Former North Melbourne great David King has declared Essendon as the team to look out for in 2019.
After a disappointing start to the year, the Bombers have since steered their season back on track and could miss finals due to sheer percentage.
And King believes that they are one move away from being a flag contender.
“We might have gone a bit early this year, I think they got a lot wrong at the start of the year from a tactical and structural point of view, but they’re a serious football team,” King told SEN’s Crunch Time.
“If they get this midfielder they’re talking about in the off-season, and I don’t know who it is, they’ve got a couple in mind, they are one midfielder short of being serious premiership contenders.
“Everyone’s saying it’s Dayne Beams, it may not be a Beams, but it may be a Beams-type.
“If they can get one, things become quite flexible. Their magnets are quite moveable.”
King lauded the young nucleus of the Bombers list and reminded listeners who they are missing.
“2019, look out, this is (Essendon’s) under 25’s on their list at the moment.
“The quality of player is unbelievable: Orazio Fantasia, Andrew McGrath, Darcy Parish, Kyle Langford, Devon Smith, Jake Stringer, Adam Saad, Conor McKenna, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Joe Daniher,” he said.
“We’ve all stopped talking about Joe Daniher, but that is a quality group that’s going to drive them over the next couple of seasons.”
Former Western Bulldogs coach added that this did not necessarily need to be seen as a wasted year for Essendon fans.
“If you’re an Essendon supporter you should just be waiting for next year and can’t wait for it to come around,” Wallace said.
