Watching Charlie Dixon
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
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
'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.
PLAYERCARDSTART
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
PLAYERCARDEND
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
PLAYERCARDSTART
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
PLAYERCARDEND
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
PLAYERCARDSTART
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
PLAYERCARDEND
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.