the Eagles there were plenty of things for fans of the Bulldogs to like from this game. McDougall kicked 3 goals, also went into the middle to play in the ruck for 8 hitouts, and he finished the game with 15 possessions.
But the onball setup was the current one, with Cox feeding Judd, Cousins and Kerr. Cox had 29 hitouts, Judd had 23 disposals, Cousins had 30 possessions and Kerr had 8 tackles. Cousins and Kerr also combined to kick 5 goals. No need for that structure to be changed by Coach Worsfold.
It was a game that was worthy of jacket-waving, as the Bombers won by a goal. But looking back now you can see how much the Eagles have improved since then and also see what the Bombers have not replaced from their team of 2004.
Round 3
April 10 2004
Essendon 137 defeated West Coast 131
