Seeing the positive

[DEMON WITHIN 0]

Im not sure if anyone heard the piece of commentary by Dennis Cometti (one of the few i actually enjoy listening to as he is both comical and usually well informed) on the weekend. He said that clubs are often very quick to reel off the negatives they see in players and tend to overly focus on what a player cant do, over what a player can do. This is in my opinion %110 true...supporters i feel are entitled to give a bit of a subjective view on things as we are limited in our inside knowledge, but hearing that clubs do this too, surprised me and dissapointed me. I am certain that one of the great strengths of great clubs and teams centres around maximising player strengths...Collingwood are an obvious example where they have developed a game plan (a great one too) and made sure that each player utilises their strengths to the maximum gain for the team and covers the deficiencies of any individual by placing them in a role where this is least exposed.

What do people think. Are there strengths that we could be maximising from within our team? Are there players languishing in the 2s that if given a new role could be thriving?

Another quick thing i heard the commentators mention was "every time we see jones and petterd play they play well..." interesting to hear this positive feedback from commentators...jones was also mentioned in an article of "heart" players that GWS should target...clearly rated outside of the club, whilst much maligned on this site.

[dee-luded 2,959]

Im not sure if anyone heard the piece of commentary by Dennis Cometti (one of the few i actually enjoy listening to as he is both comical and usually well informed) on the weekend. He said that clubs are often very quick to reel off the negatives they see in players and tend to overly focus on what a player cant do, over what a player can do. This is in my opinion %110 true...supporters i feel are entitled to give a bit of a subjective view on things as we are limited in our inside knowledge, but hearing that clubs do this too, surprised me and dissapointed me. I am certain that one of the great strengths of great clubs and teams centres around maximising player strengths...Collingwood are an obvious example where they have developed a game plan (a great one too) and made sure that each player utilises their strengths to the maximum gain for the team and covers the deficiencies of any individual by placing them in a role where this is least exposed.

What do people think. Are there strengths that we could be maximising from within our team? Are there players languishing in the 2s that if given a new role could be thriving?

Another quick thing i heard the commentators mention was "every time we see jones and petterd play they play well..." interesting to hear this positive feedback from commentators...jones was also mentioned in an article of "heart" players that GWS should target...clearly rated outside of the club, whilst much maligned on this site.

I think it's time we took a leaf out of Jimma's Book, and stopped trying to undermine the footy dept' and coach, and let them do their jobs.

[daisycutter 29,604]

I think it's time we took a leaf out of Jimma's Book, and stopped trying to undermine the footy dept' and coach, and let them do their jobs.

spoilsport

[DEMON WITHIN 0]

My point wasnt we should all try to be armchair critics and tell the coaching staff where to play players...more was thinking that instead of describing player X as "poor kick, bad decision maker, soft etc." we could look for positive attributes in players more.

A number of times i have read this year that players before being drafter were "over-analysed"...i dont know if anyone read this article. Players such as Jack Darling and Michael Hurley were talked about being overly analysed by recruiters who only saw their deficiencies, but failed to see in hindsight what gifted "footballers" they were. Put in the right environment, with the right teaching and positioning, players can thrive.

I see the clubs best at finding the intangibles to get the best out of players as Sydney, Collingwood and even Fremantly at the moment...Sheedy must look at Kepler Bradley and wonder whether his other love child Courtney Johns would be kicking bags over there at the moment!

[DEMON WITHIN 0]

This was the part of the article i mentioned in my initial post...from afl.com

GWS has a two-year window to secure uncontracted players.

The parameters for the selection process should be as follows:

Players need to be coming off contract at the end of this year or 2012No players older than 25Focus on teams outside the top eight, with a particular focus on those near the bottom of the ladderPlayers who have shown an ability to perform consistently well in teams that strugglePlayers with strong on-field presence but not necessarily their teams' best players

These guidelines should be rigid and adhered to strictly.

The rationale behind focusing on teams outside the eight and towards the bottom of the ladder is twofold.

Firstly, it's easier to play well when a team is playing well, so GWS should be looking to identify players who have shown they can perform well in poor teams.

Secondly, when things go wrong these types of players aren't distracted or put off by the result. They know no other way and have the strength of mind and determination to push on.

Carefully selecting the most appropriate type of uncontracted players would allow GWS to concentrate on helping develop the younger players knowing their senior players are mature enough and resilient enough to stay the course irrespective of the result.

With this in mind GWS should be targeting the following players for the positions of captain, vice captain and deputy vice captain: Jed Adcock, Beau Waters and Jack Trengove.

Its important GWS compliments these three possible leaders with enough soldiers willing to follow them into battle without question or fear of failure.

Callan Ward, Liam Picken, Easton Wood, Tom Rockliff, Nathan Jones and Tom Logan would be outstanding lieutenants.

Ward, Picken, Wood, Rockliff, Jones and Logan have total disregard for their own safety on the football field, which is exactly why they should be high on GWS's wish list.