5 minutes ago, bing181 said:

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.

I think the most noticeable change has been a lot of the players looking a bit leaner and a lot running PBs for time trials. This is important if we want to play more of a transition game, as the ability to repeat sprint will be important.

Thanks TU for the copy paste magic. A good read

2 hours ago, bing181 said:

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.

That's right..

I wasn't meaning all team Fitness in the sense of fitness aggregated  across the board - well, that's a part of it I guess (for example, the sort of heaviness and angst that goody describes is not really conducive for a high performance environment and culture)

Poor phrase. 

The factors you rightly highlight are all part of the mix, the biggest part really.

So, whilst they shouldn't be immune from criticism, I'm not blaming the fitness team for last year's fitness issues.

As you suggest there's too little data (frustrating) and too many variables and unknowns (inevitable) to fairly assess their performance over a single season.

8 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

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.

So maybe I am thick  but does this mean that the "media" were basically correct last year,  and who spoke to Adelaide about offloading Clayton, 

Or have they left the building, 

Shirley you speak to the player first,

FFS what a ballsup !

No wonder we were flavour of the month, 

And who tried to hide this craaaap

21 hours ago, titan_uranus said:

We want to build a clear identity in our game style, but we want to be able to win multiple different ways. That is the challenge for every team – to do everything well.

“I want our fans to see changes in the way we move the ball

Throughout his time he has consistently  referenced a desire to ensure supporters are proud of our football  identity/brand…

Can’t think of other clubs/coaches that really talk to that like he does.

Funny thing I reckon 80%+ of supporters don’t care how we win, we just want to win (which he has been able to deliver a lot of).

15 hours ago, In Harmes Way said:

Or jumping on the WFH bandwagon

We should WFH for our game at the Cattery

Death, taxes and Kane Cornhole unloading on the MFC. 

Picking holes in the SG interview on SEN as we speak 🙄

22 minutes ago, Deemented Are Go! said:

Death, taxes and Kane Cornhole unloading on the MFC. 

Picking holes in the SG interview on SEN as we speak 🙄

Media - we hate that the players and coaches are robots and don’t give us more in interviews.

Also media - I can’t believe what they’ve just told us, what a disgrace 

2 hours ago, The Jackson FIX said:

Throughout his time he has consistently  referenced a desire to ensure supporters are proud of our football  identity/brand…

Can’t think of other clubs/coaches that really talk to that like he does.

Funny thing I reckon 80%+ of supporters don’t care how we win, we just want to win (which he has been able to deliver a lot of).

In 21 we were restricting most teams to less than 60 points through fierce and co-ordinated defending.

Last year we had more 100pt oppo scores than we have had since 2019. We had more than the previous 4 years combined!

from 2020 to 2023 we had only 3 x 100pt scores against us and we even won 1 of those games.

So last year was a disaster for our 'brand'. 

You can’t underestimate that we played finals 3 years running. That’s a gruelling patch of football. Shorter preseasons mean less injury recovery time, less gaining fitness time and more need to manage injuries than actually heal them completely. We bombed out last year, have had a few but not many injury concerns, a longer preseason, an easier draw and it appears a renewed focus on what’s important. If our fitness team is AFL standard which it appears it is then we’ve got a massive headstart on last years finalists and they’re the teams we are largely competing against for the Flag. 2025-26 represent a golden opportunity to add to the cabinet. The injury to Tholstrup matters because it’s one less player to call upon for the first 8-10 rounds. We do not want any more 3 month injuries. Even guys like Laurie and Billing’s are super valuable to us if we’re to go all the way.

Nice to see Goodwin admit our gameplan is out of date and we got it wrong last year. Hopefully some big changes this season.

On 09/02/2025 at 09:17, 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.

but also isn't it the right thing to change the style when you don't have the personnel for a faster flowing style.? 

1 hour ago, Deemented Are Go! said:

Death, taxes and Kane Cornhole unloading on the MFC. 

Picking holes in the SG interview on SEN as we speak 🙄

Just filling airtime. Who cares. Don't watch, don't listen - no audience, no advertising dollars, no show => no Cornholes.

4 minutes ago, Bay Riffin said:

but also isn't it the right thing to change the style when you don't have the personnel for a faster flowing style.? 

Potentially. Still would’ve like to see them back themselves, even if it doesn’t come off all the time.

Anyway, it’s history now, hopefully we are much better in 2025.

12 minutes ago, Bay Riffin said:

but also isn't it the right thing to change the style when you don't have the personnel for a faster flowing style.? 

He clearly says that we should have tried to experiment more rather than just going back to the old way. We weren't up to playing that way anyway as the results showed.

On 09/02/2025 at 08:31, 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”

 

You have been asked by another poster where this is quoted from. I do appreciatre your work RIF but can you please elaborate?

1 minute ago, Damo said:

You have been asked by another poster where this is quoted from. I do appreciatre your work RIF but can you please elaborate?

The second part was a joke

6 minutes ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

The second part was a poor attempt at a joke

FTFY

18 hours ago, binman said:

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.

It is a very significant component and why I have always emphasised the total squad use. Its complementary to your loading arguments and provides for team structures matched against opponents skills and structures to rest players as appropriate.

Its pretty obvious that you dont play a tall side against a smaller opponent but it can be more nuanced than that in not overworking your burst players and keeping your best players and structures for certain opponents. Playing the whole squad method means every player can be replaced for injury or managed rest within a preferred structure.

12 minutes ago, Damo said:

You have been asked by another poster where this is quoted from. I do appreciatre your work RIF but can you please elaborate?

It's made up. I'm taking the [censored]

21 minutes ago, Roost it far said:

It's made up. I'm taking the [censored]

too late, kornes quoted it

13 hours ago, DistrACTION Jackson said:

I think the most noticeable change has been a lot of the players looking a bit leaner and a lot running PBs for time trials. This is important if we want to play more of a transition game, as the ability to repeat sprint will be important.

This is the biggest change, not just some of the players… pretty much all of them. They’re lean and have amazing muscle definition but aren’t bulky. It’s like they’ve been sculpted. I noticed it in the new year and asked Tom Couch if I was just imagining it. He said it’s a new conditioning program, the focus of which is speed and agility which aligns with the “way the game’s played.”

edit: even Bowser has a little six-pack!

Edited February 10Feb 10 by Ghostwriter

12 minutes ago, Ghostwriter said:

This is the biggest change, not just some of the players… pretty much all of them. They’re lean and have amazing muscle definition but aren’t bulky. It’s like they’ve been sculpted. I noticed it in the new year and asked Tom Couch if I was just imagining it. He said it’s a new conditioning program, the focus of which is speed and agility which aligns with the “way the game’s played.”

edit: even Bowser has a little six-pack!

Good to hear.

It also explains why we struggled with the different game plan last year. It does require different types of fitness to play at a high level for the full season and we were probably more suited to the contested type of game.

Just now, DistrACTION Jackson said:

Good to hear.

It also explains why we struggled with the different game plan last year. It does require different types of fitness to play at a high level for the full season and we were probably more suited to the contested type of game.

Their bodies are now suited to the different game-plan and with that comes a raft of benefits, not least of all an abundance of confidence. It’s almost palpable and the vibe is intoxicating. The new boys have walked into this and I reckon that’s why they’re flourishing from the get-go. 

Cornes' piece is a totally fair cop. We've been all talk for 18 months. If we don't back up these interviews on the field then we will look silly again.