idle wrote:
After watching us for 2 weeks in a row I just can't see how we're going to manufacture a winning score.
Bombing it forward to pack situations is 50/50 at best. No Betts, No Garlett to feed off any packs leaves us with who should a mark fail to stick?
But if a mark does stick, the likely candidate is Casboult. Again 50/50 at best if he kicks it or not.
Why does any of this matter?
Because if the game is won and lost in the center, and you've worked your backside off to get it forward and it comes screaming past to the other end, as a center player, you'll find yourself running to both ends of the ground repeatedly.
Besides the obvious physical exhaustion running forward and back for 4 quarters will have, the psychological impact of hard work moving the ball forward for zero return, will also take a massive toll.
As an example, the Eagles center do the hard yards to move the ball forward and are rewarded by watching their full forward slot through 10 majors. You think that doesn't lift players understanding that their hard work is worth the effort?
Yet we put in exactly the same workload in for a 50/50 at best, and watch the ball come screaming back the other way and that's not going to impact players ability to maintain their composure and cost them physical energy (without reward) chasing the other way?
Its about reward for effort.
The current structure we have forward is not offering much reward for effort. Continual 50/50 chances that more often than not resulting in points, or worst, coming back the other way does absolutely nothing for our confidence or belief the effort is worth the reward.
We can shuffle team lists all we want, but until we have a working forward set up that produces results, imho, we'll just continue this merry-go-round of ins & outs and humiliating loses.
Make us work hard moving the ball forward for little reward, and make us work harder chasing it back and we'll throw in the towel pretty quickly. Two weeks has shown this thus far.
Betts, Garlett, and Waite provided reward for effort. Casboult 50/50 at best. Who else do we have? Like I said, I can't see us manufacturing a winning score.

well put idle
can you put some numbers or percentages behind those educational comments so some can understand what it's like to play this incompetent game plan