Bondi you need to consider who is 100% fit based on pre-season contributions and continuity, as well as attendance to pre-season camps and the age bracket they're in.

I'd expect players in the 22-28 age bracket, that started in our fitness program or a similarly capable program, who had an uninterrupted pre-season and attended all camps to be 100% fit at this point in the season. Here's a list of names that meet this criteria:

Buckley, Watson, Warnock, Yarran, Armfield, Bell, Rowe, Wood, Curnow, Everitt, Ellard, Tuohy, Casboult, Russell

Now there's some talented names on that list, but there's also some plodders and one bloke who clearly doesn't put the effort in. Fortunately, we've been blessed with some pretty professional players in the U22 bracket, such as Graham, Docherty, Walsh, Dick, Cripps and Byrne who already look like they can run out games at AFL level, and there's plenty of others who are close.

I'm impressed by what Buttifant is getting out of them in the here and now. You guys really do need to consider that the running requirements have gone up significantly over the last 18 months after everyone started realising building body shapes around contested footy wasn't sustainable with the rotations rule.

Hopefully we'll see the sub rule ditched to add more flexibility and some sort of new concussion protocol installed, but that's a moot point right now. We weren't as responsive as other clubs to the change in trends this season, but I see that as a coaching directive moreso than a performance management one. Buttifant effectively answers to Mick & the football department, likely with some oversight from the physio & medical staff. He's a facilitator rather than someone who truly dictates policy.

I'm not surprised that Judd, Simpson, Walker, Carrazzo and Jamison all have issues this season: Judd missed a huge chunk of the pre-season, while the rest have had a few soft tissue and knee related issues arise. They're veterans.

From outside our system, I don't rate the work put into Jones & Tutt, but you can see Jones' output improving over the first 6 weeks of the season despite his poor form. Tutt is thankfully a fantastic trainer despite his inability to execute skills under pressure so running capacity doesn't appear to be a concern for him.

Outside of the names I've provided, everyone's generally U20 and/or has had an injury lay off in the last 10 weeks. We've needed to lift the volume of running, but if we were overtaxing the senior group you would be seeing more serious issues in that 22-28 bracket, and if we weren't putting enough into the youngsters you wouldn't be seeing some of them making significant contributions when dropped into senior footy.

I'm sorry guys but the more I look at this as an issue, the less problems I see. Buttifant is trying to play catch up and the players might hate him for it now, but the work needs to be done. I think the bigger problem is, outside of the work he and Coutts do in their department, we really lack a strong presence in the football club to bolster their efforts and get to the forefront of these fitness trends. I actually think SOS is the first step in such a transition, because part of what he will be doing with the whole Sabremetrics approach to list management is analysing player performance data on our list, in the AFL, in the draft pool, and in other elite sports.

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

It's amazing how average port power look now that they've lost their super human fitness. Highlights that it's not the quality of player we are lacking it's all about our lack of fitness

The #@!%$ you say about the hovercraft, cauliflower?

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BLUES 2010: PAV AND JUDD = FLAGS. DOING IT FOR THE LOVE OF DICK PRATT.

HAVE YOU SIGNED UP FOR TALKINGCARLTON SUPERCOACH 2009 YET?

Everybody is an accidental hero at their previous club... We put them to the test;

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Take away ports massive fitness advantage over the past two years and they are just as bad as us. Nothing drastically wrong with our list or mick as far as I'm concerned. The equation is simple. We get as fit as swans, freo etc, we push into contention once again

I don't know how we can put it down to fitness, when the players aren't working hard enough. When you don't have a single tackle until 17 minutes into the quarter, or are lacking the required pressure throughout the whole game, it is not fitness it is willingness to work hard. It doesn't matter how fit you are, if you don't have the mental strength or desire to compete you will fail.

Has Port's fitness head (and staff) changed since last year? How could they get it so wrong this year, especially considering they would have known the formula from the previous pre-season?

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O say does that star spangled banner yet wave.

Agree.

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#NewBlues beginning 25th August 2015

The players aren't working hard enough not because they aren't trying, its because they are physically incapable of doing so. Just like the case is with Port this year, they are physically incapable of playing the brand of footy they where last year.

Last year everyone was praising port from top to bottom from their recruiting to their 'never give up' attitude. Where has that gone? have they just decided to give up this year? Has Ken Hinkley forgotten how to be a master coach that everyone seemed to think he was last year?

Its plain and simple. Fitness.

When we are playing a Collingwood side littered with average, inexperienced rookies and we cant get a clean position for the whole game because our players are getting gang tackled, that tells you that one side is a lot fitter and more physically capable than the other.

I have always stood firm in my belief that Port are an average side, and without AFL assistance would drop back to where they started...and here we are.

Lets see how many will be singing Never Tear Us Apart by the end of the year if their season continues to pan out this way lol

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James Hird and Essendon* FC - #FOREVERDRUGCHEATS

If they keep going the way they are at the moment, last year is looking very suss...

OK I like your analysis of the curent situation, but I dont think you have considered the possibility let alone probability that oour players are not fit enough to keep up with the teams we have lost to this year, and i bet we arent near most of the teams we have played.

Like you I'm guesssing.

But I will add this to your hypothesis.

You are impressed with what Buttifant has been able to get out of them. jimmae they cant run out a game. Its the running that is questionable. You suggest its gone up for us. I dont care about that. We are not the benchmark.

I remember players running over teams in the last quarter when Ratten took the leash off. Tells me the players are no where near as fir as they use to be. Furthermore the previous fitness guru, at odds with ratten because they coouldnt keep up with Bombers (we now know why) is ahead of Buttifant, and he got sacked.

He's a facilitator says who? Sure he facilitates requests but his job is to devise a program to have our guys compete against the other 17 teams. I'm sure MM doesnt ask him to create strong players for half a game, and dont worry if they fade in red time. He has not conditioned our players.

Jones and Cripps did take on extra training sessions outside of Buttifants program, so lets not give him creedit for those fellas.

Of the 17 names you mention the others are U20 or had a long lay off ie the other 27 names. I dont think so. you are telling me and yourself that's the case.

Your point " if we weren't putting in the time into the youngsters.....Smith doesnt last more than a quarter, Byrne has played a quarter, Graham too, who are these youngsters who have benefited from Buttifants..oops...you mean MMs program.

What do you imply with last comment Ive highlighted? A football club should be running another fitness program outside Buttifants? I dont get it.

Finally how long has Buttifant been playing catch up? How long will it take for him to catch up? Using his program or anothers?

Dont agree jimmae....sounds apologetic to me.

The group as a whole had the best preseason...just ask MM and Buttifant. Thats what they said in the preseason.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

That's what I think.

Pretty hard to prove that point wrong imo.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

AFL wants to move from AAMI to Adelaide oval. Port are a basket case, no coach, no crowds at games, players want out,. Then magically, the squeaky clean Andrew Demetriou has an emergency meeting at alberton to save league embarrassment from having empty crowds at AO.

Suddenly Port are an unstoppable fitness machine for the next two Seasons. Port sell out season tickets, average players become game breakers, club financially stabilizes, no need for tarps at Adelaide Oval.

Now that the money ball is rolling Port are free to become shizhouse again.

I don't think Port are any less fit than their previous two years, but they have starting to lose belief. Hinkley drilled into them and the public that they were fitter than any other side and they believed it. After a couple of losses this year they start to question themselves and doubt is raised on whether they actually do have a competitive advantage.

I think its mostly mental. Carlton are playing without any hunger and have lost belief. They are most likely just as fit as any other side in the comp, but with a significant drop in confidence they aren't running as hard and applying the required pressure.

I reckon as soon as Mick is gone and another coach steps in you'll see an improved performance. Not because all of a sudden their fitness levels are better but because they'll start gaining some confidence.

Spot on.

I think our handling skills see us waste a lot of effort on the field, and I think we're doing too much running while in competition at the moment, hence all the calf injures. We needed to do more, but perhaps Buttifant has cooked it a bit though I don't know if he's intentionally overloading them or not.

As for the Ratten comments, the following year they started to try and bulk up the playing group so they could win more at the clearances beyond Judd doing the bullocking work, and a whole host of players lost a yard. We're still paying for that now I think. That was on Cordy's watch.

In terms of resources, we are probably a fair way behind the fittest clubs in terms of how we track player performance, training and injury concerns. Sydney have some of the best management software in the world which they'll never licence to us (they made it), but it's not rocket science to construct. Coutts and Buttifant, and people of similar ilk in the exercise science, physiotherapy and sports science & medicine fields would extract quite a bit more out of the playing group with an improved budget.

Alongside skill acquisition coaches (i.e. a dedicated technical coach) and zone defence coaches, such investment is the cornerstone of good football performances currently. You could have the best gameplan in the world right now but without above average athletic output on the field, you'll lose more than you'll win if they can't execute it technically or physically.

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

The gap in fitness between our squad and the rest of the competition right now is greater than the gap between us and Essendon* in 2012 which sparked ratten into concluding that the bombers were on the PED's.

Just another of the Swann / Kernahan mates club.

Will be gone at the end of the season. Just Daisy left of that group.

Things will improve.

The S/k era will go down as the worst in this clubs history.