It seems as though we may be on the verge of another period of Daniher domination at the Essendon Football Club.

In just his third season at the club, Joe Daniher was the primary forward target for the Bombers this season, and he didn’t disappoint the loyal fans who watch in awe.

Working closely with goal kicking champion, Matthew Lloyd, the 21 year-old developed more confidence in his game and vastly improved his contested marking, leading patterns and goal kicking technique.

The results of Daniher’s tireless work were clear to see on the scoreboard.

For the second consecutive year, Daniher topped the club’s goal kicking list, finishing with a total of 34, six more than the previous year.

Early in the season, Matthew Lloyd was confident that fans would see an improvement in Daniher’s ability in front of goal.

More importantly, however, Lloyd believed that the entire football community would begin to get a glimpse of what the talented son of Anthony is capable of.

Even though Daniher may have tailed off towards the end of the season ,his mentor stands by his early judgment.

“Joey’s got a fair bit of work still to do,” Lloyd said.

“He probably just tailed off as the season went on, he probably got a bit tired with his ruck work as well.

“I think settling him down as a permanent forward next year would really help him.”

Daniher was also given additional responsibility away from the field, becoming the youngest member of the club’s ‘Emerging Leaders’ group.

Development coach Mark Neeld, who worked closely with Daniher this year, believes the young forward showed great maturity in a year where the club demanded a lot from him.

“For such a young player to shoulder such a large responsibility at a young age is just another feather in his cap,” said Neeld.

“He shows outstanding leadership for a young player.”

One thing that is clear with Daniher is that he has an overwhelming desire to learn and improve his game.

The countless times he is last off the training track and the extra work he does with the coaches has put him in a great position to become not only a star forward of the club, but also one of the premier goal kickers in the competition.