52 minutes ago, bing181 said:

The problem with this is the underlying assumption that you can take ANY player, and whatever their shortcomings, it's down to the coaches or the staff or the Board or even the CEO.

Sometimes it's just because the players aren't very good.

Correct bing but they were not anywhere near this bad last year with the same playing group minus Hogan.

So what has changed?

Edited June 18, 20196 yr by old dee

3 hours ago, ProperDee said:

Absolutely right BD. I was always taught to pick out somebody behind the goals and kick the ball to them. I wouldn't say it always worked but it was something to fix on other than a space between the posts.

Exactly, you don't aim to kick at the goals, you aim to kick through them.

22 hours ago, Sorry kids said:

Different sport but still applicable. At a youth group where I help out I watched a young kid shooting hoops. He was ok but not getting the shots in. I noticed he was shooting with both feet in a line facing the basket. I told him to put his lead foot in front of the other one when aiming at the target for an immediate positive result. Imagine the little things a gun footy sharpshooter could impart to our forwards. 

Precisely!

14 minutes ago, loges said:

Exactly, you don't aim to kick at the goals, you aim to kick through them.

I dare say the boys are aware of this

6 hours ago, Sorry kids said:

I hate to say it but I conclude a lot of our players are just happy being AFL players. That was their ambition and now they are living the dream, being well looked after financially, enjoying there time with their mates at the Club and the minor celebrity that goes with it. This goal kicking issue shows no one is really pressuring them to get better in the way a professional athlete should and the way players of similar ability at other Clubs do. 

 

5 hours ago, Bring-Back-Powell said:

And more than satisfied beating bottom sides:

Any surprise we haven't won since, with these ludicrous celebrations.

 

3 hours ago, 3183 Dee said:

I’m not sure about the last bit, but I’m afraid I tend to agree with the first bit. I cringe at the thought of the upcoming Inside Melbourne podcast, which will be run by the players during Player Takeover Week. I’m all for mixing things up and having a bit of a laugh, but not sure that this is the right moment!

 

1 minute ago, Smokey said:

I dare say the boys are aware of this

How can you be sure from our accuracy ?

4 minutes ago, Smokey said:

I dare say the boys are aware of this

Then they are very poor at implementation.

4 minutes ago, loges said:

How can you be sure from our accuracy ?

Because it is easy to infer that we are experiencing something more than fundamental technique issues having gone from the highest scoring team to one of the lowest in a single off season. Things are never that simple at AFL level. 

6 hours ago, old dee said:

Serious comment MD. They should change the people involved because it ain't working.

Must be listening to you Mr Old.

Rawlings taking over as forward coach immediately 

?

10 hours ago, Superunknown said:

Exactly this.

My golf routine is the same even when I am smashing balls down the paddock.

Superunknown - I don’t know which course you play, but is there a paddock adjacent to your fairways? Is your standard shot a hook or a slice?

8 hours ago, Brownie said:

Years ago I saw a keynote by Lawrie Lawrence. His talk was all about preparation (and practice practice practice).

He told an amazing story about the 2000 Olympics. The one athlete with more weight on their shoulders than any other was Cathy Freeman.

She was expected to bring home the gold in athletics for Australia. The pressure on her was immense.

Lawrie said that the reason she did this so successfully and that the pressure didn't crush her (I.e. don't think about it) was preparation.

She practiced and practiced her whole routine so often that by the time she walked into that stadium, she was on auto pilot.

You must be prepared at an elite level.

So you gotta wonder why we are taking this so casually.

If this is match day simulation, then they should be putting blokes on the mark and simulating the whole thing over and over until it's just a routine on match day. And..  coaches are there to correct and coach along the way.

We seem to be more Krygious than Freeman

Maybe it is, sadly, because we are far from being  at elite level? ??

Edited June 18, 20196 yr by monoccular

strange response from a coach. had a training session where players did training drills, short passes, fast break, etc.. why is goal kicking any different from the dozens of other things they practice each week.

13 hours ago, Wells 11 said:

I wonder if you’re allowed to go as a depressed supporter? 

im in for a couple of sessions Wells, im still getting over maxs last shank that cost me $100. Pies 1-39pts. How many times can one bloke miss the same way ffs. Very depressing. 

Did Hibberd train? A bit of a whisper that he might be injured 

11 minutes ago, Leoncelli_36 said:

Did Hibberd train? A bit of a whisper that he might be injured 

Didn’t see him now that you mention him. 

Perhaps I'm misreading the alleged comments from McCartney highlighted in the opening post, but I would assume the comment "stop thinking about it" is more to do with over-thinking the situation (the need for a goal, the pressure of the game, the scores, the consequences of a miss, etc.) rather than thinking about technique.

I agree with this notion that it's mostly a mental thing and it's difficult to replicate on the training track as there is always the knowledge that it just doesn't matter as much as a game.

Set-shot goal kicking has an enormous mental element. Petracca is probably the best example of this. He has nailed a few set shot goals from around 50m this year and a number of difficult goals on the run, yet continually misses the 30m set shot. There might be a few technical elements but I reckon a lot of it is mental - clearly when expected to kick a goal from a relatively easy set-shot the worry of the consequences of missing sets in.

As for the team, we've also generally kicked poorly in close games. We kicked 7.2 against GWS in the last quarter when the game was done as there was no pressure, whereas in the last quarter against the Crows it was 1.8 and the Pies 2.6 when the games were still very much alive.

Is it just coincidence that in the 3 games we've had decided with a shot just before or after the siren since the start of last year, we've lost all 3?

I think it's a pressure / expectation thing and McCartney is right - stop over-thinking and just enjoy the opportunities.

Having seen the video of Gaff kicking for goal with the Brayshaw sledge, I wonder if it would be possible for our players to spend a session each week at the 'G goal kicking with 'applied pressure'. Perhaps even a competition of sorts with some kind of punishment and reward. Otherwise anyone can slot shots at training at the local oval with no consequences...then come gametime the perceived pressure means everything goes to water

16 hours ago, Lucifer's Hero said:

As well as social pressure, simulate game condition during practice:  eg Run around the oval, do a few tackles and sprints to be fatigued.   Have massive crowd noise blaring thru loud speakers.  Put half a dozen players on the mark.  A few more players in the goal square (especially for Max who can't get it thru within 30m).  Pretend it is after the final siren to win the game. 

Here is a novel way of simulating game conditions at training lyon-disappointed-by-eagles-brayshaw-jibe-to-gaff:  Eagles players sledge Gaff for the Brayshaw hit as Gaff lines up for a set shot.  Gaff misses each time.  Its bound to happen in games when Gaff lines up for goal so wise to condition/desentisise him to the sledging.

I'm with others here - to do 'free-style' training without a game environment will help in some ways but has limited value in overcoming the 'mental yips'.

12 hours ago, monoccular said:

Superunknown - I don’t know which course you play, but is there a paddock adjacent to your fairways? Is your standard shot a hook or a slice?

Maybe it is, sadly, because we are far from being  at elite level? ??

Hardy har - no, my property contains paddocks upon which time permitting practice may be undertaken

15 hours ago, Smokey said:

Because it is easy to infer that we are experiencing something more than fundamental technique issues having gone from the highest scoring team to one of the lowest in a single off season. Things are never that simple at AFL level. 

There are probably multiple reasons for sure.

11 hours ago, Hellish Inferno said:

Having seen the video of Gaff kicking for goal with the Brayshaw sledge, I wonder if it would be possible for our players to spend a session each week at the 'G goal kicking with 'applied pressure'. Perhaps even a competition of sorts with some kind of punishment and reward. Otherwise anyone can slot shots at training at the local oval with no consequences...then come gametime the perceived pressure means everything goes to water

just have the player put earbuds in and the coach can broadcast whatever distraction he/she wants... not rocket science

20 hours ago, old dee said:

Correct bing but they were not anywhere near this bad last year with the same playing group minus Hogan.

So what has changed?

What has changed bad pre season, [censored] 17 players where still in rehab after Christmas and most of them was in the best 22, I think with a short preseason and a record number of off season surgeries, the  conditioning staff had to spend more time on catching up with fitness that there was less Time for skills training. Why else is the skill level so much inferior to last season. The team has to learn how to win on our home ground, in last season and this season we have won more games away for the MCG then on it

This is our reset year 

21 hours ago, Scoop Junior said:

.......

I think it's a pressure / expectation thing and McCartney is right - stop over-thinking and just enjoy the opportunities.

But we don't feel the need to employ a sports psychologist?  Or a kicking coach?

She'll be right mate.