Opinion A couple of off season questions...

[mhill]

number 1
I reckon we peaked too early last season, we were dominant in the pre season before smashing Brisy, Freo, Bombers and comfortably beating Dees and Pies before the break.
We frankly struggled in the last 6 rounds

Do we change up our training to peak later in the year?

Based on your answer to q 1, where do you see us at R6?
Carlton, Pies, Giant and Power away, Swans and Dees

I say we ease into the year like an old man into a hot bath but we will be 3 and 3

 

[johnno77]

You can't take anything for granted and just assume you'll come home with a wet sail.

You run the risk of losing all confidence with a run of bad games and then injuries could kick in. See Adelaide 2018 as an example.

Early wins are like gold. A fully fit Dusty and Astbury in the Prelim and that might have been a different result. Apart from that night, we had a pretty amazing season.

 

[Tiger_Of_Old]

Follow the same path of 2017.

 

[Bojangles17]

number 1
I reckon we peaked too early last season, we were dominant in the pre season before smashing Brisy, Freo, Bombers and comfortably beating Dees and Pies before the break.
We frankly struggled in the last 6 rounds

Do we change up our training to peak later in the year?

Based on your answer to q 1, where do you see us at R6?
Carlton, Pies, Giant and Power away, Swans and Dees

I say we ease into the year like an old man into a hot bath but we will be 3 and 3

Struggled is the wrong word as that would suggest we lost every odd week ,I’d prefer to say we werent seriously challenged meaning we were ill prepared for when the genuine challengers arrived that had been plotting against us for months. Add to that a couple of selection blues to players under a cloud and an ill timed injury to the best player in the competition conspired against us and the day was made for the pies.

I’d like to think the review would have focussed on leaving an Ace in the pack following the HA and don’t play injured players in finals

 

[juss]

I second early wins are gold. You can ease pressure on the team early.

We had a terrible game against the Pies, that's all. It happens. We dont need to reinvent our entire training preparation based on one result. If you think they weren't already trying to peak in September, then what else were they doing? That's every teams plan. Hindsight we should not have played 2 unfit key players in a PF.

 

[Shazza_]

we didnt struggle , we were just cruising. top 2 was locked in

say what you want but have heard from multiple sources at the club that 70% of the playing group had gastro for the prelim and dustys knee was obviously ****ed.

dont change nothing, we wont have gastro next year in prelim week. im tipping we will belt whoever we play

 

[Tiger Toffee]

5-1 at round 6 worst case.

As for this years end to the season, simple, we rested our players in the wrong match, we should've rested against the suns instead of the druggies because our players then had no week to week play because of the byes at end of round 23 and week off in finals.

we went play-rest-play-bye-play-bye-play

when we should've went

rest-play-play-bye-play-bye-play

 

[mhill]

4 of our last 5 games we basically fell in against teams outside the 8 or in it by default.
We weren’t cruising, we were struggling to contain the Bombers, Cats and Bulldogs who all took us on through the corridor - our I50 pressure had dropped off (partly through Butler) and the whole Shaun Grigg experiment was starting to unravel.
Make no mistake, we were wobbly!
Particularly compared to our first 3 months where we looked amazing with 2 obvious exceptions.
No side can dominate 26 weeks plus pre season so we have to pick our time to taper and peak. Based on that, when do you plan to taper?

 

[Bojangles17]

4 of our last 5 games we basically fell in against teams outside the 8 or in it by default.
We weren’t cruising, we were struggling to contain the Bombers, Cats and Bulldogs who all took us on through the corridor - our I50 pressure had dropped off (partly through Butler) and the whole Shaun Grigg experiment was starting to unravel.
Make no mistake, we were wobbly!
Particularly compared to our first 3 months where we looked amazing with 2 obvious exceptions.
No side can dominate 26 weeks plus pre season so we have to pick our time to taper and peak. Based on that, when do you plan to taper?

We didn’t fall in, we were 30p up with minutes remaining and a couple of times cats and ess they kicked last 4g , neither were ever going to win , if your struggl8mg you don’t get 30p in the first place , dont re write history
Weren’t we highest scoring and best defence or top 2 , with best percentage and win loss , how many struggling sides can attest to that ?

 

[HTT]

We played ourselves out of form more than anything. In R19 vs Collingwood the game was pretty much level at 3QT before we kicked away in the last to a 5 goal win. At this point the minor premiership was all but wrapped up, as we were ahead by a game and percentage on WC, and top 2 was virtually assured as we we 2 games and percentage up on Collingwood.

After this, our last quarter domination stopped abruptly. It was pretty clear from watching that in the Geelong, Essendon, and bulldogs games, we were doing the absolute minimum we could and still win, the games following similar patterns where we'd get to a somewhat comfortable lead before letting them back in. An actual change in our form surely wouldn't be that sudden, I think it was, conscious or sub-conscious, a decision to ease up a bit. We simply weren't prepared when we faced a side who was on our level in Collingwood.
But, I do value early wins. They make sure we're not playing catch up. We can't avoid a lull, so I think the best time for that, if we can time it, is mid season. Last year we probably weren't helped by the draw in that regard as we had our toughest 5 weeks over the mid season, so we couldn't bank wins as we did in 2017.

By round 6 I want us to be 4-2 at worst, I think 5-1 would be a definite success and 6-0 ultimate.

 

[mhill]

We didn’t fall in, we were 30p up with minutes remaining and a couple of times cats and ess they kicked last 4g , neither were ever going to win , if your struggl8mg you don’t get 30p in the first place , dont re write history
Weren’t we highest scoring and best defence or top 2 , with best percentage and win loss , how many struggling sides can attest to that ?

Bojo I don’t plan to debate with the eternal optimist - that’s a circular reference no one needs but I am certain the club is reconsidering it’s start to the year as it’s affected the end. We peaked at the wrong end of town - rationalise it all you want - the facts are there.
The real question is how we approach 2019 with the best team, the best coaching panel and then with the best approach having learnt from 2018

 

[Bojangles17]

Bojo I don’t plan to debate with the eternal optimist - that’s a circular reference no one needs but I am certain the club is reconsidering it’s start to the year as it’s affected the end. We peaked at the wrong end of town - rationalise it all you want - the facts are there.
The real question is how we approach 2019 with the best team, the best coaching panel and then with the best approach having learnt from 2018

The facts aren’t there , it’s your interpretation that a side that finished 2 games clear after the 22game HA bolting in the minor premiership with a superior percentage peaked too early , I’m going with my theory that we weren’t challenged and were a sitting duck for those genuine contenders that were plotting against us for months with a couple of other factors that conspired against us but maintain your bs and an ess like slowwwww start is more idealistic according to your warped theory

 

[smasha]

Gastro.

 

[sregit]

The facts aren’t there , it’s your interpretation that a side that finished 2 games clear after the 22game HA bolting in the minor premiership with a superior percentage peaked too early , I’m going with my theory that we weren’t challenged and were a sitting duck for those genuine contenders that were plotting against us for months with a couple of other factors that conspired against us but maintain your bs and an ess like slowwwww start is more idealistic according to your warped theory

Hundred percent correct. Soft final few games never hardened us for a final tilt. Injuries and sickness aside, the coaching performance in the Prelim was disgraceful. Sadly our end of year draw looks soft and sets us up poorly. Need to be hardened going into finals.

 

[Phar Ace]

Exactly sregit. Really there is no one thing that causes such a momentous miss like we did. It's a multiplicity of smaller events.

The reality is we were blown away early in a game that was cutthroat. No second chances. What we did in Rounds 1-6 for example didn't define that game. It was the Coaching and playing in that game that defined it! It was a disgraceful coaching performance which made it an ordinary playing performance - I'm sure Dimma and others have finally stopped pinching themselves. It was a charmed run while it lasted.

Winning premierships is usually about the best team to overcome adversity. Sure you need all the other stuff, skills, fitness, strategies, flair and communication, but a healthy dose of overcoming the odds more than the next team comes in to play in finals. Both Collingwood and West Coast certainly overcame more than the Tiges, but it still could have been different.

mhill, winning is a habit - one of the best truisms going in football. You'll hear it from the best coaches for a reason. There are 22 opportunities to score enough premiership points to sit in as a privileged position as you can after Round 23. You plan to win every game, you build a winning habit - after that everything else is negotiable.

 

[HTT]

Bojo I don’t plan to debate with the eternal optimist - that’s a circular reference no one needs but I am certain the club is reconsidering it’s start to the year as it’s affected the end. We peaked at the wrong end of town - rationalise it all you want - the facts are there.
The real question is how we approach 2019 with the best team, the best coaching panel and then with the best approach having learnt from 2018

I don't think the start of the season stuffed us up. It was our mid to end. In 2017 we started out absolutely on fire, 5-0. Then we spluttered through the middle of the year, obviously losing those 4 in a row, just beating two sides around the mark (Essendon and Port), and cruising over a couple of bottom 4 teams. We went 4-6 between R6 and and 16, and sat in 6th, in the hunt for top 4 but also in danger of missing finals. Because of our good start, this didn't cost us, but it also left us in a position where we had to work really hard in the last 6 weeks of the season, in order to get in the 4. We carried our form through finals.

In 2018 we started on fire, went through the middle on fire, then we didn't need to do anything in the back half and played ourselves out of form. This was as much as anything because we were a lot better in 18 than in 17. We probably went flat out for all of 2017 because we needed to in order to make top 4. So I propose that we go flat out at the start of the year, and then, if we have wins on the board, tinker with the team, try players here and there, even if it means we lose the occasional game we otherwise wouldn't have. This gives us more options to make changes late in the year (as was needed this year), and adds a little bit of pressure to the end of the year which is needed to ensure good form.

 

[Bojangles17]

2017 was a completely different context as documented previously, our peers refused to believe that a non conventional short arse forward setup would fire on the big stage in the September, they paid lip service to it and ultimately paid the price. FF to 2018 and that element of surprise was non existent . all you can do is Win during the qualifying HA and put yourself in the very best position to defend our title , to that end we were 10/10, beyond that is questionable in terms of how we played our hand with selection and match ups too

 

[mhill]

I don't think the start of the season stuffed us up. It was our mid to end. In 2017 we started out absolutely on fire, 5-0. Then we spluttered through the middle of the year, obviously losing those 4 in a row, just beating two sides around the mark (Essendon and Port), and cruising over a couple of bottom 4 teams. We went 4-6 between R6 and and 16, and sat in 6th, in the hunt for top 4 but also in danger of missing finals. Because of our good start, this didn't cost us, but it also left us in a position where we had to work really hard in the last 6 weeks of the season, in order to get in the 4. We carried our form through finals.

In 2018 we started on fire, went through the middle on fire, then we didn't need to do anything in the back half and played ourselves out of form. This was as much as anything because we were a lot better in 18 than in 17. We probably went flat out for all of 2017 because we needed to in order to make top 4. So I propose that we go flat out at the start of the year, and then, if we have wins on the board, tinker with the team, try players here and there, even if it means we lose the occasional game we otherwise wouldn't have. This gives us more options to make changes late in the year (as was needed this year), and adds a little bit of pressure to the end of the year which is needed to ensure good form.

This post makes the most sense to me with the exception of tinkering with the team.
When I talk of a slow start, I’m not saying we deliberately try and make a slow start, I’m referring to training loads that have us primed at the right stage of the season.
We might win 22 games straight next home and away - the way we plan our training loads will vary to keep players fresh and fit when it counts.
It looked like we were primed from the JLY - I don’t think we’ll be doing that again. Actually, it’d be foolish to do that.
To me, at the end of last season
Beat Bombres by 8, Cats by 3, Bulldogs by 3 and had the bye against GC to close out the year.
We looked both tired and our game plan was starting to be opened up.
I agree that the coaching lacked punch toward the end of the season - we showed too much faith in it for too long.
Should make for a super interesting first 6-8 weeks - can’t wait to see how we go against the Pies round 2.

 

[Del65166]

Good topic for discussion. Funnily enough some of our stars weren't amazing in 2018. Dusty played fwd quite a bit, Rance seemed to be not as good in 2018 (Although he was the No 1 intercept marker) & Cotch was not as kamikaze. I think the selectors decided we're gunna have a crack at the 2 peat, and didn't get a lot of games into the fringe players. Which worked well enough except, when we needed depth in the Prelim, to cover 3 sick or injured players, selectors weren't confident in Garth, Lloyd or someone to come in and win. Now that we don't have the target on the back I want to see lots of games into the Garths, Markovs, strategically of course. Grigg & Houli are turning 31. Maybe by 1/2 way through the season a decision can be made on the future of these 2. Ellis is an interesting one too. Does he get his (wing) position back, or let him go.

 

[Tiger_Of_Old]

Last year obviously the hunger was not the same as 2017.Rightly we kept faith in premiership 22(most of).If we still had that hunger we would have beaten the Pies no question.I'm expecting abit of a transitional period in 2019 with a few of the heroes of 17 gradually phased out of the side to inject a fresh look and hunger back into the side.It happens.Nothing stays the same.
Those under threat:
Grigg
Houli
Ellis*
George
Broad
McIntosh.

Oh and
Unleash the Skipper.

 

[JAKLAUGHING]

Cannot replay last season for a winning GF, no matter how hard we try...it's done and dusted!
Need to look forward to the 2019 season and focus on our assault...

 

[Walt Kowalski]

number 1
I reckon we peaked too early last season, we were dominant in the pre season before smashing Brisy, Freo, Bombers and comfortably beating Dees and Pies before the break.
We frankly struggled in the last 6 rounds

Do we change up our training to peak later in the year?

Based on your answer to q 1, where do you see us at R6?
Carlton, Pies, Giant and Power away, Swans and Dees

I say we ease into the year like an old man into a hot bath but we will be 3 and 3

Why would you set yourself to be 3/3?

Just try and win every game like last year. A stated above, we were clearly the best team of 2018 until the prelim when Astbury and Dusty were cooked.

That whole game just needed Dusty to spark us but sadly he didn't have it in him that night.

 

[Del65166]

Why would you set yourself to be 3/3?

Just try and win every game like last year. A stated above, we were clearly the best team of 2018 until the prelim when Astbury and Dusty were cooked.

That whole game just needed Dusty to spark us but sadly he didn't have it in him that night.

Last year we were on top of the ladder but struggled to win on the road. So some big question marks over us. If we repeat that we will be 3 & 3 after 6 rounds. Won't win on the road & won't beat the Pies.

 

[mhill]

We didn’t fall in, we were 30p up with minutes remaining and a couple of times cats and ess they kicked last 4g , neither were ever going to win , if your struggl8mg you don’t get 30p in the first place , dont re write history
Weren’t we highest scoring and best defence or top 2 , with best percentage and win loss , how many struggling sides can attest to that ?

Leppitsch concedes the Tigers battled to keep their form strong in the last six weeks of the 2018 season as they managed the post-Round 23 bye and Dustin Martin’s finals knee injury.

But he said the Tigers were determined to focus on the 95 per cent of positives rather than the five per cent that went wrong as the Eagles instead won the premiership.

Recruit Tom Lynch has started running after more minor knee surgery.

Leppitsch said his inclusion in next year’s team would not significantly change the club’s game style.

With two talls the club might be able to kick the ball high and low to its forwards more, but “there won’t be massive evolution of our game style”.

Leppitsch will replace Ben Rutten in the role for 2019, returning to the line where he cut his teeth as a Tigers assistant coach before becoming Brisbane’s senior coach.

He is widely credited with helping Alex Rance meet his potential but says after coaching the club’s forwards in recent years he can only help an experienced back six maintain their amazing form.

Source: Herald-Sun

Even the coaches said it bojangleberg
We slipped in the last 6 weeks - it seems everyone on the planet knew it apart from the eternal optimists.

 

[RunningBounce]

Good topic for discussion.

I reckon all the above perspectives have some truth to them. But one element that also contributed was our opposition. The Dogs, Cats and Essendon games late in 2018 weren't close entirely because our players were cruising. A good part of it was that the opposition coaches had spent the best part of 25 games pulling apart what our coaches do. We were predictable to each other, which was to our advantage late 2017. But by late 2018, we were predictable to the opposition as well. Those teams knew they could play fast down the corridor and kick goals on us in the last quarter.

Obviously, you try to win every game, but this year, I want to see some more tinkering mid-season and more games for fringe players. Keep the opposition guessing a little.