Essendon season preview

vfl.com.au recently chatted to Essendon’s VFL senior coach Paul Corrigan about what could lie in store for the club on the field in 2017.

FACT FILE:

2016 FINISH: 6th (11-9)

2016 BEST AND FAIREST: 1. Aaron Heppell / 2. Daniel Coghlan / 3. Ben McNiece

2016 TEAM OF THE YEAR: Aaron Heppell

2016 DRAFTEES: Ben McNiece (Next Generation Academy rookie signing to Essendon)

OTHER FORMER PLAYERS CURRENTLY ON AFL LISTS:
- Selected in 2013: Patrick Ambrose* (Essendon)
- 2015: Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti* (Essendon)

KEY 2017 INS & OUTS:
- In: Wilson Berry (Western Jets) / Alex Carr (Williamstown) / Jock Cornell (Geelong AFL) / Ben Fennell (Montmorency) / Sam Hooper (North Ballarat) / Michael Luxford (Geelong AFL) / Nick O’Brien (Woodville-West Torrens, SA) / Joel Ottavi (Buninyong) / James Peters (Calder Cannons) / Kieran Strachan (South Bendigo) / Ozgur Uysal (Coburg) / Daniel Younan (Coburg)
- Out: Daniel Coghlan / James El Moussalli (Coburg) / Sam Heavyside / Jack Langford / Alex McLeod / Angus Milham (Northern Blues)

DEPARTED PLAYERS WHO’LL BE MISSED:

Daniel Coghlan: “Dan had been with us for a number of years and worked his way through to the captaincy last year. He was a fantastic person to have around the club and I think he’ll be sorely missed because he was well respected and well regarded amongst the VFL playing group and also the AFL-listed players who came back to play with him. He was a very good player both inside and outside the contest for us too.”

Ben McNiece (although he hasn’t gone far): “Ben had a really good last 12 to 24 months playing-wise and it was a fantastic opportunity for him to get on Essendon’s rookie list. He didn’t have it all his own way to start with – he was on our training squad for one year and then he made our list and progressed in a really short period of time. He was our vice-captain last year.”

Sam Heavyside and Jack Langford: “Sam and Jack played a fair bit of VFL footy with us (Heavyside played 47 VFL games and Langford played 31). Sam just wanted to head back home and he’s heading overseas this year, so he thought it was a bit hard to commit to VFL and do that as well. Jack has work and other commitments in his life that he needed to put some more time into. His versatility will be missed. He was able to fill a number of roles with his height, whether it was playing forward or back.”

RECRUITS WHO COULD MAKE AN IMPACT:

Nick O’Brien: “Nick was previously on Essendon’s AFL list and then went to the SANFL last year but has come back and will captain our side. Hopefully he can fill that void left by Dan Coghlan. I saw the leadership characteristics he had when I worked with him at AFL level for a number of years. Having played at the club before and knowing a lot of the AFL-listed players, I think he’ll be a real glue between the VFL list and the AFL-listed players when they come back on game day.”

Daniel Younan and Ozgur Uysal: “Danny and Ozgur just felt like they wanted a fresh start (having departed Coburg). They’ve taken on board what our program provides and they’ve been impressed with the high-performance aspects we put into the program. Danny’s been voted into the leadership group, so he’s brought experience across from Coburg where he was also vice-captain. Same with Ozgur – he’s also played a lot of VFL footy and he’ll add to our midfield strength and depth. I think we’ll probably mix and match Danny a little bit – we’ll probably start him out forward but I could also see him moving into the midfield at times.”

Michael Luxford and Jock Cornell: “Michael and Jock are handy additions to our group because they’ve experienced the culture Geelong has at AFL level. I reckon we’ll see a lot of them through the midfield, but with their versatility we also have the ability to play them forward.”

BEST-AND-FAIREST CONTENDERS:

“Our best-and-fairest from last year Aaron Heppell (pictured, centre) has been really good this pre-season. He was a little bit disappointed in the fact he didn’t get drafted or rookied but he’s really looking forward to backing up the season he had last year. Hopefully we can again utilise Aaron down back and through the midfield and make him an even better player. He’s been voted in as vice-captain as well, which says a lot about how far his leadership’s come in the last 12 months.

“I’d also think Nick O’Brien will be up there with the experience he’s brought back to the club, as well as guys like Michael Luxford, Danny Younan and Ozgur Uysal.”

BREAK-OUT CANDIDATES:

“Alex Boyse and Alex Marklew are two that came into the system last year. Boyse played three games last year and Marklew only played a couple, and we’re really looking for them to progress and play a few more games this year. Nash Holmes is another one – he started as a 23rd player, worked his way into the best 22 and played nearly every game towards the end of the year. Hopefully he can continue to develop as well.”

BIGGEST TEAM STRENGTHS:

“What I’ve been trying to put together with the other coaches this year is a list that’s quite versatile with guys that can play in a number of positions. Given what you get back from AFL level changes on a week-to-week basis, if you’ve got VFL-listed players that are adaptable to a number of positions, you can sort of pick them on that rather than picking players who are suited to only one position. I like being able to develop people’s games not solely in one position and trying to make them a bit more flexible across the ground.

“We’ve also still got guys with good experience that have played VFL or AFL football. Even though there were a few experienced guys that departed last year, it gives other guys opportunities.”

AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT ON 2016:

“We’ve had two years in the finals now and Williamstown (by 12 points in the 2015 preliminary final) and Footscray (by 19 points in the 2016 semi final) have got us after we led late in the game. If we get the opportunity to play in the finals again this year, it’s about making sure we maintain consistency and are able to win those games instead of giving up leads and being beaten. We’ve taken little things out of those games that guys have learnt and those guys can then pass them on to new guys as well.”

COACHING PANEL CHANGES:

“I’ve come in as the senior coach this year, while Daniel Jordan and Mark Corrigan – my younger brother – will be doing similar roles to what they were last year – Mark looking after the forwards and Dan looking after the defenders. Wayne Schultz, who was a player here and did some work for us as an assistant coach last year, has also come on as a midfield coach.”

Next preview: Sandringham

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Essendon season preview

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