Essendon VFL senior coach Dan Jordan gives his thoughts on the club’s upcoming Hard Yakka / Totally Workwear VFL season.
2018 FINISH: 4th (11-10 record)
2018 BEST AND FAIREST: 1. Aaron Heppell / 2. Nick Hind / 3. Dylan Clarke
2018 TEAM OF THE YEAR SELECTIONS: Aaron Heppell, Nick Hind, Danny Younan
2018 AFL DRAFTEES: Nick Hind (St Kilda)
OTHER CURRENT AFL DRAFTEES FROM CLUB:
- Selected in 2013: Patrick Ambrose (Essendon) 67 games
- 2015: Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti (Essendon) 66
- 2016: Ben McNiece (Essendon) 10
2019 SEASON START: vs Frankston @ SkyBus Stadium, Sunday April 7 (CLICK HERE for full fixture)
Wilson Berry is among an exciting crop of young Bombers. (Image: Ben Johnstone, Galivant Photography)
KEY RECRUITS
Ray Connellan (25yo in 2019, from St Kilda AFL): “We’re looking at playing Ray off half back or on a wing. He’ll have the sort of role that (St Kilda draftee) Nick Hind played for us last year, in terms of his run-and-carry and being able to gain metres with his speed through the middle. He’s excited for that change after playing as a high forward while at St Kilda.”
Kurt Aylett (27yo in 2019, from Werribee): “Kurt returns to the club (after two AFL games and 29 VFL games in 2014-15). He provides a bit of grunt as either an inside or outside midfielder and played some good footy at Werribee (across 24 VFL games) positioned more on a wing. With his maturity, he should be able to play a number of different positions to fill a role for us.”
Liam McKenna (27yo in 2019, from Perth): “Our recruiters followed Liam in the WAFL up until a couple of years ago, in terms of his AFL ambition. He’s taken a new job over here and got the urge to play state-league footy again. He’s an inside midfielder who’s a contested-ball-winner and I think VFL footy probably suits the way he plays more than WAFL footy.”
Josh Tynan (26yo in 2019, from Port Melbourne): “Josh is coming off some long-term concussions and we’re just trying to build him back up to a point where he can play. We’re hoping that’ll be early in the season, but we certainly won’t be taking any risks.”
POTENTIAL BIG IMPROVERS
Nino Lazzaro (20yo in 2019, 11 VFL games): “Nino did some impressive things in the VFL last year. I think there were a few AFL clubs interested in him as a rookie, but he hadn’t been in any football talent program at all before 2018. He’s a brilliant athlete – he wins our time trials by some way – and it’s uncanny how he finds himself in the right places on the field. He’s clean, he makes good decisions and he’s versatile.”
Edyn Sibbald (23yo in 2019, four VFL games), Wilson Berry (21yo in 2019, 17 VFL games) and Jake McQueen (21yo in 2019, 22 VFL games): “Edyn, Wilson and Jake are also part of that next tier of draftable talent that could become really solid players and put their names up there this year. They all got a taste of VFL footy last year and could use that as a platform to break into our best 22.”
ELIGIBLE 23rd PLAYER TO WATCH
Jacob Brown (21yo in 2019, two VFL games): “I brought Jacob to the club last year after seeing him named best-on-ground for Hepburn in the 2017 Central Highlands FL Grand Final. He’s a hard-running, physical forward who can go through the midfield as well. We’re really liking his progression this pre-season and he’ll be in the mix for some early games.”
LEADERSHIP MATERIAL
Captain: Aaron Heppell (24yo in 2019, 68 VFL games)
“Aaron is into his sixth year at VFL level and is a much-decorated player who has been developing his leadership credentials as our vice-captain for the last two seasons. He and (2018 skipper) Heath Hocking were the clear-cut winners in our leadership voting and Heath handed on the captaincy to take on more responsibility with his coaching (with the James Hird Academy). It’s a great story with the Heppell brothers captaining the Essendon AFL and VFL sides now.”
Vice-captains:
Heath Hocking (32yo in 2019, 66 VFL games)
Danny Younan (27yo in 2019, 80 VFL games)
Danny Younan will continues to impress as a leader for the Bombers. (Image: Ben Johnstone, Galivant Photography)
Leadership group members:
Kurt Aylett
Liam McKenna
TEAM STRENGTHS
“We were a bit up-and-down last year, so we want to be consistent and maintain our form throughout the whole season.
“Our program is primarily in place to develop our AFL list and have them ready to go at AFL level. We also have a strong VFL list with some good experience and exciting young talent, so if we can find a good balance and cohesion in our team then I’m hoping we can play finals again. We would love to give our young AFL and VFL-listed players another opportunity to experience playing in some big finals like they did last year.”
ASSISTANT COACHING PANEL
Back line coach: Ricky Dyson (from Bundoora)
Midfield line coach: Ben Patrick (retained from 2018)
Forward line coach: Matt Firman (previously Essendon VFL development coach)
Development coaches: Heath Hocking and Tim Harvey
HEADLINE YOU WANT TO SEE
“I’d like to see ‘VFL Bombers playing finals again’, because playing finals is brilliant for giving our young AFL and VFL-listed guys the chance to prove themselves on a big stage.”
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