View Full Version : Alwyn Davey in 09
kelvin_sheedy
1 Jun 2009, 19:05
Performances have been sub par this year for me.
He's missing targets, fumbling and not kicking enough goals. He is looking for frees to often and he could offer the team a lot more than he is currently.
Is it a knee thing and confidence?
Are we expecting too much from him?
Is he as good as we all think he can be?
zaharakamania
1 Jun 2009, 19:08
his delivery into forward 50 has been appalling the last couple weeks, still getting a bit of the pill but lacking confidence mebe
davey's kicking has been very ordinary. i've had knee operations myself and when you have these you end up losing a lot of strength in your quad muscles which takes time to re-build. for this reason i've noticed both davey and lucas have struggled to kick well this season particularly as they need to get back the power in the leg muscles.
i think daveys tackling and movement have been okay but its just been his kicking that has let him down. probably need to be patient and hope that he continues to work on the area - i'm sure he'd be his own biggest critic.
MarkJohnson#1
1 Jun 2009, 19:28
Hopefully it's just a confidence thing as we have seen what he is capable of before this season and if he can get back to that there will be no issues with his performance. FWIW I thought he was pretty good earlier in the season but has trailed off a bit as weeks have gone by, and as has been mentioned his kicking is letting him down. He may need another pre-season in order to get back to his best but still think he holds value to the team this season.
Daytripper
1 Jun 2009, 19:35
Think its a knee thing.
Still been more than adequate but not playing at his usual high standards.
Windas_Magic
1 Jun 2009, 19:41
He'll come good, no need to worry. At least his chasing and tackling hasn't dropped off, which is his best asset.
Ben the Gooner
1 Jun 2009, 20:10
The only criticism I have with Davey is his kicking skills atm.
He's normally fairly good, so I see no reason why he shouldn't improve.
The only criticism I have with Davey is his kicking skills atm.
He's normally fairly good, so I see no reason why he shouldn't improve.
Use of the ball has been shocking, reckon one week in the two's and he should be right
AndyLesPaul
1 Jun 2009, 20:16
Use of the ball has been shocking, reckon one week in the two's and he should be right
Is that you cawshezy?
His feet go faster than his brain and when it comes to getting rid of the ball, he rarely hits a target.
He gets clear space on 50 but never has a shot at goal and the most disappointing thing:
Very late against Geelong he clashed legs with a Geelong player. Fair enough, it might have hurt, but instead of getting the ball out, he fell to the ground in a crumpled heap and Geelong stole the ball and Mooney goaled with just a few seconds left in the match.
That's probably the most disappointing action I can remember from any Essendon player this season.
ghostdog
1 Jun 2009, 21:04
He still roves like a champ and gets his own ball. He still runs quick and he still lays the tackles on. I agree his disposal skills haven't been as strong as the start of the season, nor last season before the injury... but I reckon he's someone who'll play himself into form. A disposal here and there that leads to something on the scoreboard and he'll kepp wanting more from himself. Not panic stations with Alf yet.
kelvin_sheedy
1 Jun 2009, 21:11
Very late against Geelong he clashed legs with a Geelong player. Fair enough, it might have hurt, but instead of getting the ball out, he fell to the ground in a crumpled heap and Geelong stole the ball and Mooney goaled with just a few seconds left in the match.
.
I thought the Geelong player deliberately kicked him in the back of the leg and he'd get cited for it.
Would love to see vision of it again.
I thought the Geelong player deliberately kicked him in the back of the leg and he'd get cited for it.
Would love to see vision of it again.
That may well have been the case, but Alwyn's reaction was less than impressive considering he was set to hand it off, but decided to take the ball to ground with him when he felt contact.
kelvin_sheedy
1 Jun 2009, 21:23
That may well have been the case, but Alwyn's reaction was less than impressive considering he was set to hand it off, but decided to take the ball to ground with him when he felt contact.
Not for me. It was a strong kick and they can cause serious damage and he's not a big guy. Fletch broke his own and this was similar, if not more impact.
I thought we deserved a free for it and I don't think he should be wacked for it.
As for Alwyn, I'm disappointed in his lack of cleanliness this year. He seems to be fumbling a lot and making some poor decisions.
Hopefully in the second half of the year he can find the form and confidence to start giving us a bit more.... more than 0.7 goals a game would be a start.
That may well have been the case, but Alwyn's reaction was less than impressive considering he was set to hand it off, but decided to take the ball to ground with him when he felt contact.
i don't think you'd be saying that if you'd suffered a major leg injury recently and felt hard contact to that region. when you've had surgery to an area you become very sensitive to it.
i think you're being very harsh on him.
personally i thought a number of repeated poor efforts from h.slattery were far worse than this.
ghostdog
1 Jun 2009, 21:51
...the most disappointing thing:
Very late against Geelong he clashed legs with a Geelong player. Fair enough, it might have hurt, but instead of getting the ball out, he fell to the ground in a crumpled heap and Geelong stole the ball and Mooney goaled with just a few seconds left in the match.
That's probably the most disappointing action I can remember from any Essendon player this season.
Is it possible that on a very disappointing day, that incident was the straw the broke the camel in terms of concentrating your frustration? Did that incident simply epitomise all that you'd seen go wrong on the day?
stay true
1 Jun 2009, 21:53
Yeah his kicking has been pretty poor but like it's been mentioned he's still only 10 or so games back from a knee reco. He'll improve in time.
Boucks09
1 Jun 2009, 22:00
I think there are a couple of reasons why Alwyn is not providing the same level of output as he have seen in the previous two seasons (albeit injury interupted) - all relating the the knee reco and his time out of the game.
1). Mind set
For a lot of guys coming off serious injuries such as a knee reconstruction I feel that there are two major hurdles that they must overcome before returning to their absolute best.
The first is obvious - getting the knee rehabilitated to play and gaining the confidence to actually play football. That is the first and most important area and runs through not only the rehab but also the first couple of months of actually playing.
The second is actually adjusting your mind set to play, train, think and focus in the same manner that you would if you were 100% fit. This may sound a little silly but it is different playing each week when you know you are in tip top shape and ready to fire, than when it is when you are coming back from injury and wanting to improve and get through each game.
I feel Alwyn is now at the point in which he can put his injury behind him and actually focus on improving as a player again. Hopefully the mid season break will help him as it has been a long haul for him since the start of this season (remembering he was playing most pre season games to get into shape).
This is why many people are of the opinion that it takes one full season of playing to actually 'get over' the knee reco injuries.
2). Game Plan
When Alwyn came into the side the game plan was nowhere near as quick and daring as it is now(in terms of strategy and execution). He only played 4 games last year so would not have much experience with the style of play under Knights.
This may sound ridiculous but I actually think that this style of play is not suiting Alywn at the moment. I feel that because he was the player who was most daring, placed the most defensive pressure and took the most risks (with the exception of Lovett) that he feels the most pressure to execute the current game style.
As a result he is trying to be too fast and making poor decision making errors which are resulting in poor delivery inside 50 or missing midfield targets. Knights wants the team to play instinctive football but I think Alwyn is one of the few players that is actually not doing this.
He just needs to relax and play his natural game.
3). Little man factor
It's worth remembering that Alwyn has only played under 30 games and is one of the smallest guys in the AFL. He wasn't overlooked in all the previous drafts for no reason.
At times you can see that he is fearful of getting injured given he wretched run in the past with his arm and knee. It is also important to note that he has never played out an entire season without getting injured.
These are all important factors when reviewing his season to date and all play a part in the way he is playing. There are times when he seems like a 'football newbie'.
- Eager to attack the ball
- Super quick
- Then realises that he might get hurt and jumps out of the way at the last minute or doesn't take posession of the ball
This all comes with confidence in playing consecutive games in regards to AFL experience and the belief that you won't get hurt.
I think he will get better as the season progresses and really fire next season.
windyhill
1 Jun 2009, 22:10
From day one opposistion clubs have gone out of their way to physically intimidate him. This shows how good he is, it`s almost the "we`ll get in first scenario". There is always a little extra in the tackle when Alwyn is involved because the other clubs know how important he is to us.
His radar has been off for a while, I particularly noticed it v hawfforn, just missing passes and incorrect decision making which is so unlike the little champ. I think it does relate to his knee.
He`s been getting swamped so a little chop out from his mates, ie, protection, would not go astray.
- First season back from a serious knee injury and will need to work his way into confidence.
- Hasn't played that many games of AFL (easy to forget).
- Always been an average kick and is one of the things he has needed to work on in the past. Unfortunately he has had two major injuries that have interrupted his career so far and he hasn't had time to really work on it with rehab and normal training.
- As for not kicking enough goals, that is a combination of him playing up the ground more often to provide us with run through the midfield and him simply missing some shots due to inaccuracy. Which again comes back to the fact kicking is always something he has needed to work on.
SirJimi05
1 Jun 2009, 23:14
Very late against Geelong he clashed legs with a Geelong player. Fair enough, it might have hurt, but instead of getting the ball out, he fell to the ground in a crumpled heap and Geelong stole the ball and Mooney goaled with just a few seconds left in the match.
That's probably the most disappointing action I can remember from any Essendon player this season.
Yeah it was terrible wan't it. His initial thoughts were probably that he has just done his knee again but he should have been thinking about what to do in a game where there was a few seconds left and the team losing by a fair margin.
Some of the posts in this thread are a classic. None more than the OP my mr negative himself. What was everyone expecting from Davey this year? He has exceeded my expectations. He is coming back from a serious knee injury and will only get better. His kicking has been sloppy but he may not have full confidence back yet.
Colin D'Cops
1 Jun 2009, 23:22
His kicking this year hasn't been to a level in which he has previously shown us, which was very close to elite. But as people have previously stated, he is still not quite 100% with the knee still heavily playing on his mind. He hasn't been as dominant as what we're used to, but there have been players much worse off this year who have had much better preseasons. I would normally bring them up; but if I did, I may derail the thread so I'll refrain.
SirJimi05
1 Jun 2009, 23:28
His kicking this year hasn't been to a level in which he has previously shown us, which was very close to elite. But as people have previously stated, he is still not quite 100% with the knee still heavily playing on his mind. He hasn't been as dominant as what we're used to, but there have been players much worse off this year who have had much better preseasons. I would normally bring them up; but if I did, I may derail the thread so I'll refrain.
Can't agree with this. In my opinion he has always been an average kick. Nothing more. This season it has dropped off though and is below par. We just need to give him time. It is very rare for a player to come back after a serious knee injury and play really good footy in the next season. This is why smart people actually call it a 2 year injury as it is 2 years before you get back to where you left off.
Colin D'Cops
1 Jun 2009, 23:40
Can't agree with this. In my opinion he has always been an average kick. Nothing more..
Have to agree to disagree here Jim. His skills on the run as said, when up and firing; were very close to elite IMO. Running around HF, picking up the scraps and delievering the ball onto one of our forwards' chests; Was and will continue to be a real feature of his game IMO.
bombre-boy
2 Jun 2009, 00:19
Given this discussion, what should we be expecting from Prismal's return ?
stay true
2 Jun 2009, 02:09
15-20 touches from about 60-70% game time? Who knows.
We can't expect him to have a serious impact straight away.
FandangoDingo
2 Jun 2009, 02:40
Performances have been sub par this year for me.
He's missing targets, fumbling and not kicking enough goals. He is looking for frees to often and he could offer the team a lot more than he is currently.
I've noticed a bit of that creeping into his game too, unfortunately. Possibly a confidence thing.
You don't get over a knee for 18 months or so. He will be a lot better next year.
I've noticed a bit of that creeping into his game too, unfortunately. Possibly a confidence thing.
This is true, although it was always in his game a little bit it seems like he must have hung out with Monfries over the preseason.
Boucks, you are fast becoming the best poster on this board.
I don't know why this issue was brought up.
Ask yourself this question:
Are we a better team with or without him?
Rhetorical question.
Grey Smith Bar
2 Jun 2009, 16:55
He'll come good, no need to worry. At least his chasing and tackling hasn't dropped off, which is his best asset.
Exactly, I've seen plenty of opposition players execute rushed moves when they see him in the corner of their eye.
It means they respect his pace and tackling ability.
windyhill
2 Jun 2009, 17:15
Have to agree to disagree here Jim. His skills on the run as said, when up and firing; were very close to elite IMO. Running around HF, picking up the scraps and delievering the ball onto one of our forwards' chests; Was and will continue to be a real feature of his game IMO.
Agreed, his kicking was an absolute standout, which has made it more noticeable with him missing the odd target lately