Dal Defensively..

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Big Ted

Big Ted

Club Legend
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Jun 2, 2004
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Canberra. Do'h !
AFL Club
St Kilda
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Canberra Cannons and Seattle Sonics
Guys,

Thought I would ask this, seeing as I live in Canberra and dont get to see what is always going on ..

Nic Dal Santo was good tonight. Got a lot of easy possies and used them well.

BUT

Something that just struck me tonight everytime I watched him, and I was wondering if others had noticed it as well, watching him live and being able to keep an eye on him more closely.

He never seems to pick up a man defensively. If he does, he goes about it half arsed, lies off his opponent, doesnt really make them accountable .I dont see him in the mix, making tackles, smothers etc. I dont see him working hard enough in close like Baker, Hayes and Ball do. A couple of times tonight I saw hm just slide of his man across the mid field and slow down to a jog .

Is it just me that see's this.

I think we all have high hopes for him, he is just stuck behind the superstars of the competition. It hurts me to say though, but he is working hard enough at BOTH SIDES of game to make him an elite player.
 

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panthers said:
Dal is a player who creates...he is the hunted...other clubs have to worry about him
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Last year he was the only top 20 possession-getter who conceded more possesssions to his opponent then what he got himself. He probably hurt the opposition more than his opponents hurt us, but it is still a huge flaw in his game.
 
panthers said:
Dal is a player who creates...he is the hunted...other clubs have to worry about him
Click to expand...

thats utter BS in my books. .

In todays football (and especially the way that Ross Lyon coaches) you have to be totally accountable, 100% of the time. Dal is yet to prove this.
 
Even at the game you generally follow the play so it's hard to get a picture of how hard he works off the ball.

It would be interesting to know how much ground he covers over the course of the game.

One thing you do notice live is just the extraordinary amount of territory that Robert Harvey covers. He'd find a teammate with a short pass then run 50-60 metres down the ground to provide an option and get the ball back. His opponent would follow him but just not keep up. His capacity to burn off opponents nearly half his age is astounding. He never shirks his defensive responsibilities though and if he wasn't manning up he was filling the hole and helping out Gwilt. Dal has no better person to learn from.

I do think you were a little harsh on his performance last night though. There was far more to his game than getting easy possessions and using the ball well. He got himself into the right positions at the stoppages, generally at the back of the pack, and when the ball came to him he hit a target. I don't think it's something that should be glossed over. It does help when Ball is going in and winning the hard ball. Something we've missed from him this year due to unfortunate circumstances.
 
Big Ted said:
Guys,

Thought I would ask this, seeing as I live in Canberra and dont get to see what is always going on ..

Nic Dal Santo was good tonight. Got a lot of easy possies and used them well.

BUT

Something that just struck me tonight everytime I watched him, and I was wondering if others had noticed it as well, watching him live and being able to keep an eye on him more closely.

He never seems to pick up a man defensively. If he does, he goes about it half arsed, lies off his opponent, doesnt really make them accountable .I dont see him in the mix, making tackles, smothers etc. I dont see him working hard enough in close like Baker, Hayes and Ball do. A couple of times tonight I saw hm just slide of his man across the mid field and slow down to a jog .

Is it just me that see's this.

I think we all have high hopes for him, he is just stuck behind the superstars of the competition. It hurts me to say though, but he is working hard enough at BOTH SIDES of game to make him an elite player.
Click to expand...

i believe that he was better at being accountable this week. against essendon he was very poor.
 
He doesnt chase and or try to cover options, I notice this every week on TV.

When there is a turnover or the other team has the ball he will just stand and jog to a spot. Its disappointing...

I understand his role is to create and be our offensive weapon and distributor but its a liability when you playing 17 on 18 going the other way. (without factoring in Gehrig's lack of effort in the forward line)
 
Imagine Gehrig running down a defender, then kicks a goal from the free kick. I reckon that effort would spur the whole team over the line. Dal has to lift his defensive pressure to become an elite midfielder. Whats he like overhead? He could be tried as an O'keefe type half forward that just roams but also kicks a few goals.
 
The Cashier said:
Imagine Gehrig running down a defender, then kicks a goal from the free kick. I reckon that effort would spur the whole team over the line. Dal has to lift his defensive pressure to become an elite midfielder. Whats he like overhead? He could be tried as an O'keefe type half forward that just roams but also kicks a few goals.
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Yeah I cant put my finger on where he belongs. He is a creative player, not a particularly hard body... so traditionally you'd say a wing... but they are more the guys that will work up and back, he is more a roamer as you suggest.

I guess his creativity and ability to find space would suggest he does play in the middle... and then perhaps spells on the HF flank and pushes up... If you put him at HB you could suggest he is a liability.

This comes back to a thread I coped a lot of flack over... we have that style of player but I still think we need a hard body who also has some skill to draw attention away from the Dal Santo's (I said Sam Mitchell, by that I meant the mould of him or a Jason Johnson, etc..- we had a chance there to get him too?). Ball isnt the biggest bloke, nor his Hayes, and Hayes again is best when he is playing the more open Dal Santo game, rather than the in and under - which is why he is getting injured. I really think its a key piece - I'd suggest Jason Johnson was a big miss if we did have a genuine opportunity to get him.

I find Dal Santo to be extremely good overhead... but he generally wont contest, he is one of those guys that uses his agility and creativity to win some of the contested balls.

Agree?
 
He's too good not to be played in the middle for the vast majority of the game. His poise in traffic, creativity and ability to keep the ball moving forward to the right targets accurately is better than most elite midfielders. He would be wasted elsewhere.

I agree that he needs to lift his defensive effort. Most notably, the responsibility he takes immediately after we turn the ball over and running hard to pick up a man.
 

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Big Member said:
He's too good not to be played in the middle for the vast majority of the game. His poise in traffic, creativity and ability to keep the ball moving forward to the right targets accurately is better than most elite midfielders. He would be wasted elsewhere.

I agree that he needs to lift his defensive effort. Most notably, the responsibility he takes immediately after we turn the ball over and running hard to pick up a man.
Click to expand...

Maybe we should just fax/email this to him? :D
 
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