Jacobs indicated to the club today that he would not accept the latest contract offer put to him and would agree to a deal that would see him playing for Hawthorn in 2004. But the Bombers have boosted their midfield stocks with the arrival of Alvey – a running midfielder with very good skills who played 41 games for the Bulldogs. Alvey missed last season with a knee injury.
“We had a verbal commitment last year that would have seen the deal done last year but we ran out of time,” Essendon assistant coach Robert Shaw. “In 2002, Alvey was in top six possession winners at the Western Bulldogs behind Brad Johnson, Scott West, Luke Darcy, Rohan Smith and Nathan Brown. To my mind that is a fair effort.”
“He was also the leading player that season in inside 50s and he kicked 18. 15. His capacity to find the football and use it gives us a finishing-type player. Like many in AFL fooball he has had a knee reconstruction – if we can get him to come back as well as Dean Solomon did he will be a very good player for us.”
Shaw said it was disappointing to lose Jacobs who had been a very good player for Essendon. “We got Danny at pick 36 when no-one else wanted him. Essendon supported him, got him to Grand Final and we are disappointed to see him go,” Shaw said. “It was a tough call, Danny is a good friend and things haven’t worked out perfectly but the plus side is that we have kept Mark Bolton.”
Shaw said the versatility and skill of Justin Murphy would be a bonus for the Bombers in 2004. “We are sick of him cutting us up over the past four years and this was the best way to fix that,” Shaw said with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek.
“He is a very versatile player – he can run off half back, he has tagged players like Nathan Buckley and he has kicked six from full forward. He and Scott Lucas will now be the longest kicks at the club,” Shaw said.
“Some people will query the fact he has played at a number of clubs and has a reputation for being hard to handle. Several years ago someone talked Kevin Sheedy out of taking Martin Pike for the same reasons. Let’s leave it at that.”
“Don’t forget that Murphy finished third in Geelong’s best and fairest two years ago – finishing ahead of the likes of Ben Graham, Darren Milburn, Tom Harley and Steven King.”
As far as the Matthew Allan deal goes, Shaw can see a number of bonuses. Not the least the fact that Aaron Henneman won’t have to be used as a pinch-hit ruckman and he can take up the role that Danny Jacobs has filled in recent seasons.
