In his third season at Essendon, fans believe Tristan Cartledge is still developing as a ruckman and learning the game. They believe his best football is ahead of him and while making his debut in 2005, he now must now take the next step in 2006 and cement himself as a regular senior member of the team backing up David Hille in the ruck.

2005
Games – 4
Goals – 1
Kicks – 9
Marks – 5
Handballs – 4

2005 Fan’s ranking: 3.70 / 10

2004
Games – 0
2004 Fan’s ranking: 3.10 / 10

What some of the Essendon fan’s had to say:

""Showed promising signs this year, but will still take another year or two to mature into the ruck position. Young and athletic, has a big leap and good skills and should be a good player for Essendon in the future,"" Carl Farriciello

""Looked to be a future ruck prospect during the pre-season games and performed well with Bendigo during the year. Should start pressuring for senior selection in 2006,"" Stuart Nixon

""A young ruckman learning the art of ruck play. Will develop with more experience and a bit more muscle and bulk to his body. The games he did play he showed that he will be an effective contributor to the side in the future,"" Robert Murray

""Little opportunity. But shows promise. Good height, great leap and fantastic agility at ground level. Just needs to bulk up, keep developing and play as many games as possible. Will still be a back up ruck next year though,"" Chris Fergin

""Had very little game time in the seniors, but showed he is a very capable back-up ruckman, especially for Bendigo,"" Franco Ranieri

""I am looking forward to seeing this fine young player become a regular member of the team in 2006,"" John Poke

To watch Gary O’Donnell’s review of Tristan Cartledge’s season on Bomber.tv click here.