It's been so awesome watching Dangerfield play every game this season after being blueballed for the majority of last season. A rising star nomination in round 3, six shots on goal on the weekend (pity all but one missed), our leading contested possession player, a desperate hunter of the ball, a spitting body image of a young Roo, who creates stoppages and busts the ball from packs. And then there's the explosive pace.
Except, considering this was the primary thing we were excited about when Dangerfield was first selected, it's been somewhat absent in the first nine rounds so far this season. Don't get me wrong - Danger has pace and has shown it. His work on the lead is fantastic - once he gets going, nobody can keep tight with him if the kick is good enough. But he need to get going.
In the TAC Cup we saw Dangerfield with explosive pace. He'd grab the ball, sidestep a player, and then just fire up the afterburners and go for a dash. In the AFL, we have very rarely seen this and when we have, it's been mostly after a sizable run where he's worked up to pace, not like the explosive pace we were expecting to see.
Why do you think that is? I can think of a few theories, but I'm not sure.
1) Dangerfield is enormous. I mean, he always had great core stability and body strength but he's packed on muscle like nobody's business this past year and perhaps he simply weighs more than his legs are used to. Particularly as the bulk of his recent muscle growth appears to be in the upper body and not the legs.
2) Could it be a confidence thing? We often see Danger attempt to go for a run (albeit not at totally full pace, not yet) but either get caught from behind, or run smack into the next player in a zone/flood. Could it be a lack of confidence that he doesn't want to fire up the afterburners for lack of getting caught and looking foolish? Dangerfield has a good footy brain and perhaps he just feels that it's not the smart thing to do. Mind you, if this is the case I'm disappointed we haven't seen him chase more people down from behind.
3) Or could it be coaching instruction? I don't think so but we always hear people (here and elsewhere) sarcastically talking about how Craig turns his players into Crowbots, and squeezes the flair out of them. Surely he couldn't be being instructed not to use his pace unless he has a paddock in front of him - could he?
4) Lastly (and probably the most likely) is that his fitness is not quite where he wants it to be, and he is concerned about his ability to run out games. Perhaps he'd rather go at 80% the whole match than go at full pace for half the game and then blow up. I suppose this would be particularly true in the more physical environment of the AFL.
I'd love to think that within a few years Dangerfield's body will finish filling out, he'll have his confidence sky high, and he'll be running around in the red yellow and blue bashing through packs, firing up the nitros and streaming through the centre of the ground. Even if he never ends up delivering on that tantilizing promise of explosive pace, he still has plenty of "normal" pace to burn - enough that he will never be considered an average paced player. His other traits alone would also see him succeed as an AFL player. But add the explosive pace to that as well - the very thing we most expected from Dangerfield this year - and we'll have an elite midfielder.
Except, considering this was the primary thing we were excited about when Dangerfield was first selected, it's been somewhat absent in the first nine rounds so far this season. Don't get me wrong - Danger has pace and has shown it. His work on the lead is fantastic - once he gets going, nobody can keep tight with him if the kick is good enough. But he need to get going.
In the TAC Cup we saw Dangerfield with explosive pace. He'd grab the ball, sidestep a player, and then just fire up the afterburners and go for a dash. In the AFL, we have very rarely seen this and when we have, it's been mostly after a sizable run where he's worked up to pace, not like the explosive pace we were expecting to see.
Why do you think that is? I can think of a few theories, but I'm not sure.
1) Dangerfield is enormous. I mean, he always had great core stability and body strength but he's packed on muscle like nobody's business this past year and perhaps he simply weighs more than his legs are used to. Particularly as the bulk of his recent muscle growth appears to be in the upper body and not the legs.
2) Could it be a confidence thing? We often see Danger attempt to go for a run (albeit not at totally full pace, not yet) but either get caught from behind, or run smack into the next player in a zone/flood. Could it be a lack of confidence that he doesn't want to fire up the afterburners for lack of getting caught and looking foolish? Dangerfield has a good footy brain and perhaps he just feels that it's not the smart thing to do. Mind you, if this is the case I'm disappointed we haven't seen him chase more people down from behind.
3) Or could it be coaching instruction? I don't think so but we always hear people (here and elsewhere) sarcastically talking about how Craig turns his players into Crowbots, and squeezes the flair out of them. Surely he couldn't be being instructed not to use his pace unless he has a paddock in front of him - could he?
4) Lastly (and probably the most likely) is that his fitness is not quite where he wants it to be, and he is concerned about his ability to run out games. Perhaps he'd rather go at 80% the whole match than go at full pace for half the game and then blow up. I suppose this would be particularly true in the more physical environment of the AFL.
I'd love to think that within a few years Dangerfield's body will finish filling out, he'll have his confidence sky high, and he'll be running around in the red yellow and blue bashing through packs, firing up the nitros and streaming through the centre of the ground. Even if he never ends up delivering on that tantilizing promise of explosive pace, he still has plenty of "normal" pace to burn - enough that he will never be considered an average paced player. His other traits alone would also see him succeed as an AFL player. But add the explosive pace to that as well - the very thing we most expected from Dangerfield this year - and we'll have an elite midfielder.
.
