I get the feeling Goodwin was peeing into the wind last season

1 hour ago, binman said:

Thanks TU.

 I hope that puts the whole we are implementing a new game plan this season myth to bed once and for all.

What goody says above is almost the same as what I wrote a few weeks ago - we implemented a transition game lastseason, struggled to get it right - particularly defensively - got opened up several times as a result and went back to our old model to stem the bleeding.

Goody notes our injuries, but not what i think what was our biggest challenge implementing the transition model - our fitness in the second half of the year was miles off. 

That model is incredibly taxing and requires elite all team fitness and running power.

To be fair to goody, we would have been pulverised if we hadn't reverted to our down the line style in the last third of the season. 

And would have copped it big time on here - even more than we did.

2024 was very similar to 2019 in terms of trying to implement a new method- the big difference being we didn't revert in 2019. 

Maybe this is what the transition game is all about, but can we master the ability to swap between game styles with the season and within games to conserve and defend when we need to and attack when the opportunity is there, so we arrive at finals in both good ladder position and injury/fitness wise?

2 hours ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

It was disappointing to hear Goody talk about panicking last year and going away from the new game plan… hopefully he’s learned from that. He said he has, but when push comes to shove will he live by that.

2 hours ago, DeelightfulPlay said:

Disappointing but it takes guts to admit something like that imo.  Change doesn't happen by pretending the past didn't happen, so hopefully this helps rejuvenate us

1 hour ago, Big Gun said:

Full credit to Goodwin for being so honest and opening up.

I found it outright exhilarating. Well, as much as one can be stimulated by a february article.

It is quite an outlier for a couch to be able to say they reacted poorly to a crisis, with an unhelpful, negative mindset, and to even specifically and publicly name when that occurred and that it had real consequences for the club.

Quiet reminder of just how important the context and overall state of mind can be when people are making tough decisions.

On a completely separate note of idle human watching, I find it oddly satisfying that Kristine Brooks is a significant corporate leader in her own right. Also kind of sweet that you can easily piece a relationship story together because she was previously a senior figure at Zurich.

"What's your meet-cute?"

"Our eyes met across a crowded coterie and sponsor event, and it was love at first please-help-me-avoid-the-nuffies."

34 minutes ago, Rodney (Balls) Grinter said:

Maybe this is what the transition game is all about, but can we master the ability to swap between game styles with the season and within games to conserve and defend when we need to and attack when the opportunity is there, so we arrive at finals in both good ladder position and injury/fitness wise?

I don’t think you want to swap between game styles during a game or in season. I think we’ll be attempting to remain defensively very strong whilst releasing our HBF’s, wings and onballers to run, carry and kick bullets to the corridor or forward half. I think during games you can throttle up or back certain aspects of your plan rather than switch to a new plan. Finals remain a defensive slugfest unless you get a lopsided game and then the attacking flair of a team will come out as it did on GF day last year. The fact Windsor is being looked at as a HBF option means we’re looking beyond Salem which I think is smart. Our DNA has to remain contest and defence but we need to work in a way to bring it forward faster and with more precision. Once that kick comes into the forward half we need to be confident we can defend it coming out when the opposition win possession, which they will plenty of times. It’s here we were exposed last year. Fitness is key to this game as you’ve got to be able to transition back to defence, win a contest and then be team ready to go again. It’s a brutal plan. I don’t want to see May left back on a more agile opponent and get torched on the rebound. That’s where the likes of Windsor and McVee, amongst others, need to be continually ready to cycle back and defend/win contests. The best way to win a contest remains numbers. Not just around the ball but on the outside to receive. It’s an intriguing season coming up. Personally I don’t think Hawthorns total run will hold up so they’ll be a watch as well. 

Edited February 9Feb 9 by Roost it far

3 hours ago, binman said:

Thanks TU.

 I hope that puts the whole we are implementing a new game plan this season myth to bed once and for all.

What goody says above is almost the same as what I wrote a few weeks ago - we implemented a transition game lastseason, struggled to get it right - particularly defensively - got opened up several times as a result and went back to our old model to stem the bleeding.

Goody notes our injuries, but not what i think what was our biggest challenge implementing the transition model - our fitness in the second half of the year was miles off. 

That model is incredibly taxing and requires elite all team fitness and running power.

To be fair to goody, we would have been pulverised if we hadn't reverted to our down the line style in the last third of the season. 

And would have copped it big time on here - even more than we did.

2024 was very similar to 2019 in terms of trying to implement a new method- the big difference being we didn't revert in 2019. 

I think 2019 was different in that we seemed to constantly change all year. We seemed to be adjusting our zone every game, and IMO I think we relied heavily on the 2018 game plan that season. (reliance on winning stoppage for scores and an inability to defend stoppage going the other way)

I know it's splitting hairs a bit, but IMV, 2024 is much more akin to 2020, where we had some success with the new game plan, but lacked, as you say, the fitness and mindset to implement it across 4 quarters, week to week until 2021.

2020 was a more defensive contested style than the transition game we played at the top of last season. The biggest sign of success was the Geelong win, the highlight of the season for me. 

If we can find a balance between slingshot transition and protecting our defence (ie not losing too many stoppages), which we struggled with in the first half of last year, we could be a different team. 

Edited February 9Feb 9 by Adam The God

4 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

...

As part of the review recommendations, Melbourne players are spending less time at the club, and are given more flexibility to complete their recovery in their own time this year.

...

 

I wonder how much of this was driven by players not being happy about all the driving to Casey?

1 hour ago, Little Goffy said:

On a completely separate note of idle human watching, I find it oddly satisfying that Kristine Brooks is a significant corporate leader in her own right. Also kind of sweet that you can easily piece a relationship story together because she was previously a senior figure at Zurich.

"What's your meet-cute?"

"Our eyes met across a crowded coterie and sponsor event, and it was love at first please-help-me-avoid-the-nuffies."

True story is that actually did meet at a corporate/sponsers event.

3 hours ago, binman said:

Thanks TU.

 I hope that puts the whole we are implementing a new game plan this season myth to bed once and for all.

What goody says above is almost the same as what I wrote a few weeks ago - we implemented a transition game lastseason, struggled to get it right - particularly defensively - got opened up several times as a result and went back to our old model to stem the bleeding.

Goody notes our injuries, but not what i think what was our biggest challenge implementing the transition model - our fitness in the second half of the year was miles off. 

That model is incredibly taxing and requires elite all team fitness and running power.

To be fair to goody, we would have been pulverised if we hadn't reverted to our down the line style in the last third of the season. 

And would have copped it big time on here - even more than we did.

2024 was very similar to 2019 in terms of trying to implement a new method- the big difference being we didn't revert in 2019. 

... now wondering what chance ANY team has of maintaining a critical core of elite personnel when playing an extremely taxing game style for an extremely long season... ? 

1 hour ago, deanox said:

I wonder how much of this was driven by players not being happy about all the driving to Casey?

Or jumping on the WFH bandwagon

2 hours ago, Grr-owl said:

... now wondering what chance ANY team has of maintaining a critical core of elite personnel when playing an extremely taxing game style for an extremely long season... ? 

Indeed.

That is precisely why all team fitness is such a critical success determinant now.

I've long been amazed how little the impact of injury is factored into how the game is analysed and discussed. It's nuts given it has always been the key determinant of success. 

So it should be no surprise that fitness levels barely register as a factor in how the media and fans assess a team's performances and likelihood of success.

No surprise, but very frustrating given its significance.

For example, any assessment of our capacity to implement the fast transition method last year is of no value if it doesn't consider our fitness level.

A good example of the importance of all team fitness to successfully implementing the transition method is the pies' 2024 season.

The pies won the flag in 2023 on the back of the transition method they started using in 2022.

Yes, like us, they had lots of injury issues and missed key personnel. But they never looked fit enough in 2024 and simply couldn't effectively implement the method they were previously the benchmark for.

A key reason the lions won the flag was their fitness.

We saw first hand the impact of the fitness gap between us and them in our second meeting - we blitzed them in the first half, but ran out of gas in the second half.

Conversely they had plenty left in the tank in the second half and completely ran over the top of us.

Edited February 9Feb 9 by binman

I guess that’s when the injection of youth can bite you. For most players it takes several preseasons to gain elite AFL fitness. Windsor appeared to cope well before succumbing to injury. If Langford can make the transition and Lindsay can work towards it then that’s going to factor in to how our season pans out.

Edited February 9Feb 9 by Roost it far

In part three, Goodwin on Oliver:

The Demons have spoken privately with Oliver and admitted he should not have been floated in any trade scenarios with rival clubs last year without telling him first.

Oliver, 27, was blindsided when he discovered in the media the Demons had raised his name with Adelaide, prompting the gun midfielder to have his own talks with Geelong last year.

The messy saga continued a difficult year for the Demons, but Goodwin said the club had worked hard with Oliver to wipe the slate clean and prime him physically to help rediscover his best.

Goodwin said he shared “an incredibly close relationship” with the brilliant ballwinner and was adamant Oliver was all-in on helping drive the Demons forward after a tough end to last year.

“It was certainly uncomfortable how things played out publicly last year, but Clayton is really aware of how much I love him and how proud I am of the journey he has been on,” Goodwin told the Herald Sun.

“And just how much the whole club loves him and how much we want him to be part of the footy club.

“I have known him for 10 years and we have ridden the ups and downs and it has been a hell of a journey.

“But right now we are writing a new path and from all of the conversations I have had with him he is as engaged as anyone. He loves his teammates, and he wants to be part of something (special) again.

“He holds the pen for the new chapter as we all do.”

At his best, the four-time best-and-fairest winner and 2021 AFL Coaches Association player of the year is one of most dynamic clearance-winners in the game. 

But Goodwin said fans should not expect Oliver to be at full power straight away as he continues to build fitness and touch after a challenging 12 months. 

He played 21 games last season but did not finish inside the top-10 of the best and fairest, indicating how much ground he has to make up after some personal issues, in part, wiped out last pre-season.

“He has missed a lot of footy and a lot of training and this is what this whole pre-season has been about, connecting him back to the game, and getting him ultimately back to his best,” he said.

“I think that will take some time, so we need to temper our expectations a little bit in terms of where he will be initially.

“There are some challenges, but there are also a lot of opportunities.

“We are confident if we keep working with him he will get to where he wants to get to and as part of that it is about being a great teammate.”

43 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

I guess that’s when the injection of youth can bite you. For most players it takes several preseasons to gain elite AFL fitness. Windsor appeared to cope well before succumbing to injury. If Langford can make the transition and Lindsay can work towards it then that’s going to factor in to how our season pans out.

Yep, the youth of the team was definitely a factor - as of course were injuries to senior players as they forced us to play young players that otherwise might not have played senior footy (eg kolt, brown, AMW).

But even without the injuries to senior plsyers we had young guns who were best 22 locks like Windsor, JVR and Turner who started to hit the wall in the second half of the season.

 

8 minutes ago, binman said:

Yep, the youth of the team was definitely a factor - as of course were injuries to senior players as they forced us to play young players that otherwise might not have played senior footy (eg kolt, brown, AMW).

But even without the injuries to senior plsyers we had young guns who were best 22 locks like Windsor, JVR and Turner who started to hit the wall in the second half of the season.

 

And there's no saying that can't happen again. With the likes of Laurie, Billings and McAdam also sounding thereabouts it does give us the potential to manage players during the season. I'm not sure we've been great at this in the past but it may also be that injuries preventef true player management.

very strong on pickett going nowhere til the end of 2027

14 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

very strong on pickett going nowhere til the end of 2027

You or people in the know??

9 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

You or people in the know??

goodwin, in the interview

so people in the know who work with him daily, i guess

Edited February 9Feb 9 by whatwhat say what

10 minutes ago, whatwhat say what said:

goodwin, in the interview

so people in the know who work with him daily, i guess

Good to know. His contract favours us.

Edited February 9Feb 9 by Roost it far

10 hours ago, Roost it far said:

“Petracca has returned to the fold and Goodwin has assured him he is rekindling his passion for the game and has what it takes to coach”

”Petracca has said he’ll give Goodwin one more year but he’s out if a coaching change doesn’t occur for 2026”

 

Where is this published?  Not in the HS. Or have you made it up? 

3 hours ago, binman said:

A good example of the importance of all team fitness to successfully implementing the transition method is the pies' 2024 season.

All-team fitness will be undone not just by a lack of fitness across the board, but by a lack of fitness in even a handful of players. If you're playing players without full pre-seasons (Petty and Oliver), younger players who don't have the fitness depth (as discussed already in this thread), and players who are kind of fit enough to be out there but are carrying injuries or coming back from injury (Lever, probably May, Bowie etc. etc.) ... it's enough to seriously compromise "all team" fitness.

Edited February 9Feb 9 by bing181

What a non event Interview!!😮‍💨

1 hour ago, bing181 said:

All-team fitness will be undone not just by a lack of fitness across the board, but by a lack of fitness in even a handful of players. If you're playing players without full pre-seasons (Petty and Oliver), younger players who don't have the fitness depth (as discussed already in this thread), and players who are kind of fit enough to be out there but are carrying injuries or coming back from injury (Lever, probably May, Bowie etc. etc.) ... it's enough to seriously compromise "all team" fitness.

Yep - and as you say we had mutiple players who for one reason or another were either never at optimal fitness or were, but got injured.

1 hour ago, picket fence said:

What a non event Interview!!😮‍💨

That’s what you took from that?

It’s arguably (maybe inarguably) the most open/candid interview he’s ever given. Which may not be saying much given he’s renowned for being a deadpan closed book, but makes the interview insightful all the same.

1 hour ago, binman said:

Yep - and as you say we had mutiple players who for one reason or another were either never at optimal fitness or were, but got injured.

Important to acknowledge all that, rather than start blaming the fitness team.

Equally, there do seem to have been changes in that area this season - not that any of us would really know, and not to mention that it also comes down to the individual e.g. putting in the work when away from the club.