Adam The God

Something else I just learned from Before the Bounce (a great little show btw), Plapp is our forward coach. Slow to the party, Adam. And it sounds like Tom is going to play up the ground from listening to Plapp there. Really like Ben's focus and analysis on stats too. He's an impressive fella and so is the programme. Likes it.

I'm feeling much calmer about this game than I was about last week's. We either win tonight or it's no finals IMO, so that fatalistic attitude of mine funnily enough makes me more confident. Sparrow says he's going to be a midfield rotation and a pressure half forward. Interesting that they feel we need that extra pressure forward and big body, ala Vanders across half forward. I wonder if that actually foreshadows us going with three talls in the forwardline at once?

Positionally I'd describe him as a utility, but I think that's a compliment rather than a statement that he doesn't have elite traits. He's surprised me in his ability to compete in the air despite his size and inexperience. I can't say for certain what the internal coaching philosophy is like, but I really liked reading that Richo had said RE: Weideman that his only KPI was just to get to as many contests as possible. As a coach myself, I find that to be a particularly strong philosophy and enables young players, particularly KPP players scope for confidence and improvement. If Sam knows the base level is getting to contests and attempting to mark or bring the ball to ground, if he achieves this relatively simple KPI, he feels like he belongs at the level. Then if he can start to clunk some marks, as he has done, it only builds further confidence. He just needs to get his kicking boots back on this week. As for Jackson, given the philosophy with Weideman, I think something similar, in terms of low level KPIs, would help his confidence too. Maybe it's because he hasn't been under the spotlight in the same way as Weideman (yet), but Luke exudes more confidence than Sam does. But I think very often this can be about the mental scarring a player has been through. What I like about the seeming coaching of our two young talls this year is that we're not expecting the world, we're expecting competitiveness, which should be base KPI at AFL level. That will go a long way to enabling Jackson (and Weideman) to settle at AFL level, particularly when forward craft can be overcomplicated in this day and age. Jackson has that spacial awareness and quick decision making that could make him elite given his size (a bit Jack Watts actually). I don't want to go too early on this, but I always liked how Roughead played at Hawthorn in the shadow of Buddy. He would bring in the players around him and contribute when it was his turn to go. Jackson hasn't demonstrated he can find the ball on a lead inside the forwardline just yet, but if he can start to do this, he will be a weapon. The more I think about the changes to the team, the more I'm convinced that we won't go with three permanent talls in our forwardline. We'll rotate them between wing and the ruck, and even midfield potentially. I could see Tom or Luke playing midfield minutes given their tanks.

We may only go with 2 talls in the forwardline though, mate. We're only guessing that three talls will play forward at once. I think it's much more likely McDonald and Jackson will rotate through the wing and the ruck. Given McDonald's tank, I'd be trying him as a back up ruckman when not playing on the wing or forward. We might just be able to maintain forward 50 cohesion if we're sensible. The three talls also provide us with more marking outlets from defence, which is handy. Being less predictable to the opposition would be welcome. Let's see how it goes.

If a security guard can [censored] some people and for it to spread massively from that, then it doesn't take much for widespread community transmission. I think the AFL will be on to this and will already be thinking WA and/or NT. The WA Government is about to lose its appeal in the High Court RE money hungry Fatty, so I reckon that'll open the doors for the AFL too.

I hadn't heard about this, but I'd expect nothing less from the Costello press. It's becoming an increasingly sensationalist outfit.

Interesting stat that, isn't it? Jackson really does have a high ceiling and some elite attributes. They did see him playing midfield eventually, so maybe they're going to try it this week? And play McDonald and Weideman as the two talls?

As they should. The rest of us have to stay indoors and do the right thing. Because they are AFL footballers they've got the privilege of doing what they love in a strange time. If they blow it, they deserve consequence.

I feel like this is because he's often doing it at speed. If he can model his game on Jetta and slow things down a bit before he kicks, he can tidy that up.

Yep, they could well end up playing Jackson further up the ground, and if they do, it's why I dislike McDonald in the team with Weideman and Jackson. Anyway, we'll see.

Which ideas? The run and gun? I don't think we ever had the defensive transition or set ups that Geelong had. We were one way runners.

I didn't say I agree with the changes. In fact, I've said I believe McDonald throws out our forward mix, but this is what I think we'll go with. It'll be interesting to see how we go with three talls. McDonald doesn't lay tackles, Jones is too slow and Fritsch couldn't stop a paper bag from running away from him, so it worries me that the opposition may waltz out of defence, but let's hope the midfield pressure is up. As for Sparrow I'd like to see how his attributes go in defence. He's not going to get a look in through our midfield mix, so he needs to find another go.

Sparrow plays between half back and back pocket (ie Jetta's spot) and McDonald plays at half forward and forward pocket (ie Bennell's spot), plus a wing rotation.

I think Ben is just head of the video content now. Unusual in that just about every industry in this country, you have to be 55+ to get a leg up, whereas it's the complete opposite in the US or Europe.

That went well the last two times that happened (ie Carlton and Brisbane). I'd much prefer Max having someone he's got to try and beat, rather than the opposition shark off all his taps.

This is so homoerotic and unDemonland it's hilarious. The second one is a cracker. I don't mind these Port supporters haha.

Disagree anything much needs to be said. Just drop him if he's not meeting KPIs, as per any other player.

There isn't a conspiracy behind every single door mate. It may well turn out that we're managing him through something, but what's the point of speculating? I certainly wouldn't want Goodwin telling opposition clubs why he's on reduced minutes. That's bloody stupid IMO.

It does say the police are investigating. I think if it turns out that they have made a false declaration and the virus spreads to the community in QLD and people die, well... jail is definitely the path I'd be going down.

Rubbish. His job is to coach the Melbourne Football Club. In this instance, he's protecting his player.

https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/coronavirus/2020/07/29/queensland-teenagers-virus/?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=PM Extra - 20200729 Two Queenslanders have spent 8 days in south Brisbane without quarantining having returned from Melbourne, via NSW and subsequently testing positive for COVID 19. Could be a second wave coming to Queensland now.

Even better that we go back to back at the Adelaide Oval. I think we've been done a favour by this one. Thanks Peter Gutwein. For a Lib, he goes alright that bloke.

We play very well on the Adelaide Oval. It suits our zone... and is a very quick deck, which suits our ball movement too.

By a long way in my books. I'd say 30 years.

I think it started earlier. I think modern zoning and defensive philosophy from the international sporting domain was first imported when Paul Roos returned from the US in 2002 and became an assistant coach at Sydney under Rodney Eade. When Eade was sacked, Roos was appointed, despite the Swans courting Terry Wallace for much of the year. Almost as soon as Roos took over the reigns, he transformed the team and the culture and by 2004, his old mate Ross Lyon had joined him as midfield coach from Carlton, having worked under Parkin and Pagan (the latter being more innovative than most in the 1990s). With Lyon's help, Roos revolutionised the sport with his defensive flooding, which lead to low scoring and was widely panned, even by then AFL boss Andrew Demetriou. However, the Swans' style became the vogue for 2005-2006 and saw them make consecutive grand finals. The interesting crossover between this period was a young midfield coach at Port Adelaide, who oversaw Mark Williams' premiership-winning midfield in 2004 and was appointed by Hawthorn the next year as head coach, in Alastair Clarkson. Throughout the 2005 season, he was tasked with 'rebuilding' the Hawthorn list, something he went hard at across 2005-2007. Meanwhile, by 2007, Sydney had played in two consecutive grand finals, winning one and losing the second in 2006. And by the start of 2007, Roos' philosophy had migrated to St Kilda when his former midfield coach Ross Lyon took the reigns of St Kilda. The Lyon gameplan very much focused on the contest and heavy flooding, perhaps even more so than Roos' side at Sydney. In that same year, Clarkson first implemented his cluster and by 2008, it had won him a flag at Hawthorn. Yes, they got lucky against Geelong in that grand final, but teams really struggled to break down the cluster. Over the next 5 years, between 2009-2013, the top teams played three major styles. The run and gun of Geelong, best emulated at times by Collingwood under Malthouse. The possession game of Hawthorn. The flooding game of Lyon at St Kilda and then Fremantle. I could go on, but I reckon you're right in that the AFL's press and zoning has changed a lot, in a very short period of time. Perhaps my statement that it's nowhere near as technical as soccer is incorrect? I'm always fascinated by trends in the AFL and it'll be fascinating to see where the game takes us over the next 5 years. I hope our club is at the forefront of it, because with innovation, usually comes success.