Econopower
Team Captain
- Aug 15, 2020
- 367
- 955
- AFL Club
- Port Adelaide
What a great game to watch, with the five areas of significant improvement this year compared to previous years on full display.
First, we can stand up under more pressure than in the past. The Bulldogs came hard early in the last, before we absorbed it and counterpunched. I don’t think that happens any other year under Hinkley, even when we finished top in 2020.
Second, we are more courageous and take on more risks. I love how we are prepared to use the corridor, to open the game up and provide a much more direct route goal. There was a play when Marshall kicked around his body into the centre square, which was very risky but it led directly to a score.
Of course to execute such a strategy you need the players to pull it off, so the third area of improvement is skill. We all know what a great kick Houston is but with Farrell in the team, and now Williams (a real revelation), as well as Bergman and Burton, we have a surfeit of players with excellent kicking skills coming out of the backlines.
Fourth is star power. Rozee really broke out last year, and Butters had some really strong patches in previous seasons, but watching Butters go to the next level has been unbelievable.
Everyone has highlighted the passage that started with the Drew smother, and JHF goal, but there were so many others where he showed an outrageous combination of skill, tenacity and foresight.
To win a premiership you must have at least two top 10 players in the comp in their respective positions, and probably another two in the top-20, with plenty of depth. I feel like we have that now, even though I don’t think this will be our year.
Finally, there is emotion. We can argue till the cows come home about the relative contributions of Hinkley and Carr. But the move to the bench has liberated Hinkley somewhat to use his best qualities, motivation and mentoring.
Rozee in his post-match interview said that it much more enjoyable to come to the club each day this year because Hinkley is less wound up. We shouldn’t be surprised that is rubbing off on the players.
First, we can stand up under more pressure than in the past. The Bulldogs came hard early in the last, before we absorbed it and counterpunched. I don’t think that happens any other year under Hinkley, even when we finished top in 2020.
Second, we are more courageous and take on more risks. I love how we are prepared to use the corridor, to open the game up and provide a much more direct route goal. There was a play when Marshall kicked around his body into the centre square, which was very risky but it led directly to a score.
Of course to execute such a strategy you need the players to pull it off, so the third area of improvement is skill. We all know what a great kick Houston is but with Farrell in the team, and now Williams (a real revelation), as well as Bergman and Burton, we have a surfeit of players with excellent kicking skills coming out of the backlines.
Fourth is star power. Rozee really broke out last year, and Butters had some really strong patches in previous seasons, but watching Butters go to the next level has been unbelievable.
Everyone has highlighted the passage that started with the Drew smother, and JHF goal, but there were so many others where he showed an outrageous combination of skill, tenacity and foresight.
To win a premiership you must have at least two top 10 players in the comp in their respective positions, and probably another two in the top-20, with plenty of depth. I feel like we have that now, even though I don’t think this will be our year.
Finally, there is emotion. We can argue till the cows come home about the relative contributions of Hinkley and Carr. But the move to the bench has liberated Hinkley somewhat to use his best qualities, motivation and mentoring.
Rozee in his post-match interview said that it much more enjoyable to come to the club each day this year because Hinkley is less wound up. We shouldn’t be surprised that is rubbing off on the players.
