AFL

Bombers play copycats

Rohan Connolly Essendon has spent much of the past three years aspiring to emulate Geelong.

AFL

Dons turn it around on the road

Rohan Connolly Essendon had barely left the MCG after walloping Melbourne by 148 points last Saturday when preparations for Friday night's game against Fremantle at Patersons Stadium began.

Bombers run out of excuses

Rohan Connolly Simply, with a few exceptions, Essendon's players lack passion and fight.

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Dons' aim hurts Tigers

Rohan Connolly They had it won, lost it, and won it back again. That was Essendon's 19-point win over Richmond in a nutshell.

Rohan Connolly

Opposites are drawn together

Rohan Connolly Essendon and Sydney have been serving up quality games of football for a long time. And there's no reason to think tonight's clash at Etihad Stadium will see any departure from the usual script.

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Blueprint to avert Carlton crisis

Rohan Connolly Carlton, much like Geelong in 2006, is at a critical moment in its recent history.

Comments 62

Rohan Connolly

Ratten runs hot, Hird goes cold

Rohan Connolly Do coaches make teams or teams make coaches? It's a perennial football question, one at times that is almost impossible to answer, but one worth pondering again after two crucial and surprising...

Comments 71

Can Pies deliver a KO blow?

Rohan Connolly Geelong wounded Collingwood last year, but this year the Cats are looking wobbly and the Pies seem poised to strike.

Big Ben times run right

Rohan Connolly ESSENDON coach James Hird was asked on radio this week about the importance of the lesser lights to a team's continued improvement.

Howlett puts name in lights

Rohan Connolly Essendon coach James Hird, interviewed on SEN the other day, was asked a question about the importance of the lesser lights to a team's continued improvement.

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Fading? Not so fast

Rohan Connolly Rivals and pundits may think otherwise, but the Cats expect to be involved at the pointy end of the season for several years.

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Here we go, it's the early crow

Rohan Connolly There's something about the opening salvos of an AFL season that has both the pundits and public alike elbowing each other out of the way, desperate to make the definitive and dramatic call.

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The greatest team of all

Rohan Connolly A beautiful set of numbers shows why Geelong is clearly the best team of the AFL era.

Bombers delivering skill and grit

Rohan Connolly Essendon has now positioned itself as a very serious contender for the top four.

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