Hello again Bomber fans,

I’m back again and raring to go after a lengthy COVID hiatus to pass on my thoughts about our great club and topical issues of the game in general.

After our terrific Anzac Day win and encouraging last month of games, I just had to take the opportunity to talk about our exciting crop of youngsters and some insights into what young players bring to your team. 

I’m calling it ‘The Wisdom of Youth’.

When new draftees come into a club for the first time, they have stars in their eyes and hope in their hearts, and just want to impress and play well individually. Although they will have to conform to a team role and team structures and plans, they have got on to a club list more often by what they bring to the table with their individual talent, capabilities and promise. These traits will tend to be what they fall back on early in their careers, as in many cases, this is mostly all they’ve known.

I remember back in 1992-3 when we received an influx of talented blokes on to our list. We had a list of only 10-12 basic on-field non-negotiables that the team had to adhere to and we were rewarded by coaching staff when it happened, and it was highlighted when we didn’t. It allowed our wonderful crop of youngsters to thrive in a team environment, while not inhibiting them to show off what they could personally bring to the table.

Who can forget the intrepid class of 'Hirdy', the ‘attack to defend’ Wanganeen, the raking torpedoes of 'Fletch', the vision and cheek of Misiti, the ‘original silk’ Mercuri, the adventurous Calthorpe and 'RickyO', and the hustle and bustle of Paul Hills?

These young players were so easily malleable as they were so eager to learn. They came in with an energy and vitality that was unsurpassed. They also took the game on and gave off energy to more ‘game beaten’ experienced players. They reinvigorated a list that was just labouring after the disappointment of the 1990 Grand Final loss a few years earlier.

It was also a joy to mix with them socially and to hear of the adventurous social exploits they got up to away from the club.

Some young players will come in with a small lack of direction and need to be pointed to the right way to go about things, but this is easily covered by their youthful adaptability and eagerness to improve and impress.

There are advantages of having quite a large group of young players coming in together over a short period. They’ll tend to be more comfortable among this bigger peer group. There will be a healthy environment that develops where they’ll always be trying to top each other’s deeds. They’ll also more than likely turn to each other for comfort when they have made a blue or in a lower patch of form, and gain confidence and return to form from this mutual fellowship.

The ’93 youngsters didn’t all play well every week together, but there was always a couple of them each week having career-best games or bobbing up at critical times in games that complemented the contributions from mid-career and veteran players.

I’ll never forget the end-to-end disposal chain in the third quarter of the preliminary final against Adelaide that most of the them had a hand in, culminating in a Mark Mercuri goal on the run (the loudest crowd reaction I ever heard in my playing career), or the Calthorpe and Misiti Grand Final goals late in the third quarter to avert a Carlton comeback.

Enough about those blokes though.

You never get a second chance to make a good first impression, so, how exciting is the first impression we have witnessed from the 2020-21 crop of ‘newbies’ so far!

They’ll certainly have their ups and downs over the course of a long and demanding AFL season, but what they have produced so far should warm the heart of every red and black fan. There is much hard work and development to endure, and I am reticent to individualise at this point, so all I’ll say is that we may be looking at the best collective Essendon draft so far this century. Let’s hope this is the case.

In closing, I’m impressed to read about the initiative of new coach Ben Rutten to induct players into the club by trying to forge an association with the history of the club and players that have gone before them.

This will also help form stronger bonds with the club, and in turn help retain the players that we want to see play their entire careers in the red and black.

Until next time,

GO’D

Gary O'Donnell played 243 games from 1987 to 1998, leading the Bombers as captain for two seasons in a decorated career in the red and black. Known as 'Mr Reliable', he was a vital part of Essendon's 1993 premiership side - a year which also saw him win the Crichton Medal as the Bombers' best and fairest. Blending tales of the past with the present, he'll be a contributor to essendonfc.com.au in 2021.