this year long kicks have gone up to 109 from 91, contested possessions up 291 from 267 and contested marks up to 25 from 22. on last years stats (source - patrick keane the afl media relations manager).

given the increase in contested footy it stands to reason that having a younger and not fully physically developed team is a larger disadvantage than it has been in the past.

anyway im not using it as an excuse but it was pretty evident on monday when we were just brushed off the ball with ease time after time.

of course, there are other elements involved, such as attitude and application, but i cant help but feeling that the higher emphasis on contested footy hasnt helped our cause.

An insightful piece Benno. I've mentioned several times in various threads about Leigh Matthews thoughts on Contested Possessions and Tackles in winning games of football. That when you come out on top in both aspects more often than not you're the winning team.

On Monday we had slightly more tackles (not by much- pretty even), but were smashed in the contested possessions (by ~ 40-odd difference).

Recently I've heard a couple of players (particularly after the essendon game) speak of these two areas. (Nathan Jones, Jack Trengove). So it is a focus that DB has enforced upon the playing group and he's even mentioned it himself of recent times in the interviews. However, applying it and coming out on top in these areas against the top sides remains the challenge. Clearly on Monday our mids struggled to be first to the ball at times and not as proactive as the Collingwood players. ie. the tackle count may suggest we were indeed second to the ball in alot of instances.

Overall it's clearly a main focus for the group and FD. Strength and conditioning including stronger "core bodies" makes a hell of a difference. In comparison to the Pies we're simply under-developed in that department. The endeavour and effort might be the same, but how many times did we see Pies players keep their feet and our tackles were brushed off due to stronger core bodies ? ie. numerous examples

ie. See maurie's post and comparitive analysis in terms of games played and that of Collingwood's side from the weekend. Good example.

Great thread.

I would hope that there has been and will be a big emphasis on strenghthening the bodies of our rather large lighter brigade. Everything I hear and read from fitness gurus indicate however that too much bulk on young frames can have a detrimental affect. The GWS fitness bloke on SEN a couple of nights ago suggested it would be three years to get the kids into a competitive body shape.