the skill level of our players

[whatwhat say what 22,703]

all today as i sit freezing on the wing watching geelong treat our players like witch's hats, i found myself constantly repeating to my companion 'he can't kick' or 'he always misses targets' or 'another shocking kick'.

how are our skills SO bad??

we not only have players who shirk contests, don't run, who 'have little rests' as roos put it in the press conference, but above all else we are TERRIBLE at using the football by foot and by hand.

at one stage today we were running at 66% disposal efficiency; they jumped it up to 69% by the end of play. at the same time, however, geelong were running at 81% because of the sheer lack of pressure that we were putting on them.

i can't get over how bad they were in that second quarter today.

[Ted Lasso 19,349]

What skills?

[Wiseblood 24,637]

What skills?

Why isn't this stuck in the Post Match Discussion thread as well?

You're right DA, but this is a painfully obvious thread and topic that's already been discussed ad bloody nauseum.

[Ethan Tremblay 30,827]

Post game discussion thread says hello

[Bitter but optimistic 22,221]

Demon Andrew is entitled to claim a new thread for this matter. Our shite skills transcend this particular game.

This area of our game has been a constant weakness and does not seem to have have improved under a succession of coaches including Roos.

While we continually pass the ball to the opposition we will not be serious contenders for anything but the wooden spoon.

[Wiseblood 24,637]

Demon Andrew is entitled to claim a new thread for this matter. Our shite skills transcend this particular game.

This area of our game has been a constant weakness and does not seem to have have improved under a succession of coaches including Roos.

While we continually pass the ball to the opposition we will not be serious contenders for anything but the wooden spoon.

Might have transcended the game but your response is the same one rolled out by all of us, and we've been rolling it out for a long time.

We know it needs to improve, we know we need to get the right kind of players in to do it. I don't know what else needs to be said. Whinging about it won't change it, and we should know, as we've all been whinging about it for years.

[Bitter but optimistic 22,221]

Might have transcended the game but your response is the same one rolled out by all of us, and we've been rolling it out for a long time.

We know it needs to improve, we know we need to get the right kind of players in to do it. I don't know what else needs to be said. Whinging about it won't change it, and we should know, as we've all been whinging about it for years.

Ignoring it wont do any good either Wise. Let's continue "rolling it out" until we can field a team where ,at least most of them, can hit the side of a barn by foot or by hand.

[PJ_12345 1,098]

For me it's the non-negotiables which frustrate me.

We rarely get a second man on the mark to stop opposition players from running around at tight shots, rucks and talls don't make it to the line to punch opposition outside 50 shots, players don't crsh packs to provide some form of a contest, no one shepherds, no one draws opposition players in before handballing - they just treat it like a hot potato and put it in a worse position, some players still go into marking contests with only one hand up... and most of all there are too many weak tackles

The Bulldogs aren't the most skilled team in the league but at least they tackle and are ranked #1 for it. What do Melbourne do?

They can't even do the basic tasks. It's just not good enough.

[Tony Tea 2,806]

Was quietly sobbing watching the Swans hit targets.

[The Reverend 1,736]

So much hand-wringing and consternation. it was never going to be turned around in a season. Be satisfied that nobody has beaten us by 100 points this year. Look to next year and the one after that. Then we'll see the value of what Roos and his team are doing now.

Have faith. We've got this!

Edited July 12, 2014 by Crawf52

[cowboy_from_hell 2,390]

Watching motlop checkside kicks to team mates all day while our players butcher the ball was very frustrating.

[Wiseblood 24,637]

Ignoring it wont do any good either Wise. Let's continue "rolling it out" until we can field a team where ,at least most of them, can hit the side of a barn by foot or by hand.

We haven't ignored it and, frankly, how could we? All I'm saying is yet another thread on it isn't necessary - we are all aware, and there are discussion threads for it.

[Wiseblood 24,637]

Watching motlop checkside kicks to team mates all day while our players butcher the ball was very frustrating.

We haven't had a bloke do that stuff since Farmer. Davey was a beautiful kick, as was Yze, but the Wiz did that stuff every week. We really lack that extra bit of class at the minute.

[chookrat 4,247]

all today as i sit freezing on the wing watching geelong treat our players like witch's hats, i found myself constantly repeating to my companion 'he can't kick' or 'he always misses targets' or 'another shocking kick'.

how are our skills SO bad??

we not only have players who shirk contests, don't run, who 'have little rests' as roos put it in the press conference, but above all else we are TERRIBLE at using the football by foot and by hand.

at one stage today we were running at 66% disposal efficiency; they jumped it up to 69% by the end of play. at the same time, however, geelong were running at 81% because of the sheer lack of pressure that we were putting on them.

i can't get over how bad they were in that second quarter today.

I don't think its skill so much as confidence that the ball won't turn over. Players don't run hard enough to present consistently resulting in a lack of options or poorly timed options, and then the player kicks to a contest and turns it over. Players stop presenting because they do not get the ball. This cycle repeats and the result is what we saw today.

The only way to break this cycle is to mix things up and move players around, teach players where and when to run, and gradually build them back up.

[bing181 9,197]

#10 and #14 have it covered.

Then throw in confidence, experience, tiredness. A couple of dud kicks resulting in turnovers and easy goals to the opposition are all it takes to send a lot of our players back into their shells and have them second-guessing themselves ... with predictable results.

[Adam The God 30,136]

all today as i sit freezing on the wing watching geelong treat our players like witch's hats, i found myself constantly repeating to my companion 'he can't kick' or 'he always misses targets' or 'another shocking kick'.

how are our skills SO bad??

we not only have players who shirk contests, don't run, who 'have little rests' as roos put it in the press conference, but above all else we are TERRIBLE at using the football by foot and by hand.

at one stage today we were running at 66% disposal efficiency; they jumped it up to 69% by the end of play. at the same time, however, geelong were running at 81% because of the sheer lack of pressure that we were putting on them.

i can't get over how bad they were in that second quarter today.

It was something like 46% at quarter time. It's a combination of decision making; a lack of support from team mates to run into more dangerous areas; and the remainder is a general lack of ability to hit certain targets.