Following our exes...................

[Go_Dogs]

It all comes down to timing for players. We apparently went for Poulter over Mannagh and Sullivan because we needed a winger and I wonder if Sullivan had been training with us and not Collingwood when Baz did his knee if we might have done things differently.

We had a good look at him and still didn't find a spot for him.

Mannagh might also be one that we regret not picking.

The timing piece is a good consideration. I think it highlights benefit in keeping options open over summer, seems a no brainer to add a couple of players from Footscray who’ve done well as train-on players (maybe from a variety of roles) and (as per the point you make) if we get an injury we may have a ready made option who has done the work and can slot in.

On balance, Poulter is / was the greater need and I’m very optimistic about his chances of becoming a 100+ game player for us.

[jazzadogs]

In the time that Sullivan was playing at Footscray, was there ever a time where the coaching staff thought "we would be picking him for the AFL side this weekend, if he was on the list"?

If the answer was yes then I think we should have picked him up. If the answer was no, then we made the right call.

[ledge]

I think both Mannagh and Sullivan will be fringe players a lot like Hayes with us.
Difference with Poulter he has been in the AFL system since he was young , he also played well at Collingwood, he was delisted because pies obviously thought they had better players to play his role.
I think he is more AFL than VFL compared to the other two.

[angelopetraglia]

This made me laugh and shaking my head at the same time. On Jake Stringer and not Scott.

"Essendon coach Brad Scott says that enigmatic forward Jake Stringer might need to take a few backward steps to become a more professional and improved footballer. Scott said it was unrealistic to expect Stringer to become a ?10 out of 10? professional footballer, but that if the club could push him in the right direction off the field, he could improve significantly."

But Scott spot on with this comment. The game offers certain rewards, but there is definiltey a trade off which is not for everyone.

"?I?ve been clear with the players, this game and this lifestyle is not for everyone. What we expect young men aged 18 to 31 ? normal 18- to 31-year-old men lead a very different lifestyle to these guys ... if you?re thinking you?re missing out on stuff, you?re in the wrong game,? he said."

Source: https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/...16-p5f5oj.html

[bornadog]

This made me laugh and shaking my head at the same time. On Jake Stringer and not Scott.

"Essendon coach Brad Scott says that enigmatic forward Jake Stringer might need to take a few backward steps to become a more professional and improved footballer. Scott said it was unrealistic to expect Stringer to become a ?10 out of 10? professional footballer, but that if the club could push him in the right direction off the field, he could improve significantly."

But Scott spot on with this comment. The game offers certain rewards, but there is definiltey a trade off which is not for everyone.

"?I?ve been clear with the players, this game and this lifestyle is not for everyone. What we expect young men aged 18 to 31 ? normal 18- to 31-year-old men lead a very different lifestyle to these guys ... if you?re thinking you?re missing out on stuff, you?re in the wrong game,? he said."

Source: https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/...16-p5f5oj.html

He may have heard those words before from Bevo

[Grantysghost]

This made me laugh and shaking my head at the same time. On Jake Stringer and not Scott.

"Essendon coach Brad Scott says that enigmatic forward Jake Stringer might need to take a few backward steps to become a more professional and improved footballer. Scott said it was unrealistic to expect Stringer to become a ?10 out of 10? professional footballer, but that if the club could push him in the right direction off the field, he could improve significantly."

But Scott spot on with this comment. The game offers certain rewards, but there is definiltey a trade off which is not for everyone.

"?I?ve been clear with the players, this game and this lifestyle is not for everyone. What we expect young men aged 18 to 31 ? normal 18- to 31-year-old men lead a very different lifestyle to these guys ... if you?re thinking you?re missing out on stuff, you?re in the wrong game,? he said."

Source: https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/...16-p5f5oj.html

Fmd - wait this was Jake's dream come true wasn't it.

[Grantysghost]

https://archive.is/lJ0fB

[Grantysghost]

Clearly a desperate lever to pull from the coach.

[hujsh]

https://archive.is/lJ0fB

What is this? Doesn't load

[bornadog]

What is this? Doesn't load

yes same here.

[Axe Man]

What is this? Doesn't load

It's the full Age article - works fine for me.

[Grantysghost]

?Non-negotiables?: Scott says flashes of brilliance not enough for Stringer

By Jake Niall

February 19, 2024 ? 11.11am

Essendon coach Brad Scott says that enigmatic forward Jake Stringer might need to take a few backward steps to become a more professional and improved footballer.
Scott said it was unrealistic to expect Stringer to become a ?10 out of 10? professional footballer, but that if the club could push him in the right direction off the field, he could improve significantly.


Scott says it?s unrealistic to expect Stringer to be a ?10 out of 10? professional athlete. Credit: Getty Images
Scott also said that the responsibility for Stringer?s approach and performances also rested with the Essendon coaches. It was not simply up to Stringer, one of the club?s most talented match-winners at his best, to perform.
The senior coach suggested that Stringer had to do more to meet team needs and that flashes of brilliance were not enough.


?I?m a strength-based coach and I more than anyone love the great things that Jake can bring to the game of AFL footy, but there are things that are non-negotiables,? Scott told this masthead.
?In the modern game, you can?t just have flashes of brilliance, then not do the other things that are required as part of a team.
?And Jake?s been very explicit in saying he needs to uphold his end of the bargain on that, so Jake?s had a lot to deal with, and again they?re not excuses, but they are reasons.
?He?s had injuries, he?s been dealing with ? which he?s put on the public record ? he?s been dealing with some mental health issues away from footy that he?s had to address and, you know, he?s had the courage to actually address them and speak about it publicly.

?My view with Jake is this ? sometimes you need to take a few steps back to straighten some things out, and you need to straighten out the fundamentals and again part of being an elite AFL athlete isn?t just training hard. I mean if you train really hard without the rest of your life being in order, you just burn out and get injured.
?And maybe that?s what Jake?s done in the past. Because, I can tell you, I watch him train and at times he trains extremely hard.

"I?m not saying my lifestyle was extravagant, I just didn?t know how to deal with things so I?ve just gone away and worked at those."

Jake Stringer, essendonfc.com.au

?But you have to get all of it right.?
Asked if Stringer had the right approach, Scott added: ?Look, is Jake going to go from being where he is now to 10 out of 10, like absolute the most professional player in the competition? I think that?s an unrealistic expectation.


?But my job is to get the most out of every player on our list. And if we can move Jake, if we can just nudge him in the right direction and make him significantly better, but we?re not going to turn him into 10 out of 10.?
Stringer, 29, recruited from the Bulldogs in 2017, is out of contract at the end of this season, having signed a three-year deal with the Bombers in 2021.


Brad Scott is not a fan of changes to the AFL finals system.Credit: AFL Photos
Scott, who coached North Melbourne for almost a decade and extracted strong performances from veterans, said he had experience with 33-year-olds with ?supposed deficiencies and issues.? They were ?capable of incredible things if you provide the right supportive environment.
?You back them, and you take responsibility as a coach as well.


?If it was just up to Jake, we wouldn?t need coaches. It?s up to us to provide the right environment for him. So we?re all in this together, and it?s not going to be if Jake?s poor, it?s all Jake?s fault. I?ve got a big part to play in this ... and it?s going to take some time.?
Since taking over as senior coach, Scott has emphasised Essendon?s need to improve standards of professionalism and for their players to live ?elite AFL lifestyles?.
In a wide-ranging pre-season interview with this masthead, Scott broke down his plans for each of Essendon?s highly rated recruits and said their decisions to choose the Bombers reflected their faith in the list.
Read Jake Niall?s full interview with Brad Scott here.
?I?ve been clear with the players, this game and this lifestyle is not for everyone. What we expect young men aged 18 to 31 ? normal 18- to 31-year-old men lead a very different lifestyle to these guys ... if you?re thinking you?re missing out on stuff, you?re in the wrong game,? he said.


In a recent interview with former Essendon great Tim Watson for the club website, Stringer said he had recovered from September surgery on his foot and was in a strong position to tackle the season.
?I?m probably the best mentally I?ve been, and that?s probably helped me physically as well,? he told Watson. ?In that sense I?d say it probably is the best pre-season I?ve had so far.?
?When I had my foot surgery I tried to figure out things in my life that I needed to figure out. There?s things I will continue to work on all the way through.
AFL match simulations

	Sunday, February 18
	Melbourne v Richmond	Casey Fields	10am AEDT
	Wednesday, February 21
	N. Melbourne v Collingwood	AIA Centre	10am AEDT
	Thursday, February 22
	Sydney v GWS	Tramway Oval	10am AEDT
	Carlton v Geelong	Ikon Park	11am AEDT
	Brisbane Lions v Gold Coast	Brighton Homes Arena	5pm AEST
	Friday, February 23
	W. Bulldogs v Hawthorn	Whitten Oval	11am AEDT
	St Kilda v Essendon	RSEA Park	2pm AEDT
	Port Adelaide v Adelaide	Alberton Oval	5pm ACDT
	Saturday, February 24
	West Coast v Fremantle	Mineral Resources Park	4.45pm AWST

?It?s just about making sure you?ve got a healthy mind and a healthy body and it all grows through. I?ve had troubles throughout my whole career and there?s things I?m sure at a later date I will speak about it but at the minute I?m just in that building block process.


?I would say there is still another level for me to go in my footballing journey ... I?m not saying my lifestyle was extravagant, I just didn?t know how to deal with things so I?ve just gone away and worked at those. It?s something I take day by day [to] become a better person, a better father, a better teammate, just an all-round better human, really.?

[Twodogs]

Sadly I read an ex player of ours passed away recently Robbie Evan?s only played one game but anyone who followed VFA would have known him as a gun at Coburg.

He was the guy who Malthouse talked into coming over from Coburg? From memory Mick told him to give it one game and if he didn't enjoy it to go back and play in the VFA

[Twodogs]

Ok it's all I can stands and I cants stands no more.

Gary can you please change the title of this thread to "following our exes"?

I am so triggered by the apostrophe.Bloody chef hits the grammar nazi in the heart and won't even send macaroons.

I read this a little time ago. I recommend it


https://www.dymocks.com.au/book/****...iABEgL-zfD_BwE

[Testekill]

ex Bulldog Callum Porter is the new captain for the Box Hill Hawks.