Engorged Onion

A premiership team doesn't lose 3 in a row don't you know..

I interpreted that as "bombing it long onto the heads of our forwards " - whom seem to struggle with that mode of delivery...(as do all forwards across the league, due to zonal defence)

it was pishing down... (or were they loading too? 🤷‍♂️)

What are you talking about? 😝 If we win, we are likely premiers again. If we lose, I get to ponder whether Goodwin is the right guy again. It's THAT dichotomous for those that truly truly love and support the club compared to those that are merely 'fans'.

Being neck and neck with Brisvegas, vying for a top 4 probably necessitates them NOT loading as early as us... Looking at their block of games against relevant top 4 competitors, I'd be putting in a greater block of training post Carlton... They wouldn't be necessary doing so when coming up against Melbourne, or Brisbane. ie: You'd rather win against your direct competitors, and then risk losing against weaker teams... (look at me putting on my exercise physiologist hat!)

I like to focus on the big issues of the day...

I always thought it was 'tiggy'? 🤷‍♂️

It’s hard to make sense of the within match turnarounds in any other way. If you’re using language as ‘out worked’ - as a catch-all, which kind of sounds as though we’re being lazy,complacent,just not good enough, then why are we not being outworked in the first quarter and a half comparatively? Whats the significant driver of fatigue? And why now is it occurring?

"On a Current Affair with Tracey Grimshawwwwwwwww, Superstar of Australian Rules Football, Jake Melksham in a tell all interview on the actions that ended his careerrrrrrrr".

Same for me, it actually dissuades me from going, let alone bring along another generation of supporter.

For some....🤯 and without being patronising, can you bullet point what you mean by if our defence is off, we struggle to score.

Baker ** being super flippant.... hope he makes it though!

Modern day Socrates... love it 🥰

Apologies, I misread some text.

I am genuinely interested in 2 folk who work in the field and state have been doing for some time - why they have vastly different insights. (That being Bing and Coach).

Thanks Daz, context matters deeply. - There should be a 'care' emoticon like FB on here... rather than the face palm one. So presumably Melksham et al who were there, were well aware of this context, actually being quite supportive given the context...and then a bit of gravy was flicked and it all got emotional.

I'm but a sample of one. I did turn up to the Freo game, via a 1.5 hour bus ride...it was nice, but not doable fortnightly, kids sports on the following morning...etc Kayo makes it easy as pie. 8.5% beers in the Fridge - at AFL mid strength prices. Tasty and knocked out cold circa 1030 pm, without the drive home. Anyway, AFL and clubs are well aware of the drop off. And that revenue needs to be attained aside from gate receipts. As well as 'memberships' to allow you greater value for money, beyond having to turn up.

The most crucial take away... for anyone playing at home.

Going on what you posted in the other thread about our form slump in 2021 @binman - do you or anyone else have an idea behind the mechanics/philosophy of bringing the 'potential' ramped up training block, in what appears to be around a month earlier than last year. Is that due to playing our last game (GF) a month and a bit after most other clubs, thus, limited rehab/recovery? what does that late match(es) mean for the preseason block of training and how it informs our training for the rest of the year? our younger players (u23's? (arbitrary age)) still acclimating their bodies to the demands of training and game loads /increase in fatigue comparably to exposed training loads over 5+ seasons. any other thoughts are welcomed.

Interestingly, I have pondered the 'not showing hand' against Sydney and Freo, after getting out to a 30 point lead in both matches... defenders off/injured... I'm not saying neither team didn't execute their plans well... it just felt like a complete reversal post half time, beyond what the opposition did. But that'd just be me being arrogant... still trying to make sense of why we didn't match the +2 at stoppages that occurred for the second half against Freo, that felt odd...

I'm in the camp that we load throughout the season at different times, and that it directly influences performance. I am not saying it is the ONLY thing influencing. Anyway, it appears it's a polarising topic. Here is something I just googled, which confirms my view (and what I have been told from someone who would know0 that the wider AFL system (particularly those in finals contention, ramp up their training). I happily accept that I search for info that confirms my beliefs, and refute anything that disproves it on this particular topic. Maybe semantics are important - loading (up training), volume vs intensity, development blocks, etc etc... Whatever we call it, and however we interpret what we call it, nonetheless, there are still fluctuations in the intensity and volume of training during the season. This is on a Brisbane Lions thread in 2020. This last 3-4 weeks have been pure magic for our teams development because it is an almost perfectly designed training block. All training improvements come from progressive overload. Start with x load, increase by 10% for a number of sessions then pull back and rest to allow the muscles/aerobic/ to develop. This diagram shows the process. Overload can be by intensity or volume (eg gym = increase weight or reps) and applies across weeks, months, seasons... During a season it looks different - it's maintenance and recovery, but finals teams include additional development block prior to September. Playing finals with their increased intensity also acts as a overload training block. Up until the giants game we were cruising in normal season recovery/maintenance mode, then the dramatic increase the volume acts as progressive overload. Other teams have also had the increase in volume but longer breaks, byes and swapping more players means the overload is not as effective for some teams. It is one of the reason we need a strong seconds competition and why our seconds players are struggling once they get a game - they have been left behind. This week rest is supercritical, then we will see a big uplift in our performance. As long as injuries don't escalate this season is only going to get better for us.

Psychologically, I wonder how it's interpreted by the players and the FD that over the last two weeks that we essentially can get out to a 6 goal lead by the end of the first half against two premiership contenders, and then... give it up. Is there solace in that fact that we can get out to that margin by the first half? Is it a threat now, that there is evidence that we give up a lead of that margin? Does it mean that teams have worked us out? Hmmmm....

We could name the thread "Loadin, is my head explodin?' or '#loadingmyths".

It is not saying what you think it is saying Bing. All teams train... so all teams load (its the volume and intensity that matters)... training in of itself infers a physical output (or load). Further, in the article you supplied, if there is NO loading, there there are two really weird bits of wording, which I have highlighted in bold, which seems to yet again, infer loading during the season. I'm not sure what you make of it, I know what I make of it. As part of the Abstract: These data provide useful information about targeted periods of loading and unloading across different stages of a season. As part of the conclusion Whilst the current study did not examine the within-week loading between games, it can be speculated that the reduction in overall training load from pre-season to in-season would also result in a reduction in training load within week, i.e. between games. This periodization strategy is supported by recent work where high training load between both AFL and Rugby League games (separated by 1-week) impairs sprint capacity and explosive actions typical of intermittent activity 12 and increases injury risk 13

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/jun/06/why-has-there-been-a-downturn-in-afl-crowds-this-season-its-not-just-covid-to-blame