Getting Good Hands on it - but not Holding the Mark

[Lavender Bushranger]

Watching Charlie Dixon

22

Charlie Dixon

Age

33

Ht

200cm

Wt

110kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

11.7

3star

K

6.9

3star

HB

4.7

3star

M

4.0

4star

T

2.2

4star

G

1.6

5star

D

10.5

3star

K

7.0

3star

HB

3.5

2star

M

5.0

5star

T

1.5

2star

G

2.5

5star

D

8.2

2star

K

4.4

2star

HB

3.8

3star

M

2.0

3star

T

1.8

4star

G

0.8

4star

tonight, and the commentators made reference it being an 'almost night' for him.

It was in relation to him getting his hands to plenty of marks, but not quite being able to hold them.

Now I bet Port fans will agree with me here, because they watch him closely - but Dixon does this every week.

For a guy with such massive hands, he so regularly drops relatively easy marks that he gets good purchase on.

It's not out of character for him.


But...he's not on his own. I see Max King

12

Max King

Age

23

Ht

202cm

Wt

100kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

7.3

2star

K

4.7

2star

HB

2.6

2star

M

2.7

3star

T

0.7

3star

G

1.4

5star

D

7.3

2star

K

4.7

2star

HB

2.6

2star

M

2.7

3star

T

0.7

1star

G

1.4

5star

D

8.0

2star

K

5.2

2star

HB

2.8

3star

M

2.8

3star

T

0.6

3star

G

1.4

5star

do the same. He gets his hands on so many marks, and seemingly gets great purchase - but just doesn't quite stick them.

Let's break down a marking situation into a few phases..

(1) There's the initial body and contest positioning
(2) There's the 'clunking' it in the sweet spot of your hands
(3) There's the completion of the control of the mark
(4) Then there's the landing

I'd argue that the first two are a combination of muscle memory and adrenaline. That stuff instinctively happens and you don't really get a chance to think about it.

But to those out there that played footy, they'll know that there's that split second between when you clunk it, and then you kind of snap back into consciousness and realise that you clunked it - and then in a micro second have to compose yourself and maintain control of the ball. This is where plenty of us spill the mark. The brain kicks in and stuffs it up.

If you're in mid air, this becomes even more difficult - because you need to land. Plenty of guys instinctively go into self-preservation mode and protect themselves from the landing, at the expense of maintaining control of the ball.

It's this micro second that I think guys like Dixon and King don't have under control. I think it's a weakness they have.

Why? I don't know.

The Jeremy Howe

38

Jeremy Howe

Age

33

Ht

190cm

Wt

86kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

17.0

4star

K

11.2

4star

HB

5.7

4star

M

6.4

5star

T

2.1

4star

MG

318.1

4star

D

21.5

5star

K

16.5

5star

HB

5.0

3star

M

6.5

5star

T

2.0

3star

MG

433.3

5star

D

15.2

4star

K

9.0

4star

HB

6.2

4star

M

6.8

5star

T

1.6

4star

's of the world don't suffer from this. The maintaining control of the ball and the landing part is instinctive to him, and some others. That's what makes them such unique and gifted aerilists


I guess the question is, is this a technique thing? Can it be coached?

Or is it just an instinctive skill that either have, or you don't?


What I would say is, if it can be coached - you could turn a Dixon and a King into something extraordinary.

 

[jackenny]

It is like good kicking: you can train and improve marginally when you’re older, but nowhere near as rapidly as when you’re younger.

I know people who are brilliant chest marks, but absolutely mediocre when trying to mark overhead. I know people who are exactly the opposite. Personally, I feel more assured and comfortable marking overhead. No trouble with cement hands. But I hate marking on my chest, and feel like it’s going to bounce off my chest and out of my arms. Feels more awkward.

Trying to turn Timmy O’Briens into Levi Casboults is downright impossible, imo. You only end up with a giant tease. The AFL has an obsession with potential, but it really shouldn’t be about grabbing a physical monster with crap skills and trying to make them have good skills - your best case scenario is a Connor Nash where they’re not all that more skilful, they’re just utilised in a way that doesn’t require great kicking or great marking. They’re better utilised based on what they can do, not what you wish they were able to do.

You’re better off grabbing a player with great skills and the potential to make them an athlete. That’s why Sean Darcy

4

Sean Darcy

Age

25

Ht

203cm

Wt

111kg

Pos.

Ruck

Career

Season

Last 5

D

10.1

3star

K

3.4

1star

HB

6.6

4star

CL

2.4

4star

HO

28.8

5star

D

6.8

1star

K

2.0

1star

HB

4.8

3star

CL

1.8

4star

HO

20.3

5star

D

11.4

3star

K

4.6

2star

HB

6.8

5star

CL

2.6

5star

HO

32.0

5star

was such a good pick-up; beautiful tap ruckman simply needed a professional environment to trim down and get fitter.

 

[LeoMessi]

Agreed. Very competitive and brings a lot of physicality for us. But he needs to clunk those marks more often

 

[The Hobo]

There's long been a theory amongst Port fans that he has vision problems (wears contacts) and struggles to mark the ball in night games.

I've seen him have days where he absolutely clunks everything, and games like tonight.

More often than not, his clunking games are during the day, and vice versa.

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

It is like good kicking: you can train and improve marginally when you’re older, but nowhere near as rapidly as when you’re younger.

I know people who are brilliant chest marks, but absolutely mediocre when trying to mark overhead. I know people who are exactly the opposite. Personally, I feel more assured and comfortable marking overhead. No trouble with cement hands. But I hate marking on my chest, and feel like it’s going to bounce off my chest and out of my arms. Feels more awkward.

Trying to turn Timmy O’Briens into Levi Casboults is downright impossible, imo. You only end up with a giant tease. The AFL has an obsession with potential, but it really shouldn’t be about grabbing a physical monster with crap skills and trying to make them have good skills - your best case scenario is a Connor Nash where they’re not all that more skilful, they’re just utilised in a way that doesn’t require great kicking or great marking. They’re better utilised based on what they can do, not what you wish they were able to do.

You’re better off grabbing a player with great skills and the potential to make them an athlete. That’s why Sean Darcy was such a good pick-up; beautiful tap ruckman simply needed a professional environment to trim down and get fitter.

Well maybe you're right.

Maybe that ability to finish off the mark once you've got good purchase on it, maybe that is what separates good marks from poor marks.

The thing is though, that it seems to be a concentration thing. You almost see Dixon and King momentarily lose their focus once they get their hands on it, and it's in that split second that they fumble it, and don't complete the mark.

There has to be a way to coach that out of them.

 

[SC_Power]

What contributes to people noticing Dixon not clunking marks is how central he is to Port Adelaide’s forward entries.
For all the marks that he ”almost” gets, he’s still been top 3 in the competition for contested marks in 5 of the last 7 years, including this year.
Such a high percentage of our forward 50s over that time are directed to him, he must have a fair tank to leading and presenting so often.


(Midfielders might get to take home Charlie every year, but it seems for contested marks you have to be Charlie, with Curnow, Ballard and Dixon the top 3 in that category)

 

[Rotayjay]

There's long been a theory amongst Port fans that he has vision problems (wears contacts) and struggles to mark the ball in night games.

I've seen him have days where he absolutely clunks everything, and games like tonight.

More often than not, his clunking games are during the day, and vice versa.

Are contacts a problem or a danger when playing footy? Could they get broken or pushed into your eye flesh? Mason Cox wears sports glasses instead, the only player I see wearing them in the AFL.

 

[The hands of stone]

Tim 'almost' Obrien was/is the best at this .

 

[Truckosaurus]

Bailey Williams (West Coast version) gets two hands cleanly to the ball only for it to sail through them completely unimpeded so often that I assume his thumbs are retractable.

 

[Lavender Bushranger]

Bailey Williams (West Coast version) gets two hands cleanly to the ball only for it to sail through them completely unimpeded so often that I assume his thumbs are retractable.

I think the difference between him and Dixon and King, is that the latter two get clean purchase on the ball, and actually almost complete the mark - but at the last split second they let it go.

 

[The Hobo]

Are contacts a problem or a danger when playing footy? Could they get broken or pushed into your eye flesh? Mason Cox wears sports glasses instead, the only player I see wearing them in the AFL.

They're pretty flexible. I know a number of other players wear them as well, so I don't believe it's a major issue.

 

[Beer n Skittles]

Wonder if it relates to how much the umpires are letting arm chopping go this year. Chop someone else's arms and they won't get good hands on it in the first place, but Dixon is strong enough to keep his arms up and just ends up fumbling it.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

Tim 'almost' Obrien was/is the best at this .

He has Donald Trump hands though, Dixon has rubbish bin hands

 

[Purple Suit]

Jackson has been doing this a bit, as well as every Freo forward in the first 5 weeks of the season.

The one thing I'll say is that key forwards do have an opponent who spends the whole game stuffing up their run and putting them off balance once they fly. Intercept backmen like Howe don't have the same issue so it is a lot easier to hold them.

 

[My Tilly]

There's long been a theory amongst Port fans that he has vision problems (wears contacts) and struggles to mark the ball in night games.

Perhaps on grand final day in the glistening sunshine at the MCG, that will not be a problem.

 

[Aussie_boy]

I'd be almost certain it's a psychological thing, footballers of all abilities experience similar things. Would not drop a mark in training and all of a sudden they drop sitters when there are opponents around. Similar to goalkicking I guess.

 

[apollo_creed]

Ablett against Collingwood in the mid 90's would've been one of the greatest marks of all time if he marked it. As it eventuated, he had the ball in his hands for less time than someone spoiling would so not sure whether that qualifies for 'getting good hands on it' and worthiness in this thread.