Ok, 2014 is cooked. I was going to post this in the Collingwood review originally, but I wanted to step back from that a bit and try (admittedly when the emotions are running high) and see where the list is seriously at.
List Balance
The last few weeks have shown up the clear holes in our list.
1. We need to trade for a KPF who can play from round 1 next year, simple as that. Trade a big name to get a quality one and ignore any tail wagging the dog from fans losing a favourite.
2. We need to draft or trade for a KPD that's at least 195cm.
3. We need Lycett or Gorringe. Lobbe is on a clear downward spiral from carrying everything. He's stuffed. He's about the only player I'll give excuses for.
Skills
We all knew when Hinkley took over our skills were sub-standard. Most here could pick that last year our skills were still a pile of poo, but our improved fitness and fight masked them against poor and average sides. This year (putting aside the emotion of the moment), they have improved on 2013, but it's clear we're still a long way off the likes of Sydney, Geelong, Hawks and Fremantle. Even when we beat the latter of those three earlier in the year, it was run, spread, fitness and fight. Not by being more skillful.
In the game now turnovers are death. We need to get rid of players with sub-standard delivery, if they aren't improving.
And we are still at least another pre-season of heavy skill work away from being able to match sides. I'd put the progression as 2011 - 2012 - Skills - VERY poor. 2013 - Skills - Poor. 2014 - Skills - Average. There needs to be a lot of skill work done pre-season if we want to challenge seriously.
Strength / Size
The combination of our lists age and for the older players years of sub-standard training managed by Falloon has really being shown up the last few weeks. With teams being afraid to back themselves in against us and instead clogging things up and manning up, the size / strength, or more accurately shortfall in size / strength of our players is standing out like a sore thumb. We can't hold tackles, break tackles or fend players off like most other sides can.
With a good aerobic base now built I really hope there's an emphasis this pre-season on getting our players stronger, especially through the core (not beach muscles). In winter and in finals big bodies are required. You can have the smaller players, but only if you have enough big/strong bodies out there to get the ball and protect them. We clearly don't have enough big/strong bodied players out there yet. This pre-season I want to hear stories from the club about how the players are hurting from all the work in the weight room.
Wrap Up
These things were all there to see prior to the recent run of poo, but the cluster* of everything going wrong at once (Lobbe no support, Trengove and Carlile down, no tall forward being played, injured players picked) has stripped away the 'but we're winning, so let's all ignore the problems' being put forward by some. By and large we can't do anything about them until post-season, but it doesn't make it any less painful to watch.
List Balance
The last few weeks have shown up the clear holes in our list.
1. We need to trade for a KPF who can play from round 1 next year, simple as that. Trade a big name to get a quality one and ignore any tail wagging the dog from fans losing a favourite.
2. We need to draft or trade for a KPD that's at least 195cm.
3. We need Lycett or Gorringe. Lobbe is on a clear downward spiral from carrying everything. He's stuffed. He's about the only player I'll give excuses for.
Skills
We all knew when Hinkley took over our skills were sub-standard. Most here could pick that last year our skills were still a pile of poo, but our improved fitness and fight masked them against poor and average sides. This year (putting aside the emotion of the moment), they have improved on 2013, but it's clear we're still a long way off the likes of Sydney, Geelong, Hawks and Fremantle. Even when we beat the latter of those three earlier in the year, it was run, spread, fitness and fight. Not by being more skillful.
In the game now turnovers are death. We need to get rid of players with sub-standard delivery, if they aren't improving.
And we are still at least another pre-season of heavy skill work away from being able to match sides. I'd put the progression as 2011 - 2012 - Skills - VERY poor. 2013 - Skills - Poor. 2014 - Skills - Average. There needs to be a lot of skill work done pre-season if we want to challenge seriously.
Strength / Size
The combination of our lists age and for the older players years of sub-standard training managed by Falloon has really being shown up the last few weeks. With teams being afraid to back themselves in against us and instead clogging things up and manning up, the size / strength, or more accurately shortfall in size / strength of our players is standing out like a sore thumb. We can't hold tackles, break tackles or fend players off like most other sides can.
With a good aerobic base now built I really hope there's an emphasis this pre-season on getting our players stronger, especially through the core (not beach muscles). In winter and in finals big bodies are required. You can have the smaller players, but only if you have enough big/strong bodies out there to get the ball and protect them. We clearly don't have enough big/strong bodied players out there yet. This pre-season I want to hear stories from the club about how the players are hurting from all the work in the weight room.
Wrap Up
These things were all there to see prior to the recent run of poo, but the cluster* of everything going wrong at once (Lobbe no support, Trengove and Carlile down, no tall forward being played, injured players picked) has stripped away the 'but we're winning, so let's all ignore the problems' being put forward by some. By and large we can't do anything about them until post-season, but it doesn't make it any less painful to watch.
