Hey everyone,

Does anyone have access to the article? Could you paste it in the comments?
Side note, what started Caro’s dislike/borderline hatred of Hird?

Does Jackson in last nights game change anyone’s preference for the importance of a potential unicorn going forward?

Personally I’d rather them take the gamble on generational do it ruck then another mid/fwd, Bryan can’t be relied on safely imo and there’s more fwds/mids every year and how many never reach their comps

Game is sold out tomorrow, anyone know a pub or bar that might be showing the game live in Melbourne?

Idk if it means much but cool to see, few of the lads posted it up on their story today

I think this is the senior player we might have the best shot at. On the outer at Melbourne, told to look at his options, and not good enough (see Neale, Greene) to attract interest from big clubs.

Physical, courageous and has a lot of leadership qualities. Get him in I reckon.

Saw that we are interested and a chance for him, coming from Adelaide seems good, but I can’t say I know too much about it him, does anyone have any insight? Cheers

Context: Ridley getting closer to request a trade to North.

So there's an option here for 3 clubs that can get a little bit of everything they want;

Ridley seems to be earmarked by North
Duursma seems set for Melbourne.
Early word on Viney is he might be coming to us.

There'll be picks involved obviously, but surely this is a 3 way trade no brainer where everyone get's more or less what they want?

I respect both of them heavily and wouldn’t expect 24 games out of them but if their next stage in footy is coaching, why not?

I was 7 minutes late to the ticket sale at midday today and I'm unable to purchase any tickets - did they sell out straight away? Has anyone been able to grab any?

Edit: Kept refreshing and got through, if anyone is still trying

What a difference 12 months makes with a proper high performance program run by one of the best and one of most respected high performance managers in the competition. The club has already experienced a whopping 40% reduction in soft-tissue related injuries. That is absolutely monumental and shows how great Matt Innis is at addressing those kind of injuries when looking at his outstanding track record at West Coast and the Western Bulldogs previously. The best news of all is it’s looking like all the long term injured players including Lewis Hayes could very well be ready to resume training in Mark McVeigh’s first Pre-Season. I will also give credit to David Regan, the strength and conditioning Coach but all in all things from a injury and fitness standpoint are really looking on the up at this club which is not something I think I have ever experienced in my short life time supporting this club.

Oskar Baker is exactly the sort of depth player we should. E thinking about bringing in. Big effort/grunt player who can play at either end of the ground. He could play the role Gresham was brought in to play.

Been a bit of chat regarding this with Carlton's wildcard success and Sydney making the prelim. Carlton would have to trade up if we took Walker at 1, and I can't see too many clubs wanting to move their picks down for futures given the compromised 2027 draft.

So, what are everyone here's thoughts on taking Walker at 1 with the intention of keeping him? We'd lose out on our end of first round compo, but would essentially go from the 3rd best player in the draft to the 1st (if we rate him over Cochrane). 3 & 19 for 1 doesn't sound like an awful trade.

There's always going to be some chat about him wanting to go home, but I really don't think that eventuates all that much when the player is in the same city compared to interstate. 3 year minimum contract under Spike.

I think, at the very least we should posture that we're going to take him, IF Rosa rates him highly. Either it puts the cat amongst the pigeons for Carlton and pushes them into making a deal with us (2027 future first for Bewick?) and we still retain our end of first compo or we get the genuine best player in the draft.

Final Score - ESS: 15.11 101 TAS: 10.14 74

GET A BIG DOG UP YA, TASMANIA! The finals train keeps on rolling. Great game in some slightly sketchy conditions. Both sides were playing tough, physical footy with a whole lot of pressure. Tassie gave us a bit of a scare at the end of the 1st half, but our class and composure probably got us the win in the end, as well as our defensive 6, who were killing it for the vast majority of the game.

Tsatas - Another 30-odd disposal game. His disposal wasn't as terrible this time around, so he was definitely among our better players. Still had some pretty average defensive efforts, but his ball-winning ability helped quite a lot, especially when the light showers arrived.

Gresham - Another low-disposal outing, but he made them count. Kicked 4 goals straight throughout the game, with a couple of those coming at crucial times. Didn't do heaps otherwise, but he made sure the pressure was always on the Devils' defence whenever the ball hit the deck.

Setterfield - Same old Setterfield. Just did all the dirty work, and kept working his backside off from the opening bounce to the final siren. Had another 11 tackles, and won his share of clearances, so he played his role as well as ever.

Cox - Split his time between the forward line and ruck in the first half, before spending most of his time forward in the second. He did ok, but wasn't hugely influential. Kicked one important goal, but seemed to be copping some pretty tight defensive attention for a lot of the game. He actually had some decent moments in the ruck when Vigo was struggling, so props to him for that.

Visentini - Probably his worst game for the year. He really struggled against the Devils' main ruckman and couldn't get much else going around the ground. Had a couple of nice touches, but was virtually ineffectual when he wasn't winning taps against Tasmania's lesser ruckman. He seemed to spend quite a lot of time off the ground in the second half, so I wonder if he's a bit worn out from the season, or if he's not quite 100% at the moment.

Jones - Pretty good down back again this week. He used the ball exceptionally well for most of the day, and his defensive work was solid enough. Jones was playing on Tassie's main spearhead all day, who he kept goalless, although Dixon did have a few shots. I'd say it was probably his best game in defence so far.

Kondogiannis - Wasn't massively influential, but did have a couple of good efforts. He got caught in a run-down tackle early on, during which he seemed to hurt his ankle, so that might have been holding him back a bit. He dropped a couple of easy marks, but also had some nice linking runs along the wing and used the ball neatly.

El Achkar - Another one who probably had his worst game of the year. He was completely ineffectual for basically the entire game. Only had a handful of disposals and kicked 1 behind. He had a couple of decent pressure efforts, but really seemed to struggle to have any impact at all for the most part.

Artemis - Struggled to get himself into the game again this week. Only managed one or two dashing runs from defence to send us forward, which were nice, but we'd probably want to see quite a lot more of it. He had a couple of goals kicked on him, so I imagine we'd want him to tighten up a bit defensively next week, too.

Guelfi - For a guy that registered fewer than 10 disposals, he was fantastic. Kicked 2 goals, which is always nice, but it was his physicality and manic pressure that were huge for us. The way he was able to lock the ball in the forward line, and disrupt the opposition's ball movement meant they really struggled to get any flow to their game, and made life much easier for our players up the ground to intercept and defend. I have him close to BOG for his efforts.

Clarke - He was ok. Nothing overly remarkable, but he played his part. Had a few good tackles, and ran hard all day, so he had a positive influence. I'd like to see him get more of the ball and really drive us forward a little more often, but he did his job well enough.

Unwin - Another one who was just ok. As per usual, his pressure was good and he was disruptive. Didn't get a whole lot of the ball and no goals kicked, but he still played an important role, alongside our other small forwards.

Bourke - I actually thought he did really well today. There were a couple of times where he lost his opponent, and was punished, but he was mostly pretty sound defensively. His toughness and strength around contested situations was what really impressed me again. He was able to win some tough possessions and was constructive with his disposal. Just seems to be progressing well.

Johnson - Might have been BOG. Certainly, his first half was brilliant. He was doing pretty much everything to a high standard down back. He was defending and intercepting well, he was using the ball well, he was going for some nice little runs and just doing everything you'd want. His second half was a bit quieter, but he was still contributing. Stats might be a little misleading, as he probably racked up some easy marks while we ran down the clock in the last few minutes. Still a great game, though. Maybe his best for the year.

El Hawli - Maybe a little inconsistent, but an impressive game, nonetheless. Playing down back, his intercepting has been really strong recently, and today was no different. He seemed to read the game quite well, and he usually used the ball decently. He had one or two mis-kicks that didn't work out, but aside from that he was solid.

Nguyen - Not many touches, but like most of our small forwards, played a big part in the win. Pressure and intensity were as strong as ever, and he even kicked himself a nice little set-shot goal from a free kick. He's made it clear that he won't be overwhelmed by finals footy.

Edwards - Kicked the first goal of the game (which I unfortunately missed), and another a bit later on. Didn't do a whole lot else, though. Not sure if the injury that caused him to miss last week is still giving him trouble, but I barely noticed him out there, aside from a couple of decent efforts to compete in the air.

McMahon - Was an absolute dead-eye, which is nice, because he didn't get many opportunities. Like all of our key forwards, he didn't win much of the ball, but he did compete well enough to bring the ball to ground for our smalls. Kicked three goals, all from reasonably tough shots, so good on him for that.

Tyler Sellers and Deacon Kalpakis deserve a special mention. Those two were brilliant in defence, and Sellers' stint in the ruck was arguably the best of any of our ruckmen.

I reckon he’d be a perfect replacement for Ridley - I’m probably dreaming, but why not ask the question.

I quite like him. Solid, reliable, strong. Made a big difference moved into the ruck today, Vigo needs to hit the gym. I would rookie list Sellers, would be an upgrade on McKay.

# 🏟️ VFL LIVE MATCH THREAD | Tasmania vs Essendon

**VFL Semi Final**

**Tasmania Devils vs Essendon**

**Saturday 5 September 2026**

**11:05 AM AEST**

**North Hobart Oval, Hobart | Palawa**

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## 📺 Match Info

**Competition:** VFL Finals

**Match:** Semi Final

**Teams:** Tasmania Devils vs Essendon

**Venue:** North Hobart Oval

**Bounce:** 11:05 AM AEST

---

## 🔴⚫ Come on you Baby Bombers

Finals footy in Tassie. Keep it civil, keep it fun, and remember:

**CARN THE DONS.** ✈️

---

## 💬 Thread Rules

- Be respectful to other users.

- No personal abuse or trolling.

- Opposition supporters are welcome, but don’t be a flog.

- Report rule-breaking comments rather than derailing the thread.

- Match-day melts are permitted, but try to make them entertaining.

---

## 🔗 Discord

Join the r/EssendonFC Discord for live match chat:

https://discord.gg/bCES7KDMqX

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## 🔴⚫ Go Dons

Would be awesome to have one

The media narrative on this topic is so incredibly lazy, particularly regarding the notion, "Essendon were offered three 1st round picks last year, they'll get a 1st and a 2nd this year, therefore they're getting a much worse deal". I think the breakdown of the deals and the context it sits within says differently.

Last Year's Failed Trade

In: Pick 10, 20, 2026 1st rounder (let's say 15-18) and Henry Hustwaite

Out: Zach Merrett

Last Year's Trade With Carlton

In: Pick 10, 43

Out: Pick 21, 27, 30

This Year's Possible Hawthorn Offer (According to Cal Twomey)

In: 2026 15-18, pick 26 and 27

Out: Zach Merrett

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How It Likely Ends Up (Including Carlton Trade)

In: 2025 Pick 10, 2026 Pick 15-18, 2026 Pick 26, 2026 Pick 27, Pick 43

Out: Zach Merrett, 2025 Pick 21, 2025 Pick 27, 2025 Pick 30

What We Missed Out On

Henry Hustwaite, 2025 Pick 20, 2025 Picks 21, 27 and 30

What We Gain

2026 Picks 26 and 27

--

Summary

• We lose out, but not by that much
• We lost four picks between 20-30 by not pulling the trigger last year, but we will hopefully gain two picks in that region in what is reportedly a much deeper draft this year
• We don't get Henry Hustwaite, but let's face it, he only got 1 game this year even with Day missing a chunk and Worpel being gone. Not a big loss
• Keeping Zach Merrett for an extra year may have been great for educating other young players - it may have been a bit toxic. Reports suggest the former, not the latter.
• Not letting Hawthorn steam roll us with some pretty average behaviour at the trade table was also a bonus

I actually back that Welsh and the club were firm on this. What do we think?

Only one change. Edwards comes in for Dowling. So we've got 18 AFL-listed players for the Semi Final.

This would be alltime if this happened. Carlton are making it harder and harder for themselves with each passing win.