Our run and our leg speed

[54_08]

in another thread it was mentioned that we are becoming increasingly slower and that is something that is starting to really concern me. It seems like ages since we saw that blistering run where we move the ball down the ground in the blink of an eye. I would not describe us as a fast side any more, and I really wonder how this change has happened. In 06-07 we were free flowing but lightly built, last year we seemed to have speed but also able to contest. This year we often seem slow, and it surprises me. What's happened?

Guys like Griff and Cooney get caught a lot more regularly. There are also games we have lost despite more forward entries and I wonder if this is linked - our forward entries sometimes seem laborious these days. Wonder what others think about where our leg speed has gone, and why? have we muscled up at the expense of speed?

We seem to handball a lot more too, and into trouble, whereas our ability to kick long and accurately was a strength. Geelong always had an amazing amount of handballs in their fantastic era and it seems everyone always follows the premier, but I often feel we have one or two too many these days, they often seem to be backwards or at least not to advantage. It slows down movement into the forward line, something we can't afford with our short forwards.

What do others think? I guess I am just saying the game plan seems to have undergone some revision. Is that just that we aren't playing it as well, or has there been a conscious decision by Eade for us to play differently?

 

[The Boy From Brasil]

I think our ability to move the ball quickly is still there and we are a decent running side.

With leg speed, we are probably in the middle of the pack as far as that goes. We are not the slowest side in the league but we are not the quickest either. Somewhere in between.

Our forward structure shambles is first priority to fix, but IMO second in line would be to add a bit more dash, class and quickness to our midfield. An extra quick and classy midfielder would do it IMO.

 

[Libba39]

I used to chuckle as I listened to everyone talking about how quick the dogs were. The fact is that we have never really been that quick, it was just the play-on at all costs and precision kicking gameplan that made us look a lot quicker than we were.

There is no doubt that we have some genuine speedsters in Cooney & Griffen, as well as a couple like Gilbee and Murphy who create a lot of time and space for themselves. We also have Lake and Morris in defence who have good burst speed over 20-30 metres. Cross and Hudson would be classed among the slower players in the league (this is not a criticism, just a fact).

Where we fall down I believe is our forward line. Apart from Aker & Higgins I don't think we have any forwards with that explosive ability off the mark to beat the best defenders on the lead:

Hahn - medium to slow contested ball player
Minson - medium to slow resting ruck
Johnson - medium to fast but best years are behind him
Hill - medium-fast but yet to develop any explosive speed
Gia - medium - most goals come from clever reading of play
Murphy - fast but relies on creating space rather than pure burst speed

Looking at this I don't think it's a coincidence that when playing teams with quick and versatile backmen such as Collingwood (Maxwell, Shaw, Obrien etc) or StKilda (Fisher, Hudghton, Gram, Gilbert) we tend to struggle. As such when our midfield fails to fire and the delivery is not pinpoint we tend to fall in a heap.

Have we slowed down significantly? It appears that our training under the new fitness coach has focused on endurance so I guess this is always going to be done at the sacrifice of some speed. We've definitely added some bulk over the past two seasons but in my opinion there is nobody at the dogs who appears to be too top-heavy. I think the main factor in our apparent slowing down is not us, but that the other teams have picked up the pace. Think of Brisbane under Mathews compared to Brisbane under Voss and the speed at which Essendon goes at it (albeit for only 2 & a half quarters).

 

[grassman75]

I think we definately over use the footy when going forward - that seems to be because all our forwards are in the backline when we win the footy and we have to stop and prop and wait for an option - can't we just leave someone inside our F50??? - if they don't get manned up, then we have a very easy shot on goal once we get a fast break.

I though I understood footy, but watching us flood all the time and having no one to kick to drives me to insanity

 

[gomski]

in another thread it was mentioned that we are becoming increasingly slower and that is something that is starting to really concern me. It seems like ages since we saw that blistering run where we move the ball down the ground in the blink of an eye. I would not describe us as a fast side any more, and I really wonder how this change has happened. In 06-07 we were free flowing but lightly built, last year we seemed to have speed but also able to contest. This year we often seem slow, and it surprises me. What's happened?

Guys like Griff and Cooney get caught a lot more regularly. There are also games we have lost despite more forward entries and I wonder if this is linked - our forward entries sometimes seem laborious these days. Wonder what others think about where our leg speed has gone, and why? have we muscled up at the expense of speed?

We seem to handball a lot more too, and into trouble, whereas our ability to kick long and accurately was a strength. Geelong always had an amazing amount of handballs in their fantastic era and it seems everyone always follows the premier, but I often feel we have one or two too many these days, they often seem to be backwards or at least not to advantage. It slows down movement into the forward line, something we can't afford with our short forwards.

What do others think? I guess I am just saying the game plan seems to have undergone some revision. Is that just that we aren't playing it as well, or has there been a conscious decision by Eade for us to play differently?

We aren't as quick as we were but that isn't a bad thing. Just look at Essendon they are very quick but when they cant play their style they cant win, thats what we were like a few years ago. Its easy to negate that type of game plan so we had to develope other styles. I think you will see essendon getting slower over the next few years so they can develop other styles otherwise they will go backwards.

The way the zone is played these days the only way through it is to handball your way through it or precision kicking which we do both.

 

[The Original Swooper]

I am agreeing again, (must be the good night's sleep!..), with the opinion that we are not as fast as the media etc. portrayed us, rather, our precise ball movement made us appear slick. We all know what happens when that "slickness" is put under pressure, and the skills deteriorate, we get murdered on rebounds.

Genuine speed belongs to Harbrow & Cooney, but most of our other mids/runners are just the ordinary everyday garden variety speedsters.

Essendon would be the fastest team in the comp, but are yet to develop sufficient skill to utilise it over 120 minutes. If they can, watch out, they will be hard to beat on wide grounds!

hooroo.....

 

[The Boy From Brasil]

IMO we really need a quick midfielder who can use the ball well, in this years draft.

Looking at the game last night made me realise that while we have many good players that will be in our midfield mix in the future, there is not much quickness there. Boyd and Cross are both fantastic players but they are not quick. It suprised me being at the game and seeing the players up close how slow Callan Ward is. He doesn't have the speed that I thought he had. Sam Reid is going to be a great player but he is not quick either.

They are all good players but IMO we need another quick player to complement them, going forward. Everyone always bags Eagleton each week, but that is why he is getting a game each week. Because he offers that outside type player role that we seem to lack. Our inside players are fantastic, it is the run and carry players who can put the afterburners on who we seem to lack.

Honestly, at the moment I don't really think it is a problem. The way we use the ball and our precise skills means that it doesn't hurt us. So I am not really worried about, well not as worried as I am about tall forwards. But going forward I think it is one area that we could look at bolstering.

 

[comrade]

IMO we really need a quick midfielder who can use the ball well, in this years draft.

I concur.

Some one like Jesse Crichton, who has pace to burn, will be available around our pick (12-16).

 

[farlacious]

IMO we really need a quick midfielder who can use the ball well, in this years draft.

Looking at the game last night made me realise that while we have many good players that will be in our midfield mix in the future, there is not much quickness there. Boyd and Cross are both fantastic players but they are not quick. It suprised me being at the game and seeing the players up close how slow Callan Ward is. He doesn't have the speed that I thought he had. Sam Reid is going to be a great player but he is not quick either.

They are all good players but IMO we need another quick player to complement them, going forward. Everyone always bags Eagleton each week, but that is why he is getting a game each week. Because he offers that outside type player role that we seem to lack. Our inside players are fantastic, it is the run and carry players who can put the afterburners on who we seem to lack.

Honestly, at the moment I don't really think it is a problem. The way we use the ball and our precise skills means that it doesn't hurt us. So I am not really worried about, well not as worried as I am about tall forwards. But going forward I think it is one area that we could look at bolstering.

Ward reminds me alot of Selwood of the Joel variety. Good skills, and always puts his head over the ball, no matter what. They have decent speed, but are no speed-merchants. Sam Reid has more pace, but his skills aren't as good. Easton Wood is the one. Good leap, excellent pace, just needs to work on his disposal a bit, and he'll be a beauty.

A second or third round pick spent on a speed engine in this draft would be far from a bad choice.