Earl Hood

Yep but I think it started last year.

Within a week we have had: MFC kick 7 14 Casey kick 6 17 What just crossed my mind is I don’t remember, playing around 200 games of very ordinary suburban footy, sides I played in racking those scorelines very often. It did happen but usually the scores were more 50/50 equal goals to points, maybe 40/60 but often much better. I am talking 70/80’s suburban footy I know but when it comes to set shots on goal from inside 50m suddenly all things are very equal. Whether it’s a 195 cm ripped professional athlete lining up for the goal vs an overweight 180 cm plumber lining up, they both are equal at that point in time. The full time professional can do everything 10 times better than the part timer, except for some reason, slot a ball through 2 uprights. It doesn’t make sense that professionals are missing set shots from 20 to 40 meters basically in front of goals when part time weekend warriors can slot them.

I am not really the person to answer this but I too am interested in Sestan. From all reports he is playing off half back this season and is performing well, good composure, high disposal efficiency. Previously we know him as a natural forward with footy smarts. He has an interesting body shape, with that low centre of gravity that can be an asset. I have asked in the past about his leg speed but never got an answer. Can he go to the next level, maybe the Casey watchers can give us their thoughts He is still very young and I have hopes for a guy who came to us very much as a project player.

Re modern umpiring, just wondering was there a one on one contest tonight between a forward & back where the umpires didn’t blow their whistle to pay a free for some minuscule indiscretion? They are killing footy.

How many goals from free kicks is that for Hawthorn now, five? A Ginnivan special, drop the knees, get the arm over the shoulder.

It’s about ball movement so players of average height or speed get space to run onto marks without pressure. And this is a key to it all, they kick straight when they do take a mark within range. It’s revolutionary stuff, we should let Goody and assistants know about this.

Umpires keeping Hawks in it at this stage. Watson gifted another after a Suns mark but called play on.

Umpires please put the whistle away unless absolutely necessary this quarter. Watson’s free is an example, grabs ball and handballs the ball away but cops a high touch over the shoulder from the oncoming opponent. The ball had moved on, the touch wasn’t malicious or in any way dangerous, its play on surely. But no whistle yet again and Watson scores. 16 frees paid in quarter one.

When I rode my bike past Gosch’s Paddock this morning at about 8.30 there were about a dozen or so women with 2 or 3 coaches/trainers, training on the ground in MFC gear. I take it our AFLW squad has started preseason? No soccer balls evident either.

I get the feeling the MRP is on his case every match.

6 Gawn 5 Petracca 4 Bowey 3 Salem 2 Viney 1 Rivers

Max then Kossie down to the rooms with 5 minutes to go? I hope that’s just a [censored] break!

Isn’t Nash 198cm tall? His arm was always going to connect high on Miers or any other player less than 193 cm tall. What was he trying to do as his arm swings like a windmill, it could really only end one way? I suppose the careless/intentional rating will always be challenged so the MRO goes for the defensible rating. Should get 4 to 5.

I went to a Tom Hafey talk years ago and I think I remember him saying Sheedy had been knocked back after training with Melbourne, Norm Smith thought he was too small and too slow as a centre man. He then came to Richmond and he fitted Hafey’s model perfectly. Hafey was big on fitness and aggression, he spoke highly of how Sheedy set such high training standards. Not often Norm got things wrong like that.

Obvious holding the ball or throw from Hawks, play on, goes forward to Watson who grabs a bouncing ball and throws himself forward at Smith to get a high free. Really?

I noticed he came off during the pregame warmup for treatment near the bench. I think it was an issue with his foot and boot. He only got back on the field just before the first bounce. He has had issues with skin infections on his foot. This could have had an impact on his form.

6 Kossie 5 Gawn 4 Bowey 3 Viney 2 TMac 1 Petty

But who is seeing the real training sessions that only occur at Casey these days to be able to report? The training at Gosch’s is recovery or a Captains Run with soccer balls etc.

Well visually that comment does seem to be our forward strategy and a big part of our scoring problems, why ball carriers aren’t taking the shorter options and forwards aren’t leading.

The umpiring has been average tonight. Mihocek has twice just grabbed a handball receive and immediately ducked to ground, hoping for high contact but then being tackled and no attempt to dispose of the footy, for a ball up. Holding the ball surely!

Except the emergencies Fritsch, Howes, Henderson will need to be at the G?

So true but are the ball carriers even being asked to lower the eyes, look for closer options inboard? I have watched on replays so many times, Viney and Oliver repeatedly just kick long and ignore handball options but at least they were often in traffic. The 3 examples the Hodge showed the ball carriers were clear, with time and space, yet ignored unmarked players inboard and kicked directly toward their “stationary” forward targets. It is just mind boggling that it hasn’t been hammered into the players to look for the short option. And replay after replay shows the forwards just retreating from the ball carrier, no one leading at the ball carrier or into space to run onto a pass. The coaches and players must be running this vision after every loss yet nothing changes in F50. I just can not understand what is going on. It looks like a simple solution to at least get us back competing and scoring more than 60 pts a match. In 4 out of 5 matches we have somehow won the inside 50 count but barely managed a 20% scoring efficiency! Oh and we are 18th for set shot goal kicking accuracy! Lord give me strength!

Freo has flogged us in every game for the last 3 years through constant ball movement and running in numbers. I would be happy for a competitive game and signs we have learnt to negate their strengths. Not optimistic though.

Seeing Luke Hodge’s brief but scathing analysis on Agenda Setters of our forward play against Essendon just does my head in. It was admittedly, a small sample size of vision from behind the goals of our F50 entries. Examples of midfielders getting the ball at 70m, in space but just booting to an out numbered forward, ignoring running players clear in the corridor or forwards not leading to space to provide a target. As Hodge said this is under 12’s stuff and it’s not AFL standard but it’s been the same for 4 years! You would see better forward strategy (if not execution) at your local suburban ground with part time players and coach. Meanwhile Simon seems to talking about our need to improve our defending to stifle the opposition’s ball movement, which is very difficult to do against sides moving the ball as quickly and precisely as Brisbane, Collingwood, Hawthorn and (no doubt we will find out this week) Freo, especially if you are not scoring.

There is a huge difference between how Heeney uses his knee to get lift for the mark, that’s the way it should be done versus the way Moore used his knee deliberately, in my mind, as a weapon to inflict damage to the opposition player in front of him and in doing so actually limited the lift he could get to spoil the ball.