Jobe, is that you?
Essendon will come back stronger, but I reckon their ceiling is lower than you think. Weren't exactly a powerhouse before the bans, the year out of the game could really hurt the players, and the opposition will be more focused (I'm thinking of that GWS game where the Giants were doing warm-up drills for 3 quarters before realising they could get humiliated and subsequently running away with it in the last). I'm thinking around 12th-14th spot for next year, though off-season moves could change the outlook.
Absolutely disagree.
We are bringing back 10 of the banned guys - Jobe is a Brownlow medallist (for the moment), Heppell is a gun midfielder and will be our captain, Hurley and Hooker are AA defenders (who can also play up forward if needed). Add in our first choice ruck Bellchambers along with solid midfielders Stanton, Myers, Hocking, Howlett and Colyer and we are adding both high end talent with extra midfield depth. As for the players being rusty after a year out, I would actually argue the other way - they have all had a year to clear their heads from the psychological damage, clear up any niggling physical problems they may have, and will be absolutely fired up to come back and get back into footy after being banned for a year.
On top of getting 10 proven AFL player in the 24-29 yo bracket, we are also well stocked with young talent, especially those who have more experience at this stage than they would otherwise. Zach Merrett should have been AA this year; Darcy Parish had a great debut season, Fantasia already looks like he has the knack of kicking goals as a small forward, AMT has been a great find as as small defender or forward, Joey Daniher is still only 22 and is on the way to being a dominant forward, all he needs is for his kicking to improve (please god let this actually happen). Throw in the top up players who have performed well (Kelly, Dea) and some of the other senior players not mentioned above (Zaharakis, Goddard) and all of a sudden our list actually looks pretty convincing.
Oh and of course we have Woosha who has completely lifted the mood and got the guys playing with passion and spirit all last year even when we were massive underdogs pretty much every game, and things are looking rosier than you make out.
In reference to your point - yes before the ban we werent doing so well, I think a large part of that was down to all the rumblings and the uncertainty of what was going to happen. Now thats over I think it will make a massive psychological difference to the entire footy club.
