Good name, Daniher. Means a lot to Essendon people from the mid 70’s when Terry joined Essendon from South Melbourne and set up residence in a two-bedroom flat with me in Essendon.  Terry’s early morning rises and a full cooked country breakfast was followed by a five kilometre run, then off to work.  My alarm clock never seemed to work. 

TD, Neale, Anthony, Christopher and Darcy have all represented the Club and now the Daniher name continues to grace the playing fields of the AFL.

Essendon drafted Joe Daniher under the father-son rule, with the tenth overall selection in the 2012 National Draft.  He was also eligible to be drafted by Sydney, but chose to join Essendon.  He made debut against Carlton in round 11, 2013.  

Quite simply, he is just into his fourth full season and has just passed 50 games.  He is 22 and he is not Wayne Carey, Nick Riewoldt or Jonathan Brown.  But we tend to treat him as such and expect the same output.  Given the circumstances that have prevailed at Essendon, he has been thrust into many roles including key forward, ruck and now leadership group.

There is great hope placed on his shoulders during games.  It is unrealistic and premature.  He has magnificent potential but at the moment he is a beacon from a lighthouse as the focal point for Essendon.  If he was ‘on the tools’ in the construction industry, he would be a 2^nd or 3^rd year apprentice.

We have seen it though.  We have a vision into the future.   His game against West Coast in the NAB Challenge was described by his mentor, Matthew Lloyd, as his best game for the Club.  He had problems with Steven May against Gold Coast and then dominated a shell shocked Melbourne.  Geelong sorted him out in round four where he had three kicks, one mark and kicked a point.  Now let’s remember Geelong had Tom Lonergan and Harry Taylor combining with Lachie Henderson.  The trio took 25 marks between them.  Yes, Joe didn’t lead, run angles, and change his game enough as he constantly called the ball in long and high.  Essendon do not have a forward combination known for hurting the opposition on the scoreboard so Taylor and his crew just kept going to Daniher.  Video of the game constantly sees Daniher competing against three opponents.  It was a similar story against Collingwood.

It’s not all Joes’s fault.  Failure to have a forward structure that allows for separation of targets and isolation of backline players was missing.  The coaches would be reviewing down the ground vision of the forward structure.  In recent weeks, the second and third marking targets have been too close to Daniher.  

Joe must also continue to work hard up to the wing and around the arc, just to break up the opposition's preferred patterns.  He has to constantly think through his game and ask himself questions: ‘what doesn’t my opponent want me to do?’  

The Essendon coaches don’t have many options up forward.  We’ve have seen glimpses of Shaun  McKernan, Mitch Brown and now Sam Grimley so far this season.  I just feel Daniher will be so much better with a regular combination around him – sharing the load. 

Yes, you can all look forward to 2017 and say ‘just wait’, but his development is in the ‘now’.  You are right though, there is much to look forward to.  Remember at the same age Johnathon Brown was playing alongside Alastair Lynch and Daniel Bradshaw with Black, Akermanis, Lappin and Voss kicking the ball in.

Joe can help himself, but with 50 games under his belt and at 22 years of age he needs coaching, learning, direction and above all – on-field structure and support in the short term.   Matthew Lloyd isn’t there on a regular basis anymore so I guess there is a position there for some specialist guidance. I think he needs it.

Joe Daniher has kicked 71 goals in his 53 games for Essendon.

So in conclusion it is so exciting to watch his development. But that’s what it is at the moment.

This is how I would summarise where his career is at right now.

• He got fitter over this off-season but there is still room to improve in this area.
• He takes the ball at the highest point, which is so hard to stop for most defenders. It’s a great skill.
• His leap, when given room, gives him a great advantage.
• Daniher is pretty good at ground level for his size considering he is 2.01 m. Actually bloody good.  
• In regards to his kicking, his ball drop is poor and he swings his hips across his body which makes him miss to the right more often than not.
• He does not yet posses the ability to remain a factor if double teamed, like against Geelong. He’s not strong in one-on-ones yet as his body is developing.
• Sometimes the ball slips from his grasp because his mind is racing to the next play before he takes the mark.  Strong hands doesn’t mean hard hands.
• Too often he loves calls for the ball in long and high.  Needs to get on his bike much more often to make him harder to defend.   Nick Riewoldt is an expert at this.  Watch video of great forwards.  Uncle Terry was a great runner so the gene is in there somewhere.
• Joe fell away badly in the last five rounds last year. This will develop naturally following pre-season after pre-season as he gets a stronger frame and fitness base.
• Daniher is a team player, selfless and a developing leader.
• He loves the big moment, doesn’t shy away from the ball even if he has missed multiple shots before hand.  He keeps his head up and lets teammates know he is still there for them.

This story will have a happy ending one day for both Joe Daniher and the Essendon Football Club. It’s going to be exciting when the apprentice does in fact become the master.

Robert Shaw is a former AFL Coach and was an Assistant Coach when the Bombers won the premiership in 2000.  He'll be providing regular analysis thorughout 2016.