binman

What position do you see Howes plainy DS?

Watts had beautiful kicking technique - one of the best. The key, as you suggest, is how simple it was. Few moving parts to break down. The other thing i loved about his technique is that he only took a few steps and when he kicked it he was perfectly balanced. In this sense his field kicking technique was almost the same as his goal kicking technique. Which weirdly is actually not that common.

I don't agree dazzler (with JCB's post). A DL specific new year's resolution i have is avoiding scenarios where I fall into the trap of back-and-forth arguments that end up in me just repeating previously articulated opinions. At the risk of breaking that resolution only 11 days into the year, i agree that some of the regular posters in the loading thread ended up looking silly. But i suspect we differ as to who they may be. Personally, i find it silly that some people would see what happened to us in the back half of the year as some sort of repudiation of the concept of 'loading' and the fact that we followed a clear program involving nearly two months mid-season of heavy training loads with the goal of being cherry ripe come finals (to be clear i'm not suggesting you hold this view). The fact that we clearly struggled running out games is evidence the program didn't get the desired result, not evidence that it wasn't in place. There are a million reasons why it may not have worked. It's a science - but not an exact one, and there are literally hundreds of variables that could negatively impact the effectiveness of the fitness program (eg new staff, injuries, illness, scheduling, new players, equipment issues, motivation, impact of the weird finish to 2021, resourcing, staff changes, relationship between high performance team and the medical staff, relationship between the high-performance team and coach etc etc). And fans are really only guessing what variables might have negatively impacted the program in 2022 The analogy i use is baking a cake. Every step of the process impacts the end result. The cake goes into the oven (preseason and midseason) but until it comes out (first ten rounds, finals), even if it looks great in the oven, you don't know how it tastes till the whole process is completed. To be honest, i find it bemusing that some posters, without any expertise in sports science (or intimate knowledge of the variables negatively impacting on the program) can have strong views about the efficacy of Griffiths program last year and/or the strategies he employed. Bemusing, because over the 'loading' journey i have, not without justification on occasion, sometimes had my views dismissed because i don't have expertise in sports science and have relied on observation and piecing together info that is out there (including some great stuff on DL) to make my case. To make my position crystal clear, i have little doubt that we will in fact follow much the same high-performance program as last year - and the two years under Burgess. Of course, there will be tweaks of course because there are always things that can be improved, but that's all. We will be putting in the base now, will be close to optimal readiness for the first 10 rounds or so. We will run out games better than our opponents (and as an aside have 8 plus wins under our belt). We will then go through a two-month period of sub optimal performance whilst we build the base for the finals. I'll be really happy if we go 50 50 during this stretch of 7-8 games. We will then build towards to optimal fitness and readiness as we approach the finals. If the program has worked, i think we are the team with the greatest probability of winning the flag. We have the best list, coach and method and are the best team in the AFL. By some margin. Like last season, it will be evident by round 20 or so if the mid-season loading phase has done the trick - and there are no guarantees it will (because of the aforementioned variables). If we are not running out games, then it hasn't worked, and we are stuffed. Every other serious flag contender will follow this same model, just as the Cats did last year. Why? Because they are not winning a flag without doing so. All that said, I'm not keen on another season of back and forth on loading - particularly in completely unrelated threads. Regular posters will have their views and the back-and-forth palaver is boring for everyone. I'm not going to change my view on this matter, and i suspect many others aren't either, so really there isn't any point flogging a dead horse. What we can all agree on is we were simply not fit enough at the business end of the 2021 season and the heat is on Griffith's and his team (as it is for every high-performance team every season). If we don't hit the 2023 finals at a comparable level of readiness to 2021, we are not winning a flag this year. Fingers crossed.

What an amazing coincidence. Was typing much the same thing at the same time!

Mutiple good points sb. The best rucks of the 70s - Teasdale, Round, Len Thompson and my personal favourite Gary Dempsey, all dropped back a kick behind play 'into the hole' in defence heaps of time in each match. Par for the course. And got smashed from pillar to post every single game. Brutal. Whilst plenty of ruckman since the 70s have copped lots of treatment, head knocks and big hits, none copped the consistent shellacking the players mentioned above copped week in week put. With one exception. The treatment maxy has copped in the last two seasons, and in particular in 2022, has been shameful -and he doesn't even drop back as often as Dempsey et al. So many hits to the head. So may huge body checks and being cannoned into. I reckon it goes unnoticed by non dees fans because Max hardly ever retaliates or remonstrates. It infuriates me. I really hope the club has a quite word in the off season to the AFL and umpires. Maxy deserves more protection. So, I'm with you sb. The last thing I want us maxy to sit in the leading lanes down back and provide opposition forwards and resting rucks the perfect opportunity to do more damage. In some ways Jackson leaving might be a blessing in disguise because Grundy can give him a proper 50 50 chop out from the get go and allow maxy to play forward

You could well be right, but my sense was we encouraged him to 'explore his options'. Which is code for moving a player on. I concede i might be imagining that, but if we were keen to keep him we would have done so.

Great post TK, many thanks. You def get votes for the inaugural binman's track watcher of the year award for going to the effort of timing the 2k trials. Kudos. The drills you highlight are really interesting. Both are more evidence that Goody is well and truly open to learning from other teams. The focus on hitting short targets under pressure is great to see because this was a really big issue for us last season. There was a lot of focus on inside 50 entries, but i reckon a bigger issue for us last year was missing short targets in our defensive half of the ground when under intense pressure (and sometime under zero pressure - Steve May says hi). Those missed short kicks don't get the attention that missed kick inside 50 get but have a bigger impact in my opinion (because the latter might cost us an immediate shot at goal, whereas the former might result in an opposition goal AND might cost us a goal because a potential scoring chain has broken down. And to boot, a turnover in our defensive half cedes territory, whereas with a missed kick inside 50 we still have a decent chance of trapping it in our forward half). As i have banged on about over the years, we have way too many players with poor kicking skills. I suspect this is the key reason we moved Hunty on. Pressure (and fatigue for that matter) exacerbate poor technique, so its great to see they are specifically focusing on this skill. The Swans have a number of players who are above average kicks and don't cede too many easy turnovers with missed short kicks in defence. Same goes for the pies. Nick Daicos is close to the best proponent of that critical short kick in the AFL (Daniel probably has him covered - just - it's crazy to think Daicos is so young given how important h was for the pies last season - he is sure to find it harder next year as teams will put a lot of work into him, you'd think). And i reckon the cats also have us well and truly covered for kicking skills. So, three of our key rivals last season had a distinct advantage over us in terms of missing fewer short kicks under pressure. That said, we really missed a fit and firing Salem last year - an issue that was made worse by Bowey dropping form and then being dropped. If you take Bowey and Salem out of our back half, who else in that unit could be relied on to hit 75% plus percent of short targets? The other interesting drill is the one where players 'lead far and wide, especially back into the open spaces of the forward line towards the goal square'. This perfectly describes the method used by the cats last season - one of only a handful of key differences between our method and the one they pivoted to last season (which was ours basically). The method was super effective for the Cats, in large part because it really suited the players they have. It allowed Cameron to play high up the ground, basically as a half forward flanker, and use his beautiful long left foot kick to advantage. And if he isn't delivering it inside 50, Cameron has the athleticism to run towards goal from outside 50 and get separation, the skill to mark the ball as he runs with the flight of it, and of course the skill to finish. Creating space inside 50 also increases the likelihood the Cats can engineer a Hawkins one on one - which is smart as he is the best one on one mark in the AFL in my opinion. That space also really helped Tyson Stengle as he was able to use his ball winning skills, one on one ability and pace to great effect. Fritter, and perhaps Schache (coincidentally both left footers like Cameron), have a similar athletic profile and skill set to Cameron, so i could see both playing a similar role. In Kozzie, we have a player who can play the Stengle role. I'm not sure we have a Hawkins equivalent (who does?). I would say, of our forwards, Fritter is our best one on one mark, but obviously he doesn't have Hawkins' sheer strength. Perhaps not for the next couple of seasons, but ultimately i think JVR will be our Hawkins. Watching JVR live, you can see he is a natural forward like Hawkins in that his first instinct is to get optimal body position against his opponent to control the drop zone. And he looks bloody strong now, so in 2 or 3 seasons he will be a beast.

Well, they do play for the dees.

Ok 58er, lets move on. As you say, the free from desire palaver was not an issue. But bevos unhinged approach to media prior to the season commencing , right up to that ridiculous outburst against Tom Morris, was a distraction the dogs could have done without.

Ahh, thanks. Got it. Typo on my behalf. It was meant to read: 'The other things the dogs have in their favor is the pressure of losing in 2021 bigly won't be such a mill stone around their neck.' That's to say, getting smashed in the 2021 GF was a psychological issue they had to overcome - and arguably, like so many teams who lose a GF, they struggled to do so. The Swans face the same issue next season. The points i made about posting etiquette remain valid. For example, 58er might have clarified what i actually meant (given it is pretty obviously a typo), before resorting to a sledge

58er, i'm not quite sure what your deal is, but you are incredibly argumentative and more than little rude and condescending in many of your posts - this post being one such example ("If you believe anything else you have no idea of the psyche of modern day sport!" - really?). The approach you take is why i don't bother replying to any of your posts (many of which have some reasonable points). But i'll make an exception in this case. Please explain to me why you have seemingly attributed to me a belief that 'the desire song had anything to do with the Dogs finishing eighth last year'? I'm genuinely confused

Or a sticker saying - MFC - winning flags every year since 2021 Or perhaps one that says - Question: is it possible for a club to win three flags in 14 months? Answer: bang, bang, bang - yes if the club is the MFC!

The other things the dogs have in their favour is the pressure of song the 2021 bigly won't be such a mill stone around their neck. And you'd hope for their sakes bevo clams his farm and they avoid the own goals that impacted the start of their 2022 season. I'm really curious to see if bevo changes their game plan they way Scott did, and adopt a territory model. Their flick it around, fast transition of the hb model isn't going to win them another flag IMO. As much as he is a bit out there, i rate bevo as coach and wont be shocked if he makes some big changes to how they play.

Too right Won't travel? Bulltish. I went last year. A hundred bucks for a [censored] seat in a newly built glorified shelter shed.

There are lots of really good players in the AFL. But many only have one real standout attribute or skill. Clarry is next level because he has multiple elite attributes - winning contested ball, incredible hand ball skills, ability to stand up in a tackle and still give off, mental strength, running ability and how well he reads the play. He is not a one trick little pony.

No, he's not. He's a little pony. Get with the program

A very important player to have fit, firing and back to his best.

Please sir, can i have some more....

That avatar is very psychologically unsettling. Like a psychedelic demon minotaur. I love it. I'm tempted to rip the image and put it on a T Shirt. Or perhaps i'll follow the lead of the Donald and create a series of Clarry/My Little Pony NFT trading cards. BIG ANNOUNCEMENT COMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yep. And the way the AFL pronounce it, ture is silent.

Can you please do one or all of the following: Give the doll pictured below to Clary at a training session Post the picture to his insta account Use the picture as your avatar (perhaps photo shopping Clarry's face on)

I wonder if it is more about Bell playing fixer and assuaging concerns Darcy might have about Jackson eating into his ruck minutes? When i first read the article i linked, my thought was if i was Darcy, Freo's number one ruck and with English the best young ruck in the AFL, id be pretty annoyed at talk of Jackon waltzing in (on a much bigger contract) and splitting the ruck duties.

Does Peter Bell post on Demonland? Has (insert name of frequent DL forward entry critic of your choice) and Peter Bell ever been in the same room together? “For a few different reasons - and look, far be it from me to criticise Melbourne with the way that they play given the success they’ve had - they do play when they go inside 50 quite a narrow sort of entry, they’ll go narrow to the pockets a lot and Luke did often find himself as that tall on the other side of the 50 if you like" Far be it for Bell to criticize us. Funny stuff

This is one of the articles i saw about Jackson not playing as a permanent forward (noting it is before he actually got to Freo, and doesn't quote anyone from Freo): Forward thinking: Dockers eye unique midfield role for Jackson Luke Jackson appears unlikely to spend too much time in the forward line if his potential move west to Fremantle comes off

I hadn't heard that luci. I thought i read they were thinking of using him almost as a mid. And I have definitely read - and heard Jackson say - a few times, that his preferred position is ruck as he liked to follow the football. My biggest knock on Jackson was his forward craft. Which is average at best. He is not a natural forward, the way say jvr us. And he is not a one grab mark, which is nor great for a permanent forward. And he gets the yips a bot - so in that sense a good replacement for lobb I have no doubt his forward craft will improve. The kid is a star. As he gets bigger, he will be hard to stop. But he won't be at his peak for another 3-4 years. If freo are relying on Jackson to be their main avenue to goal, they are going to struggle to kick winning scored.