What do you see being the team's greatest weakness in 2015?

[cryptor]

Yeah, I'm not so sure the AFL is as anti-HFC as it may have been (seemed) 12 months ago. At present you've got Essenscum bringing the Continent into disrepute on a World scale; $ydney shut-down from trading for 2 years; GWS losing key-players; &, Cold Ghost losing Coaches... Add to that, the Country's biggest team is sliding backwards (fast) & Free Agency is making good clubs better & crap clubs crapper - all this with dwindling attendance numbers at the turnstiles.

I think the AFL would be pretty happy with some HFC-style good ness right about now & IMO, it reflects in our draw this year in comparison to the last 2 years. I think the AFL has at least 5 things to worry about more than us winning our 3rd on the trot...

I was fairly young back when Brisbane did their 3-peat. My recollection back in 2002 was that in general people wanted to see a different team win it but in 2003 people were back on the Lions in the hope that they could witness something as rare as a 3-peat.

My theory is that people get bored with just a single repeat result but when it repeats enough times it becomes interesting based on its rarity. People want to say they were alive to witness these rare occurances. Makybe Diva always had Aussies on her side due to her roots but the most interest came from whether she could get that elusive 3rd cup in a row. Similar kinds of interest was drawn during Geelong's streak over us.

I think the AFL sees an opportunity to cash in on the hype generated by a team going for a rare 3 flags in a row. People who may only take a passing interest in AFL are suddenly drawn in to see if they can witness history in the making.

** those "people" I refer to are generally not the hardcore supporters you find on here or who probably attend games. I'm referring more to those fair weather supporters who only talk footy when their team is up and don't know any of their rookie listed players. The type of people who won't take much notice of the AFL unless something particularly interesting is happening.

 

[Taskmaster]

With the inclusion of Frawley, emergence of Duryea and Litherland I can't see Spanghar being part of any 'vacuum'. Despite his cult figure status, to be blunt, if it wasn't for Schoemaker's 2014 indifferent form I doubt he would even be in our current backline...

So your point is that Shoenmakers is our weakness?? I agree, but I think I am reading this wrong, so....

If people think that Shoenmakers is some how in front of Spangher in the backline pecking order, then, please read below...

Spangher = 1 (premiership medallion)
Shoenmakers = 0

Says it all I rekon!!!

Yep Spang may not be a starter in the backline in 2015 with the inclusion of Frawley and the uprising of Litherland, but he would be picked before Shoenmakers. 2014 GF says it all.


People need to stop making excuses for Shoenmakers. I mean the club tried to piss him off FFS!

 

[Bumpswithagrin]

With the inclusion of Frawley, emergence of Duryea and Litherland I can't see Spanghar being part of any 'vacuum'. Despite his cult figure status, to be blunt, if it wasn't for Schoemaker's 2014 indifferent form I doubt he would even be in our current backline...

I agree. I love Spangher but I suspect that he has reached his full potential and may struggle to make the team in 2015. Will be happy to be proved wrong and I am glad he has a premiership medal but I think he is borderline best 22.

 

[Blaze Storm]

So your point is that Shoenmakers is our weakness?? I agree, but I think I am reading this wrong, so....

If people think that Shoenmakers is some how in front of Spangher in the backline pecking order, then, please read below...

Spangher = 1 (premiership medallion)
Shoenmakers = 0

Says it all I rekon!!!

Yep Spang may not be a starter in the backline in 2015 with the inclusion of Frawley and the uprising of Litherland, but he would be picked before Shoenmakers. 2014 GF says it all.


People need to stop making excuses for Shoenmakers. I mean the club tried to piss him off FFS!

The question isn't whether Spangher would be picked ahead of Schoey in the backline, the question is whether O'brien would be picked ahead of Schoey for KPF depth.

 

[Yabbys Heroes]

Definitely complacency......Oh and don't ever discount good 'ol fashioned luck....

 

[pacman]

Has to be complacency we showed how to blood new players last year very well.
Would expect younger players like Hartung, Woody, O'Brien & co to get their opportunity.

 

[Flukey!]

I think the only thing that can stop us is if the hunger for success dries up.
Other than that, we should be able to go again.

 

[Ordovician]

Definitely complacency......Oh and don't ever discount good 'ol fashioned luck....

I hope that we have used up our allocation of bad luck with injuries last season and that next year we'll have a more normal run of injuries, a reversion to the mean if you like.

 

[Foxx1]

Spang probably isn't best 22 but he just won a flag. That itself is probably an indication that our weaknesses are few and far between. The Schoo will have to repeat his early 2013 pre knee injury form to be playing finals next year. It's no coincidence he was dropped and didn't return for finals.

Frawly adds so much to our spine and could be the plan B for an unfortunate injury to Roughy or Gunner.

 

[Rowie6]

I don't think we have one real weakness but if i had to pick one is another small classy forward as (Garlett) may have been the answer if he realized what an oppurtunity he had.But in this years draft his cousin would have been handy Jarrod Garlett or Jarrod Pickett,i would have loved the club to get there hand on those lads but that will not be happening!!!!

 

[essaynode]

Having watched the replay of the preliminary final against Port, I think our biggest weakness can be summed up in two words - Port Adelaide.

We almost got done over by their leg speed (run and carry) combined with their ability to use the ball effectively (good disposal efficiency) by hand and foot.

Their spread from the contest and ability to keep running to create free options and fast, flowing football. This is the reason we targeted Smith, Hill and Hartung in their respective drafts. We saw it coming and planned for it.

Hopefully in 2015 we can again fly under the radar with punters backing Port to be premiers. Superior depth, team culture and experience should win out.

 

[cryptor]

Having watched the replay of the preliminary final against Port, I think our biggest weakness can be summed up in two words - Port Adelaide.

We almost got done over by their leg speed (run and carry) combined with their ability to use the ball effectively (good disposal efficiency) by hand and foot.

Their spread from the contest and ability to keep running to create free options and fast, flowing football. This is the reason we targeted Smith, Hill and Hartung in their respective drafts. We saw it coming and planned for it.

Hopefully in 2015 we can again fly under the radar with punters backing Port to be premiers. Superior depth, team culture and experience should win out.

I don't think we targeted those guys to combat Port. Port have only come good in the last couple years by which stage we already had Smith and Hill.

What I do think the club did was identify the impact the sub rule and interchange cap would have on the way the game was played. We've since worked on building a team with players who can run all day long and players who can play in (and subsequently rest in) alternate positions.

Though I agree that they'll probably be the media fancy next year assuming they start strong.

 

[nickrebellious]

I reckon Schoenmakers will play 18+ games next year.

 

[Brant]

Having watched the replay of the preliminary final against Port, I think our biggest weakness can be summed up in two words - Port Adelaide.

We almost got done over by their leg speed (run and carry) combined with their ability to use the ball effectively (good disposal efficiency) by hand and foot.

Their spread from the contest and ability to keep running to create free options and fast, flowing football. This is the reason we targeted Smith, Hill and Hartung in their respective drafts. We saw it coming and planned for it.

Hopefully in 2015 we can again fly under the radar with punters backing Port to be premiers. Superior depth, team culture and experience should win out.

No way dude. Don't forget that Port were beaten by some very average Teams this year. Some of that was because they were down, but some was because of 1-on-1 pressure for 120 minutes.

We strolled into 3/4 time a good 5 goals in front of PA & if we continued the way we played to that point, we'd have won by 7 goals & gone into the GF as favourites. We focused on the following week & they played like it was the last Quarter of their collective lives - which it was. They didn't play a single bit of defence & we played bruise free. If we cared about the last 1/4 then we'd habve played it the way we played the previous 3. Or, scarily, we'd have played it the way we played the following 4 Quarters...

PA were a lesser side than we played to the death the previous year (Geelong of 2013). if you're looking at the result alone then they're about the same as Adelaide in 2012. A side who deserved to be 3rd & who played their asses off on the day, but didn't deserve mention as being a contender.

 

[Ordovician]

We eased up in the last 5 minutes and along with two completely obscene umpiring decisions to wit: Gibson running back with his eyes only on the ball and getting cleaned up by an unrealistic marking attempt and Spang being chested off the ball at the marking contest and the ball not being anywhere near 5m, let Port have a last gasp attempt at taking the game.

Nevertheless their speed, spread and ball use at their best, is real worry for any team.

 

[HR Roughnstuf]

It is a right for our club

Seriously though, your point is well made - a lot of our recent success is built upon the leadership of the senior players you've named, and their experience of lean times either when we were terrible or their former clubs were (then there's also the addition of Frawley, who moved to chase this nebulous concept of "success"; he'll learn that it's a real thing soon enough).

The impending tragedy is going to come in the next few years, when Hodge, Mitchell, Lake, Burgoyne and Gibson retire, and are then followed not too long after by Lewis, Roughead, and Spangher. That's going to create a vacuum. Now while we have an immense amount of talent on our list, the character that is built by the experience of failure is the foundation of success, and our younger players won't have had that. Perhaps it can be replaced by the mindset they've developed from being raised in a culture of success, but I fear that the easy life they've experienced so far may lead to a certain softness creeping in (I desperately hope that I'm wrong about that though).

The retirement issue is definitely going to be our greatest weakness from 2017 onwards.

You could say the same is true or even moreso for a player like Selwood.

Yes he is a ducker, but he also hates losing more than just about any other AFL player and he probably has the highest winning percentage of all current players.

 

[James Colorado]

You could say the same is true or even moreso for a player like Selwood.

Yes he is a ducker, but he also hates losing more than just about any other AFL player and he probably has the highest winning percentage of all current players.

True, that is a reflection of Selwood's personality, which probably arises from growing up as one of four boys, all around the same age.

I still maintain that a major factor in our recent success is the failure which our better players have experienced. It's made them hungry. And hopefully they've not been sated yet

 

[essaynode]

I don't think we targeted those guys to combat Port. Port have only come good in the last couple years by which stage we already had Smith and Hill.

What I do think the club did was identify the impact the sub rule and interchange cap would have on the way the game was played. We've since worked on building a team with players who can run all day long and players who can play in (and subsequently rest in) alternate positions.

Though I agree that they'll probably be the media fancy next year assuming they start strong.

Agree that we didn't target Smith and Hill to combat Port in particular but rather a certain trend in the game.

I can't remember who it was (probably Geelong) back in 2010, but if my memory serves me correctly we often got carved up on the outside with pace and/or slingshot football. Crawford had retired and Bateman was at the end of his career.

We identified a weakness of ours and also something that would put us ahead of the pack to win a premiership (or two or three or more) back at that time.

Smith was first selection in 2010, Hill first selection in 2011. Hartung first selection 2013. (2012 was Tim O'Brien).

I reckon that Port and ourselves are probably the best exponents of this brand of footy currently - outside run and disposal efficiency - (and hence why I feel they are our biggest threat) but we beat Port for defensive pressure.

The zone/defensive pressure game has been unpicked with clean foot skills (hence the demise of Freemantle this year albeit with an older list with little regeneration). All the other teams are playing catch up but hopefully never will.

The other thing that sets us apart is goal kicking. It's an area we've specifically worked on since losing in 2012 (read All For One) and again we're probably 24 months ahead of the pack.

I'm predicting happy times until Gold Coast get their act together. With a decent coach in Eade, with all their talent, and with more games of experience they are very soon going to be a force to be reckoned with.

 

[Flag08]

Let's see how Port go when they have an injury run like we did.

 

[cryptor]

Agree that we didn't target Smith and Hill to combat Port in particular but rather a certain trend in the game.

I can't remember who it was (probably Geelong) back in 2010, but if my memory serves me correctly we often got carved up on the outside with pace and/or slingshot football. Crawford had retired and Bateman was at the end of his career.

We identified a weakness of ours and also something that would put us ahead of the pack to win a premiership (or two or three or more) back at that time.

Smith was first selection in 2010, Hill first selection in 2011. Hartung first selection 2013. (2012 was Tim O'Brien).

I reckon that Port and ourselves are probably the best exponents of this brand of footy currently - outside run and disposal efficiency - (and hence why I feel they are our biggest threat) but we beat Port for defensive pressure.

The zone/defensive pressure game has been unpicked with clean foot skills (hence the demise of Freemantle this year albeit with an older list with little regeneration). All the other teams are playing catch up but hopefully never will.

The other thing that sets us apart is goal kicking. It's an area we've specifically worked on since losing in 2012 (read All For One) and again we're probably 24 months ahead of the pack.

I'm predicting happy times until Gold Coast get their act together. With a decent coach in Eade, with all their talent, and with more games of experience they are very soon going to be a force to be reckoned with.

That's fair. Their young mids are where they currently hold the advantage over us. As long Hodge, Mitchell and Burgoyne can keep form and fitness while the likes of Anderson, Woodward and O'Rourke develop. We still have the better key position stocks at both ends and in the middle.

 

[Ordovician]

The other thing that sets us apart is goal kicking. It's an area we've specifically worked on since losing in 2012 (read All For One) and again we're probably 24 months ahead of the pack.

It is a considerable oversight of the coaching team that it took the humiliation of the 2012 Grand Final to come to the realisation, that any casual observer would have made had they spent even a few minutes observing the ragged-arsed clowning that passed for goal kicking practice at the hawks, that perhaps a program of semi-professional goal kicking practice needed to be implemented at Waverly.

Who would ever have thought that in the deluge of statistics about scores from turnovers, inside 50 pressure acts etc., that perhaps the almost trivial statistic of conversion rate might actually have a bearing on the outcome of a game of footy? FMD.

Well better late than never.

 

[mustang]

Our first pick I think will be a tall as it wouldn't surprise me to see Breust play more midfield next year.

 

[Crankyhawk]

It is a considerable oversight of the coaching team that it took the humiliation of the 2012 Grand Final to come to the realisation, that any casual observer would have made had they spent even a few minutes observing the ragged-arsed clowning that passed for goal kicking practice at the hawks, that perhaps a program of semi-professional goal kicking practice needed to be implemented at Waverly.

Who would ever have thought that in the deluge of statistics about scores from turnovers, inside 50 pressure acts etc., that perhaps the almost trivial statistic of conversion rate might actually have a bearing on the outcome of a game of footy? FMD.

Well better late than never.

On that issue I remember that Sydney had used some device to improve their goal kicking that year. The guy who made it told SEN he offered it to all the clubs but only Sydney were interested. This interview was before the 2012 finals I think.

 

[threesixpio]

Our first pick I think will be a tall as it wouldn't surprise me to see Breust play more midfield next year.

A tall or a small forward?

Been thinking about some of the younger players going out of their "usual positions" to spend time in the middle. Could Lithers and Duryea spend time there? Kind of like a reverse Mitchell/Burgers/Hodge in terms of career development.

 

[halfback dasher]

Doc could pinch hit in the middle...... I think in ref to our mid field position (depth) we are jumping at shadows... Anderson, WhiteX, Woodward and JOR will add all the depth we need to be safe for next yr then going fwd, 2016 onward we land 1 or 2 FA's next yr and the following ......our MF is and will be ready to go around again with the best of them.