BigKev wrote:
Synbad wrote:
yes! golf nice analogy.
difference is golf is an individual sport. I'm also assuming you are a weekend golfer? not getting flown over to St Andrew's or anything right?
anyway when it's twenty two guys and a team of coaches and runners to tweak... its meant to average all out a bit more than what happens to you Saturday mornings.
I considered the "individual" thing, but I still think it applies. (And yes I was only a weekend hack).
If we simply put performance into "poor", "average", "good" then I would suggest that if we have too many
players have a "poor" day then we're in trouble against a reasonable opposition. Not rocket science that
I suppose.
My point of contention is the idea that the players are not really trying or have gone soft. I just don't buy it. I think that the fluctuations are more in skill level than intent. Many times I've heard post match reviews from a losing coach and he'll talk about how the players "looked" switch on before the game.
Looking at our two losses I reckon it was skill errors that cost us more than anything.
We're 5-2 and have won two tough games, (Freo, Coll). We're going ok.
BigKev
players don't lose their skills from one match to another.What happens more likely than not is they are put under more pressure and waiste their disposal more often.
To over come this in the game a player must work harder and want to win the contested ball more than the opposition this also brings his team mates into the game.
They need to stand up.
This hasn't happened in the two loses so far.
They tend to take the easy option and let the opposition take the ball and not contest, from there it becomes harder.
You must work harder when not in possession to retrieve the ball and reduce the chance of a scoring shot.
Again hasn't happened.
When players are switched on the above two scenarios are reduced and the team looks good and premiership contenders.
When a team aren't switched on or not allowed to play their way and don't work hard enough and don't put up a fight when not in possession they are soft.
I agree with you Redback on everything except the highlighted line. I'm not saying they "lose" their skills, just that fluctuations in performance
are part of the human condition. I'm certainly not suggesting that you can't
to find ways to compensate. I think maturity has a lot to
do with that -- being able to recognise when it's not your day and adjusting your game accordingly. Ultimately though, and I believe anyone who
has played any sport will know, some days things just work for you and some days they don't.