David King has big wraps on Essendon after watching an impressive intra-club match on Thursday.
Coming off a surprise run to the finals last year, 2022 shapes as a big season for the Bombers.
The concern will be if Ben Rutten’s youngsters can’t repeat their strong output of the 2021 season, however many of the club’s A-graders are still in their prime.
One particular player that could continue Essendon’s rise up the ladder is Dylan Shiel, who is coming off a subpar 2021.
Shiel’s disposal average 19.4 per game last year was his lowest since his debut season, with his kicking efficiency also notably down.
However, King believes the former Giant is back to his dynamic best after observing him at The Hangar.
“The two things that caught my eye, you don’t often see a lot when you watch these internal scratch matches, but the form of Dylan Shiel back in as a prime centre bounce midfielder (was impressive),” King told SEN Breakfast.
“His breakaway speed was electric, we know he’s quick, but his ball use was the standout feature.
“We haven’t always said that about him, he looks like he’s back to that form of the earlier Essendon days and obviously (his time at) the GWS Giants.”
The Bombers batted deep in midfield last year, names such as Zach Merrett, Andrew McGrath, Darcy Parish, Kyle Langford and Jake Stringer all playing prominent roles when fit.
The addition of draftee Ben Hobbs to that mix was thought to have complicated the issue, however King saw signs that Rutten has worked out how to fit all into the same team.
“Essendon looked like they used one of their midfielders across half-back… Merrett, Parish, we’ve seen Heppell play at half-back as a half-back flanker,” King continued.
“It’s almost like they’re saying, ‘We’ve got one too many (midfielders) to start in that centre bounce group of four’, so they’ll slide one back to a half-back flank and it worked.
“I mean it’s only against themselves, so we’re not trying to pre-empt too much, but they looked really slick yesterday.
“(New recruit) Jake Kelly obviously found his way into that backline… I think they’re just still waiting on maybe one more big body down back, that’s why I think (2020 draftee) Zach Reid is such an important component to this build.”
With the midfield a large asset and numerous stars in the backline, it leaves forward of centre as potentially Essendon’s biggest issue.
Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti has taken a leave of absence from the club, while Cale Hooker retired at the end of last year.
It’s set to place a heavy burden on numerous youngsters, however King is expecting them to be up to it.
“Those younger guys, Archie Perkins and Nik Cox, whilst they haven’t put on 10 kilograms each they look stronger in their wiry frames,” he stated.
“I would be surprised if they’ve put on less than four or five kilograms (each).
“As you’d expect, those first couple of pre-seasons have a big impact on these guys.
“With Harry Jones on the sidelines, they’re still going to rely on Peter Wright to be a consistent forward of centre performer, Sam Draper looked fantastic in the ruck.
“They’ve got enough pieces to really threaten again this year, I know all the emphasis of pre-season has been on that defensive side of the game but what they do with the football, it’s so special it sort of wallpapers over some cracks.”
The Bombers are set to face the first test of their 2022 season when they take on the Western Bulldogs in an unofficial practice match on Wednesday, February 23.