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Virgin Dog

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Lewis was still there when we picked up Simpkin and my thouces tell me he pushed hard for his recruitment. But still your point is valid with Jy. He was the right call.

The LDU draft is interesting. The top end has not jumped out and captured the competition by storm. We could do with Stephenson’s bag of tricks at the minute however. :stern look

Bonar was also in that draft as a high pick. Hayden’s recruitment is looking good in the 60’s. Xerri also from that draft. Hopefully Walker can come on now that he is over his injury concerns.

No doubt our draft in picking up Thomas, Scott and Taylor including the recruitment of Polec and Pittard is looking very good.

But yeah we went back to recruiting a tall bloke with our first pick in the last draft. Comben is quick for his size and there is a lot to like about him. Hopefully he becomes a star. But did we really need to recruit another tall guy? Perez for mine suited a need most from the 3 draft selections we made in 2019 and he was our last pick. :stern look
Many clubs rated Stephenson close to the top, but many also ruled out drafting him once they learned of his heart issue. I know the dogs rated him top 3 but put a line through him prior to the draft, even if he slid to our Pick 9. Wouldn't call it a missed opportunity, but rather a situation where the Pies took a huge gamble and it paid off
 

Ether

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Many clubs rated Stephenson close to the top, but many also ruled out drafting him once they learned of his heart issue. I know the dogs rated him top 3 but put a line through him prior to the draft, even if he slid to our Pick 9. Wouldn't call it a missed opportunity, but rather a situation where the Pies took a huge gamble and it paid off
Even before his heart issue came up most scribes rated him about no 5. The consensus was roughly 1 Rayner, 2 LDU, 3 Dow, 4 Cerra, 5 Stephenson. Most thought LDU was a steal at 4. Naughton is probably the best performed from that draft so far.
 

Virgin Dog

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Even before his heart issue came up most scribes rated him about no 5. The consensus was roughly 1 Rayner, 2 LDU, 3 Dow, 4 Cerra, 5 Stephenson. Most thought LDU was a steal at 4. Naughton is probably the best performed from that draft so far.
The order you gave is pretty much exactly how I rated them. Carlton the only ones to really get a dud from that top 9 or so picks it seems, although Dow could still turn out alright
 
Agree with everything except I’d still take LDU over Stephenson and we traded our first pick last year. Won’t know what we do with it till this year
LDU is a year, maybe a bit more given recent injuries, behind Jy.

Compare their second years and they are very similar.

No way I'd have taken Stephenson before him then and I wouldn't change that now. (Tho I thought that's who we'd end up with as LDU would be gone.) There were times last year when LDU looked incredibly good at football. If he gets a preseason in then by the middle to end of next year he will be getting attention the way Jy is now.
 

iSmack

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1. We overemphasize the importance of clearances at the expense of rebound/ attacking footy.

2. Shot accuracy as a team is below average.

3. We have the best key forward in the league who can't get his hands on the ball because we move the ball at nursing home speeds.

4. Pressure inside 50.....zero, Nada, null, Nula.
When the big forwards don't mark the ball, where are the snippy, annoying army of small forwards to chase, corral, tackle and lock the ball in?


Don't need top 10 draft picks to resolve these issues.

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A few players like Dal Santo when he came over to north admitted that we never did skills training. He found it strange

I know we didn’t and would discuss that . It blew my tiny mind that bonehead Brad felt skills training was unnecessary. He reckoned that the guys had gotten through the system which lead them to having the skills needed.
Shaw though is big on it. Not that currently we’d notice that .🤦‍♂️
 

Passmore

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1. We overemphasize the importance of clearances at the expense of rebound/ attacking footy.

2. Shot accuracy as a team is below average.

3. We have the best key forward in the league who can't get his hands on the ball because we move the ball at nursing home speeds.

4. Pressure inside 50.....zero, Nada, null, Nula.
When the big forwards don't mark the ball, where are the snippy, annoying army of small forwards to chase, corral, tackle and lock the ball in?


Don't need top 10 draft picks to resolve these issues.

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk

Well we’re getting 2 top 10 draft picks and it’s going to help somewhat. No the issues you have detailed above, but it’ll help getting some class in.
 

Passmore

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I know we didn’t and would discuss that . It blew my tiny mind that bonehead Brad felt skills training was unnecessary. He reckoned that the guys had gotten through the system which lead them to having the skills needed.
Shaw though is big on it. Not that currently we’d notice that .🤦‍♂️

You don’t need your mind blown any further....

It’s too late for a lot of the blokes on the list now. The horse has probably bolted. Simpkin and below is where the focus needs to be. Goldy, Tazz, Higgo, Cunners will be stars regardless.
 
You make a fair point Ben. It ain’t as bad as what it seems. Just like when we beat the GWS. It wasn’t as good as what it seems. The last three weeks have certainly highlighted our weaknesses. We are simply not utilising our strengths at the minute. :stern look
Pretty fair assessment Z.

I agree in the main with the deficiencies the big DF made in his OP.

Some hard decisions will need to be made come the end of the season re certain players on our list.

If we nail this year's draft and trade period it will go a long way towards fixing our deficiencies.

We've got some cattle that aren't getting games at the moment - the addition of fit LDU, Larkey, Scott, Will Walker and EVW would add a lot.

Let's face it we were putrid on Saturday and that game really highlighted our worst. While bitterly disappointed with Saturday night it's not the end of the world to have a reality check as long as we take some valuable lessons away from it.
 
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I know we didn’t and would discuss that . It blew my tiny mind that bonehead Brad felt skills training was unnecessary. He reckoned that the guys had gotten through the system which lead them to having the skills needed.
Shaw though is big on it. Not that currently we’d notice that .🤦‍♂️
Who was it a few years ago, Hale maybe that said he never did kicking on goals training during his time at the club, that it was expected that as a senior player you'd already have this skill??
 
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I know we didn’t and would discuss that . It blew my tiny mind that bonehead Brad felt skills training was unnecessary. He reckoned that the guys had gotten through the system which lead them to having the skills needed.
Shaw though is big on it. Not that currently we’d notice that .🤦‍♂️

It’s definitely noticeable.

unfortunately these 100+ game players under Brad have been missing a fair chunk of their development. Even concentrating on their skills now will take years to implement

I still believe that’s our main issue. Good teams lift their game when they’re under pressure. We get worse.
 

Passmore

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It’s definitely noticeable.

unfortunately these 100+ game players under Brad have been missing a fair chunk of their development. Even concentrating on their skills now will take years to implement

I still believe that’s our main issue. Good teams lift their game when they’re under pressure. We get worse.

We lack genuine impact players. How many do we have? Goldy, Cunners, Higgo, Tazz. Jy is joining them. Polec and Brown can be, but they need the game on their terms. Taylor looks like he can be. Hopefully LDU and Thomas join him. Zurhaar is on his day. Larkey is important structurally.

The rest are just role players. Jed is a classic example. Terrific when he’s the 4th or 5th midfield banana, coming off the bench to smash blokes. When he’s asked to move up the chain, he struggles.
 

Passmore

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LDU is a year, maybe a bit more given recent injuries, behind Jy.

Compare their second years and they are very similar.

No way I'd have taken Stephenson before him then and I wouldn't change that now. (Tho I thought that's who we'd end up with as LDU would be gone.) There were times last year when LDU looked incredibly good at football. If he gets a preseason in then by the middle to end of next year he will be getting attention the way Jy is now.

Yep, their is absolutely nothing wrong with LDU. So far he’s been a contested ball winning mid in a wingers body. He’s shown some good signs and struggled a bit too. But he’s tracking well. If anything the ****ed up season may help him. It could have been a complete write off under normal circumstances, but he’ll end up getting some footy in.
 

Moti

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It is the same story for over a decade, we lack speed and skilled users. We are putting together some of the pieces now with the younger players which is great, but still have a gaping hole at HB and lack of dynamic runners in the middle. We are not bad, just not good. Hopefully by years end we will see another couple of younger players put their hand up and we can enter the draft with a little focus. However, at some stage we do need to pump some games into the talent.
 
So two blokes standing 20 metres away from each other playing kick to kick is considered skills training but match sim isn’t?
Like any physical skill you need to drill properly.

IE. To practise the movement under no pressure or intensity to get it perfect, technique wise. You also have to practise under pressure and intensity as well. Otherwise your skills will fall apart under pressure.

But if you don't get your technique perfect and continually maintain it then when you practise under pressure any flaws and skill errors you defer to will be maintained and magnified. And everyone needs to work on their technique all the time, often with outside assistance. (That's why so many of the best batsmen and bowlers in the world have form slumps.)

You need to do both things and you need someone in the footy department to take responsibility for making sure it happens properly. Ie they are watching players for errors in match sims or drills and working on correcting those errors during really simple drills like kick to kick from 20 m away.
 
So two blokes standing 20 metres away from each other playing kick to kick is considered skills training but match sim isn’t?
It's an exercise designed for the kicker to concerntrate solely on technique through repetition, making minor adjustments to hone the mechanics.

You don't get the same result just playing match sim.

It's basic, basic stuff that even little league coaches recognise as an absolute core fundamental in building skilled footballers.
 

koshari

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Like any physical skill you need to drill properly.

IE. To practise the movement under no pressure or intensity to get it perfect, technique wise. You also have to practise under pressure and intensity as well. Otherwise your skills will fall apart under pressure.

But if you don't get your technique perfect and continually maintain it then when you practise under pressure any flaws and skill errors you defer to will be maintained and magnified. And everyone needs to work on their technique all the time, often with outside assistance. (That's why so many of the best batsmen and bowlers in the world have form slumps.)

You need to do both things and you need someone in the footy department to take responsibility for making sure it happens properly. Ie they are watching players for errors in match sims or drills and working on correcting those errors during really simple drills like kick to kick from 20 m away.
Exactly, which is why you see golfers on the practice fairway more often than on the course. sure they could jsut play 20 rounds a week, however its learning muscle memory where you refine skills, over and over again, then it becomes "learned" 2nd nature and when under stress your muscle memory runs on instinct rather than having to think it out each time. look at blokes like Gazza Jr, like him or not he virtually grew up nursing a footy every available minute.
 

Pykie

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It is the same story for over a decade, we lack speed and skilled users. We are putting together some of the pieces now with the younger players which is great, but still have a gaping hole at HB and lack of dynamic runners in the middle. We are not bad, just not good. Hopefully by years end we will see another couple of younger players put their hand up and we can enter the draft with a little focus. However, at some stage we do need to pump some games into the talent.

This is it.

You can afford 1 x Anderson in a side. You can't have 4 or 5 of them.

Premiership sides have been littered with them (Think Sewell, Priddis, Redden, Grigg, Picken, Shiels, McVeigh etc)

You can't have 4 or 5 of them, you still need an skill and athletic base to overcome the other side that simple grit and effort can't always do.


We've got major holes on every line. I'm less concerned about our forward line, as I think we have 4 genuinely top young players developing in there (Taylor, Thomas, Zurhaar, Larkey).

The backline is an absolute cluster * though. We have a 32 year old key back holding it all together, a string of genuine D grade experienced types and our 'up and comers' underneath in McKay and Durdin look closer to busts than they do genuinely capable AFL players.

I think Walker has been genuinely good and I'm confident he's going to be decent for the next few years.

We really need a bit of luck in kids like Hayden and Perez to develop into quality players down there, as we've spent alot of draft currency down there in the last 5 years for absolutely zero gain at this point ~ Durdin (#16), Nielson (#25), McKay (#21), EVW (#36), Hibberd (#33) , Watson (#34)


You could argue the amount we've invested in defenders at the draft in the last 5 years trying to prepare for the loss of Tarrant and Thompson in lieu of strengthening the midfield is the reason we are where we are at the moment.

3 x first round picks and 3 x second round picks on defenders with not a single one of them featuring in the side atm, with half of them already gone, is an absolute disaster.
 

GarnerSmash

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This is it.

You can afford 1 x Anderson in a side. You can't have 4 or 5 of them.

Premiership sides have been littered with them (Think Sewell, Priddis, Redden, Grigg, Picken, Shiels, McVeigh etc)

You can't have 4 or 5 of them, you still need an skill and athletic base to overcome the other side that simple grit and effort can't always do.


We've got major holes on every line. I'm less concerned about our forward line, as I think we have 4 genuinely top young players developing in there (Taylor, Thomas, Zurhaar, Larkey).

The backline is an absolute cluster fu** though. We have a 32 year old key back holding it all together, a string of genuine D grade experienced types and our 'up and comers' underneath in McKay and Durdin look closer to busts than they do genuinely capable AFL players.

I think Walker has been genuinely good and I'm confident he's going to be decent for the next few years.

We really need kids like Hayden and Perez to develop into quality players down there, as we've spent alot of draft currency down there in the last 5 years for absolutely zero gain at this point (Durdin (#16), Nielson (#25), McKay (#21), EVW (#36), Hibberd (#33) , Watson (#34))


You could argue the amount we've invested in defenders at the draft in the last 5 years in lieu of strengthening the midfield is the reason we are where we are at the moment.

3 x first round picks and 3 x second round picks on defenders with not a single one of them featuring in the side atm, with half of them already gone.


An absolute disaster.
Yeah s**t, that's pretty grim.

And the best of that lot was the latest pick, and he's been smashed by injury.
 
Yeah sh*t, that's pretty grim.

And the best of that lot was the latest pick, and he's been smashed by injury.
Reckon Ed's one more mishap away from pulling the pin too.

If you were a young backman on draft night and had your name called by North you'd be shitting yourself given our history of busts down there.
 
Jan 23, 2019
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This is it.

You can afford 1 x Anderson in a side. You can't have 4 or 5 of them.

Premiership sides have been littered with them (Think Sewell, Priddis, Redden, Grigg, Picken, Shiels, McVeigh etc)

You can't have 4 or 5 of them, you still need an skill and athletic base to overcome the other side that simple grit and effort can't always do.


We've got major holes on every line. I'm less concerned about our forward line, as I think we have 4 genuinely top young players developing in there (Taylor, Thomas, Zurhaar, Larkey).

The backline is an absolute cluster fu** though. We have a 32 year old key back holding it all together, a string of genuine D grade experienced types and our 'up and comers' underneath in McKay and Durdin look closer to busts than they do genuinely capable AFL players.

I think Walker has been genuinely good and I'm confident he's going to be decent for the next few years.

We really need a bit of luck in kids like Hayden and Perez to develop into quality players down there, as we've spent alot of draft currency down there in the last 5 years for absolutely zero gain at this point ~ Durdin (#16), Nielson (#25), McKay (#21), EVW (#36), Hibberd (#33) , Watson (#34)


You could argue the amount we've invested in defenders at the draft in the last 5 years trying to prepare for the loss of Tarrant and Thompson in lieu of strengthening the midfield is the reason we are where we are at the moment.

3 x first round picks and 3 x second round picks on defenders with not a single one of them featuring in the side atm, with half of them already gone, is an absolute disaster.

agree the forward line is fine. have some great match winning options.

Agree the back line is horrid. Could Comben become a CHB? we rate him highly. I'm not sold on Walker at all, is too slow. You don't get moved onto your third club for no reason. We bought him in as a backup and now he looks like playing every game.

Our midfield isn't much better than our back line unfortunately. Cunners, Higgins (33) Simpkin. From there it falls off a cliff. Hall, Anderson, Dumont- no thanks.


have asked for a scratch match update
 
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