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Some very definite concerns. I think the most important thing is to get an accurate pitcure of where we are at.
So far this year:
Rich - destroyed a very ordinary team
Bris - Very good in the first half, but when they zoned in the third quarter, we fell apart. Struggling win in the end
Ess - poor kicking, but still lost to an average side
Syd - ditto. And couldn't deal with the zone, again
Dogs - best win of the season. They play the footy that we like to play against, free flowing
Haw - I actually thought the result flattered us. Remember, we were 25 points down with not long to go, and they had no backline. We played well in patches, and really struggled with their zone in parts.
Freo - shocking performance
Coll - don't be fooled by the result. We were good in the first quarter, and ordinary for the rest of the game. We only won by so much because they were decimated by injury. Struggled against their zone (sound familiar?). Only had a handful more scoring shots
Adel - couldn't break down their zone (hello?). Abysmal effort.
Overall, it's been a disappointing year, even the wins we've had, and even though we could have pinched a couple more games. We haven't beaten a team that zones since...since Adelaide and Sydney invented it 5 years ago. It's hard to play against, but personally, I think that Ratten has to back his players and tell them to go for it and back themselves to attack the zone, not try and pick through it slowly. It doesn't work.
As for players, I fear the following aren't up to it...Wiggins, Cloke, Russell (and I've been a fan, but he just makes too many skill errors every week), question mark against Hadley, Browne. The others will all make it, to what level, time will tell. But they are young.
How Yarran a) ever got a game, and b) is still in the team is amazing. He had one half decent game in the 2s, and has done little in 3 games. You can't tell me that, for his shortcomings, we wouldn't be better off with Houlihan getting 25 touches on a forward flank.
Betts is a worry - last 3 games, 11, 8 and 8 possesions, 1, 4 and 1 goals, and of the 4, 3 came in the last quarter junk time.
I went to a Haw v Ess game in Clarkson's first year. Hawthorn won (big upset), but they played an awful style of footy. No doubt it takes teams time to get their approach right and to know how to execute. My worry is that we don't have the right game plan to tackle teams who zone, we need a different approach. Too often it bring us unstuck.
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Mens sana in corpore sano.
Bring back the laurel wreath logo!!!
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