FarmerBlue wrote:
I'm hoping for
Kemp for McGovern
Hewett for Ed
Binns for Hollands
TDK for Jack
Dow in for Durdin or Motlop Sub
I'd love to see Cincotta back as well so we stop playing Kennedy & Cerra in defence
and importantly a much better effort and game plan
The effort has been fine IMO.
Our players run hard defensively and offensively they work hard as well but our total game is too focussed on contest. We win the ball, wait for numbers to get forward, kick to a contest and try to win it.
Nothing will change until we move the ball quicker. There's lots of posters wanting mass changes to the team on a weekly basis and a total list overhaul but our list is in good shape IMHO. We could run out with Collingwood's players this week but if they were expected to play the same game style, we'd lose by as much if not more.
We don't challenge the opposition. We allow our players to set up downfield but we're also allowing the opposition to do the same. Our method of moving the ball upfield is to kick to a contest or to go around the opposition. The best teams go through the opposition. They take possession and hit up 15/20m passes upfield before the opposition can fill that space. They don't allow you to zone. And if you do they'll shift it and disorganise you. Look at how quickly Collingwood/Port etc get the ball to boot. They utilise the stand rule beautifully with low flat kicks that create chaos for the oppositions structure.
Our idea of shifting a zone or retaining possession is kicking backwards or sideways. We're 3rd in the AFL for disposals per game yet we're 16th for metres gained per disposal. Only NM and Hawthorn are worse.
I admire that Vossy wants a contested game style but we need gears when we win it. We're all or nothing. We either crab our way around the field or we bite off high risk corridor balls. Where's the nuance? Instead of running to contest, our players should be running to space. And when they do, kick the @#$%&! ball to them.
Instead we're petrified of not being set up behind the ball if it doesn't work. Well if our defenders cant cope without the rest of the team bailing them out, turn them over. We need to accept that risk is part of the game and to move on if you make a mistake. No one exposes themselves more than Collingwood but it's working alright for them. If they turn it over, they try to get 2 back.
Challenge the opposition. Take time away from them. Run to space. If you don't receive the ball, at least you will draw an opponent which will create a hole elsewhere. And it has to be whole ground. Instead of the small forward/mids running to a contest inside 50, lead back at the kicker for a bloody change.
Nothing will improve until we move the ball quicker. It's not about personnel, selection integrity, board composition, any of them. IMHO, it's about ball speed and challenging the opposition. Because at the moment, we're far too easy to play against. And that is all about method, not effort or personnel.