8 minutes ago, Unleash Hell said:

Just my own observation.

But the poorer kicks are not getting games atm. I think that has helped our scoring efficiency.

I think for experience and all things being ven Bugg gets a game over Spargo. But because Spargo has been more reliable kick he's getting a gane.

And i like it. 

We need to play a in form team like pies or eagles to really see where we're at though 

This is true, however we are also hitting more targets because there are more targets to hit and players are able to do so under less pressure.

Lewis is a great example of this. When he has time and space he is deadly but under pressure he tends to struggle.

 

7 hours ago, Satyriconhome said:

2 words   Confidence and Winning 

Yeh, look there's probably a bit more to it than that big fella. It's AFL, not Aus kick. 

Confidence is obviously an element. Goes without saying really. 

Clearly we straightened a few things up structurally after our Richmond loss. Hibberd moved up to his half back flank position, Lewis started playing back a lot more and Lever began positioning himself a lot better. 

Goody decided to play players in their natural positions. Gus and Jones in the guts more often. Hogan to play mostly forward, the addition of a third tall to give Max more rest time and to become a threat up forward. Taking Tyson off a wing has done wonders. We've had Tom Mac and Fritsch play on the wings with Fritsch being able to pierce defensive zones with his left foot. Tommy as a two way running machine on a wing means he is always in really dangerous positions. Why Tyson played there I'll never know. Hopefully he is now firmly in line for an inside mid role if one of our first choice players go down. That's the only position he should ever play. 

Obviously the addition of T-Mac has been enormous and Viney last week. Both players are incredibly important. 

Along with all that is the fact that we've been able to play a number of our role playing players into form with ANB, Melksham and Harmes all playing to the level we need. 

Hoping it continues right through to the bye. 

 

13 minutes ago, Clint Bizkit said:

This is true, however we are also hitting more targets because there are more targets to hit and players are able to do so under less pressure.

Lewis is a great example of this. When he has time and space he is deadly but under pressure he tends to struggle.

 

Agree CB the forward line deliveries are a lot quicker and we are scoring on first entry. In the past we would kick inside the 50 and lock it in etc. That allows up to 36 players to enter the 50 zone and scoring is harder.

Now we kick to the 40 and then quickly dispose by hand or foot to a player much closer to goal. That also gives us a very high accuracy rate which has been evident in recent weeks.

Sounds simple but it is working. Long may it continue.

10 minutes ago, stevethemanjordan said:

Yeh, look there's probably a bit more to it than that big fella. It's AFL, not Aus kick.

All we needed in the Neeld years was more confidence and winning, why can't you see this?

Don't know why it took 6 rounds to work out we were pressing to far up the ground

Blind Freddy could see it wasn't working and contributed to congested packs forming  and leaving us vulnerable on turnovers

They have adjusted and now There is space and opportunity

13 hours ago, small but forward said:

1. JVand TMac back in the team

2. Allowed ANB, Harmes and Gussy to play themselves back into form

3. We don’t have 3 players trying to win the contest, we have two peeling off and looking to play on quickly.

4. We’ve got a goalkeeper, typically OMac or Lewis, both of whom area great kick

5. We play on immediately, the speed of ball movement creates forward space

6. We are selfless

7. Our forward line is omnipotent and highly unpredictable 

 

 

 

Cool thread.

Well said SBF - #3 in particular was slowly driving me insane!

 

Great Thread.
1. A fit list. Statistically the biggest market of success, also breeds player inter-familiarity.
2. Tom McDonald is the new Nick Riewoldt. But then so is Jesse Hogan. 2 Nick Riewoldts! 
3. The best ruckman in the league, playing in his best form.
4. Oliver and Viney two of the top 5 (or so) ball hunters in the league.
5. Jones, Lewis, Vince, 3 exceptional older heads playing like their future depends on it.
6. Jake Lever and Michael Hibberd playing to their All-Australian form.
7. Oscar McDonald playing himself into the next 10 years of a career. Never in doubt.
8. The return to form of Angus Brayshaw, who is now (post Sam Mitchell), the most double-sided midfielder in the league.
9. Jake Melksham, currently the best one-on-one player in the league, by a long way apparently. 
10. Younger players finally coming into their peak period of age and experience ..... Salem, Harmes, Nibbler.
11. The intangibles.....confidence, belief, motivation (last year's shame). 

13 hours ago, small but forward said:

Allowed ANB, Harmes and Gussy to play themselves back into form

This is a very significant factor, providing run, coverage and innovation.

Excellent comments by Daisy during the Crows game.

It’s been mentioned a lot on here about our taxing contested game early in the season where we were doing a lot things right but our inability to make opposition defenders defend was hurting us. She feels the improvement is on the back of our ability to play the 2 tempos of footy much better and capitalise greatly when we have the momentum.

The most obvious change is the inclusion of Charlie Spargo.

The guy is a talisman.  He doesn't know how to lose a game at AFL level.

1 hour ago, Clint Bizkit said:

This is true, however we are also hitting more targets because there are more targets to hit and players are able to do so under less pressure.

Lewis is a great example of this. When he has time and space he is deadly but under pressure he tends to struggle.

 

I think thats also true for all players not only Lewis. Edit which was probably your point apologies....

Team balance and roles play a big part too regarding creating space for each other and knowing where team mates will be. Viney and Tmac and the emergence of Smith and aweed have also made a big difference.

We alwaya new we were a good contested team.

The scary thing is guys like Oliver Gus, Salem etc are still inder 50 games. 

The big tests are still to come this year though. Regardless of our current good dorm we haven't yet proven ourselves vs really good opposition just yet.

Cats and togs games weren't supwr bad though. The hawks games was hopefully an annomlly.

Edited May 29, 20187 yr by Unleash Hell

25 minutes ago, Miles from Nowhere said:

The most obvious change is the inclusion of Charlie Spargo.

The guy is a talisman.  He doesn't know how to lose a game at AFL level.

5-0 so far, what a start.

Could be the new Joel Selwood who debuted in 'that' Geelong team, won 3 flags and barely lost a game for years. 

4 hours ago, ProperDee said:

All of the above plus allegedly.........repeat allegedly:

A VERY frank discussion between team leaders where damaged bridges were not only mended but reinforced very strongly.

Several players being told to completely commit to both skippers and the team or enjoy Casey regardless of their ability.

Three players told to pull their heads in and play team footy or be Casey bound.

A coaching conflict remedied.

One players health issue identified, recognised and professional treatment sought and ongoing.

Interesting and potentially has more to do with a change to a winning culture (if true of course..) than any other reasons. 

I would have thought these kinds of things would have been consigned to the past but here is hoping this is the real turning point for our club, players and coaches and shows the maturity they all need to win a flag.

Edited May 30, 20187 yr by Cards13

1 hour ago, Miles from Nowhere said:

The most obvious change is the inclusion of Charlie Spargo.

The guy is a talisman.  He doesn't know how to lose a game at AFL level.

Isn’t that amazing, players from the dark days 3-5 years ago we’re going most of the season without a win.

1 hour ago, Dee Zephyr said:

Excellent comments by Daisy during the Crows game.

It’s been mentioned a lot on here about our taxing contested game early in the season where we were doing a lot things right but our inability to make opposition defenders defend was hurting us. She feels the improvement is on the back of our ability to play the 2 tempos of footy much better and capitalise greatly when we have the momentum.

I agree with this.

Whilst we do move the ball quickly, we don't always just blindly play on and run forwards without seeing what's ahead. Players like Salem and Lewis can take a mark, stop, prop and allow teammates to spread and set up ahead of the ball.

11 hours ago, deejammin' said:

A lot of good points in here, great thread.

I would add better connection between Maxy and the mids. Early in the year he was getting plenty of taps but they were either going to no one or the opposition as much as to our advantage. Now we have such great connection we convert to much cleaner clearances and dominate our opponents around the Ball.

Do the stats back this up? That is, are Max's hitouts to advantage numbers higher than they were earlier in the year? It seemed to me in the last couple of weeks that our midfield was dining out on Max's work at a much higher rate than earlier in the year.

I'm not sure what "hitouts to advantage" actually measures, but my eyes told me that our midfield has never had the consistent ability to take a tap and dispose of the ball properly as much as it has over the last two weeks.

10 minutes ago, La Dee-vina Comedia said:

Do the stats back this up? That is, are Max's hitouts to advantage numbers higher than they were earlier in the year? It seemed to me in the last couple of weeks that our midfield was dining out on Max's work at a much higher rate than earlier in the year.

I'm not sure what "hitouts to advantage" actually measures, but my eyes told me that our midfield has never had the consistent ability to take a tap and dispose of the ball properly as much as it has over the last two weeks.

I don’t have the hit out to advantage stat. But I would be stunned if it wasn’t up over the last 4 weeks over earlier in the season. Max has been awesome all season but it really looks like they’ve got a real system going with him and our mids now.

Edited May 30, 20187 yr by deejammin'

12 hours ago, deejammin' said:

A lot of good points in here, great thread.

I would add better connection between Maxy and the mids. Early in the year he was getting plenty of taps but they were either going to no one or the opposition as much as to our advantage. Now we have such great connection we convert to much cleaner clearances and dominate our opponents around the Ball.

He has definitely improved his taps to teammates; some outstanding.

 

The biggest difference is the structure. Against Hawthorn we had Hogan playing as the only tall forward, and he spent half the game outside 50. Against Richmond, we had Hogan and Weideman - Hogan was all over the place again, and Weideman barely made it to a contest inside 50 all night. It is hardly surprising that we would win the ball in the middle or across half back and look up and see nobody to kick to. Hence we went backwards and sideways until we were forced into a long kick down the line, or were caught in possession.

Now we look up and you are pretty much assured of having at least two of McDonald, Hogan and Smith (or even Gawn) providing a target. The midfielders can play with a lot more confidence and flair because they know what they will get in front of them.

Further, the likes of Melksham, Fritsch and Hannan are now getting the 4th, 5th or 6th best defender, which makes a big difference. In the past couple of weeks we have forced players such as Simpson and Laird to be accountable for an opponent, generally one who is bigger and stronger, and that has taken away from their attacking games.

The midfield is running much deeper with strong contributions from Brayshaw, Harmes and Salem, and the defence is finally clicking now that players such as Frost and Hunt (who are inconsistent defensively) are out of the team, but it all stems from the forward line for me. I am convinced that we would gone close to beating Hawthorn, and perhaps Richmond as well, if we had picked the right side for those games.

5 hours ago, Unleash Hell said:

Just my own observation.

But the poorer kicks are not getting games atm. I think that has helped our scoring efficiency.

I think for experience and all things being ven Bugg gets a game over Spargo. But because Spargo has been more reliable kick he's getting a gane.

And i like it. 

We need to play a in form team like pies or eagles to really see where we're at though 

All things are  not even re Bugg vs Spartacus as Bugg’s disposal unfortunately remains a huge problem.   Is he too old to learn new tricks?

Edited May 30, 20187 yr by monoccular

Lots of good points above.  Another important factor is that most times that the ball enters our F50 (whether it be a pass or a speculative bomb) we either mark it or create a contest at ground level.  This is why we are now getting score board 'value' for our high number of entries.

1 hour ago, monoccular said:

All things are  not even re Bugg vs Spartacus as Bugg’s disposal unfortunately remains a huge problem.   Is he too old to learn new tricks?

Im having to type on my phone and am not doing a very good job so I'll keep this short.

My point is exactly what you've said. Kicking efficiency seems to be held as a premium in this side.

Where it will be tested is vs more experienced better performance sides who have bigger bodies and guys like bugg would have rhe advantage over a spargo or Fritch. Fact is though the young boys are playing better footy. But will they pushed top easily off the ball when the time.comes?

Im excited for the prospect of the young blokes though. And am happy they are getting games

Edited May 30, 20187 yr by Unleash Hell

Some nuffie started this thread.

Thanks everyone.  What a great time I've had reading all your comments - and I am smiling - haven't stopped for 5 weeks!!  Go Dees!!

19 minutes ago, Clint Bizkit said:

Some nuffie started this thread.

Well, you got what you asked for. The team has responded to your call. Should have posted it after the Geelong game.