MOAMA native Jobe Shanahan impressed in his first outing at VFL level, donning the sash for Essendon on Saturday afternoon at Preston City Oval.

Playing as the 23rd man, Shanahan accumulated some valuable minutes inside forward 50, kicking a game-high four goals, as the Bombers won by 44 points.

We put the Under 18 All-Australian’s Round 19 showing under the Player Focus microscope, dissecting his game quarter-by-quarter.

Allies, Bendigo PioneersKey Forward

Jobe Shanahan

Height: 194cm

Weight: -

DOB: 02-08-2006

2024 VFL League: Round 19
Northern Bullants 12.5 (77) def. by Essendon 18.13 (121)

#66 Jobe Shanahan (Essendon)
Stats: 9 disposals, 4 marks, 3 tackles, 6 score involvements, 3 inside 50s, 3 goals

FIRST QUARTER

Shanahan spent his time on the ground predominantly inside forward 50, often as the deepest forward, with occasional movements up the ground.

Essendon’s forward line consisted of AFL-listed Peter Wright, Vigo Visentini, and occasionally Todd Goldstein – enough height to make a basketball team – which at times didn’t work in Shanahan’s favour.

Shanahan entered the action around the 10-minute mark of each quarter as the 23rd man, but quickly produced some instinctive efforts at the footy, trying to impact marking contests, but losing out to a lot of hands.

His first proper touch led to a goal; roving well out the back of a loose ball contest, getting first hands to it, and receiving a push in the back free kick before converting the 20 metre set shot.

Understanding that he wouldn’t out-mark his fellow key forwards too often, Shanahan waited outside the marking contests, but seldom got an opportunity to impact at the drop of the ball.

On a few occasions, Shanahan did compete in marking contests where fewer forwards were around, able to get his hands on the footy, but not bring it down completely.

SECOND QUARTER

Shanahan’s second quarter was a bigger challenge than the first, as there was slight frustration that he wasn’t able to express his leading patterns too often on such a small ground.

He went hard at marking contests but was too aggressive in his approach on occasion, giving away a free kick.

His big moment of the quarter finally rewarded his urge to present hard, pushing outside of the forward 50 to the wing.

Shanahan utilised his power and strength to push off his opponent and create separation to take a contested mark, before taking on the space in front of him with his acceleration and nail the kick on the run from 55 metres out, which bounced through for his second.

It was a half of limited opportunities, but Shanahan finished it with two goals from four disposals.

THIRD QUARTER

The third term was Shanahan’s quietest quarter of the game, struggling to impose himself aerially.

The end-to-end action didn’t instate any type of rhythm in his performance, with a lot of the footy going through Wright and Visentini deep inside 50.

Similar to the first term, Shanahan was competing in marking contests but was unable to fully stick the mark coming down with it.

On one occasion he got quite high up, showing his athletic presence, but had to overcome four or five others submerged in the pack.

FOURTH QUARTER

Shanahan closed the game out well, which rewarded his consistent work rate from contest to contest.

An area Shanahan struggled to impact was pressure acts around the contest, often a few steps away from laying a tackle, or forcing a stoppage when the Bullants were rebounding out of defensive 50.

His main aim was to still open up space inside 50, which he continued to offer with his leading patterns but was overlooked on most occasions.

In a few loose ball contests in the fourth, Shanahan yet again displayed his strength to shove his opponent off the footy and get first hands on it.

If people remember how you start and how you finish, Shanahan made sure his finish was elite, with two goals in the final three minutes.

Both goals were almost identical in nature, as he was able to get some good leading space ahead of him, creating separation from his direct opponent and leading hard to receive the kick from the runners in the corridor.

Each set shot was approximately 45 metres out, one straight in front, and one on a slight angle, but Shanahan capitalised on both, finishing the day with a 100 per cent goal efficiency rate.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Leading the goal scorers in a state league debut adds to Shanahan’s impressive 2024 season, and against the senior bodies, he showed he can match the physicality and replicate his forward craft.

While limited with opportunities inside 50, the will to compete aerially was there from Shanahan, but unfortunately, he wasn’t able to bring down a big pack mark.

His impact further up the ground was immediately felt with a lot more space to work with, and his second-quarter goal was daring for a young talent on his senior debut.

Shanahan’s power and strength won him the footy in contests, and his one-on-one separation came to the fore late in the game.

He was clinical in front of the big sticks and took every opportunity that came his way, making it a successful outing for the Bendigo Pioneers product.