Dylan Shiel plays his last game for Essendon tonight, a symbol of an era where the club's run of failing to win a final stretched beyond two decades. His recruitment after seven seasons at GWS saw him deliver one good year at the same level as his last three at the Giants... then injuries, poor form and his lack of a high ceiling combined to make the rest of his career in the sash a big disappointment. He has only ever been a support player; paying him star dollars was never going to work. The Bombers must not top up like they did with Shiel until they are worthy of it again.
Dylan Shiel plays his last game for Essendon tonight, a symbol of an era where the club's run of failing to win a final stretched beyond two decades. His recruitment after seven seasons at GWS saw him deliver one good year at the same level as his last three at the Giants... then injuries, poor form and his lack of a high ceiling combined to make the rest of his career in the sash a big disappointment. He has only ever been a support player; paying him star dollars was never going to work. The Bombers must not top up like they did with Shiel until they are worthy of it again.
Dylan Shiel has spent most of 2021 on the sidelines with injury, playing just his seventh game today with a severely limited output. His best game is only a low-end A grader at best, lacking an ability to consistently push beyond 25 disposals to 30, and missing the hallmarks of outside game on the spread to add marks and goals. He is nonetheless best 22 for Essendon and once he is back up and running, might lift his rating to match Darcy Parish who has blossomed in his absence. He looms as a big stepping stone candidate for next year's salary cap fantasy, especially in Supercoach.
Shiel deal not a real steal
The knock on Dylan Shiel has always been that his ceiling is not high enough to put him in the very top echelon of inside midfielders. The flip side of that is that his floor is very high as well, and he delivered full trade value in his first season at Tullamarine after seven at GWS with his best tackle count, albeit two disposals off his best rate. He has largely been the same beast across the last six seasons. The arrival of Shiel filled a big hole in the list structure post the retirements of Goddard and Watson, though the club dropped from mid-table in clearances and inside 50s towards the bottom third. That was not Shiel's fault, of course, and neither was them paying him an A-grader's salary for B-plus output. In fantasy drafts, he's a desultory middle-round pick with zero upside at this point.
Dylan Shiel started out his Essendon career after transferring from the Giants in the off season at personal best pace, posting fantasy tons in six of his first ten games before the bye. A hamstring injury in round 10 and then a knee knock upon his return in round 13 slowed him down in the second half of the season, with two tons in his last eight. His stat line has barely changed at all between his two clubs, save for a lift in marks from three to five per game, implying a bit of a slower game plan and a willingness to spread a tad more. He is what the Bombers paid for him, largely.
New stanza for Dylan
Perhaps surprisingly, Dylan Shiel arrives at Essendon off the back of his worst statistical output for five years, albeit not by much. His stat line is very similar to that of new teammate Dyson Heppell, a vanilla mid with less volume. That effect has been more noticeable in finals where he drops five disposals per game, leading to some public criticism. He was tagged once in his last year at GWS, Mark Hutchings keeping him to 22 touches. The Dons would love to be in a position where Shiel gets criticised for his September work, because they just want to get there first! Perhaps we can excuse his shortfall in his sixth and final year at the Giants, because he would have had one eye on the exit door. Oppo analysts would look more at Zach Merrett for a tag target, so he won't have that pressure, but can we see a ceiling above a fantasy ton this late in his career? Probably not, which limits his value.
