The 'leg speed' question.

[Cleric]

Last year everyone was saying we were too slow and needed to increase our pace through the draft and trading.
Last year we lost Danger who is up there as one of the fastest in the game.
We replaced Danger with Seedsman who has some toe. So we lost one but gained one.
There has been no net increase in pace in our team.
Yet now we have this perception of being fast.
Its all about how fast you move the ball, not how fast people can run over 20 meters.

 

[Elite Crow]

You forgot McGovern and we didn't benefit from Danger's pace because he rarely used it being in close at every contest.

The side has definitely quicker this year than we have ever been, we've achieved this over last 3-4 years.

Smith
Seeds
McGovern
Laird
Brown
Charlie
Betts
Knight
DMack are all reasonably quick.

But our gameplan now uses it to our advantage

 

[Cleric]

The only one that wasnt already on our list was the Seed. Laird aint quick as we saw on the weekend with Poppy burning him off.

Its about the gameplan and the way you move the ball. That gives the impression of speed.

 

[Bonkers000]

Footy smarts helps too. People talk about how quickly we spread. If you can read the play and start moving early, it can give on lookers a perception that were quicker than we actually are.

 

[hey shorty]

We are using the pace we have to greater effect IMO. Seedsman and Smith are being used in predominant roles, and McGovern has added pace in the front half.

It's not as if teams are outrunning us either. I've never seen it as a huge issue, but its less of one now we have a couple of extra players who can use the pill

 

[lunacy]

We have a quicker list for sure, but yes the side on the weekend was only slightly quicker.
We had McGovern & Seed playing and they play in roles outside of the stoppage congestion.
As a list we've added Seedsman, Hampton, Menzel, Milera who all have either above average or elite pace. But only Seedsman was playing on the weekend.
Gore is also above average pace over his first 10m.

 

[Slippery Pete]

People always turn the leg speed debate into a black and white argument, like gay marriage. You either have to think it's the greatest thing ever or the worst thing ever.

Well it's neither.

Leg speed is an another attribute to add to a team, like kicking, like fitness, like footy IQ. You can lose with it, and you can win without it. Simple as that.

 

[RunBurgundy]

Footy smarts helps too. People talk about how quickly we spread. If you can read the play and start moving early, it can give on lookers a perception that were quicker than we actually are.

This is exactly it. Ball speed is king.

 

[Pilchard_Adams]

Its the slower players who arent getting a game now... Namely VB and Wright

 

[adelaidecrows]

Last year everyone was saying we were too slow and needed to increase our pace through the draft and trading.
Last year we lost Danger who is up there as one of the fastest in the game.
We replaced Danger with Seedsman who has some toe. So we lost one but gained one.
There has been no net increase in pace in our team.
Yet now we have this perception of being fast.
Its all about how fast you move the ball, not how fast people can run over 20 meters.

The problem with slow ball movement is it can make players flat footed and then appear slow. I hear commentators assuming we are running harder in this high intensity football game style when that's not the reality at all. We are playing this high paced ball movement where we simply are just taking the game on and opening teams up. However you talk about an increase in speed and I do think we have it. The bringing in of Seedsman has has freed up Brodie Smith more as opposition teams can't shut both down which means while there was no net increase we have shifted the balance the team balance to bring what pace we have to the fore with the right game plan.

 

[Simmo28]

Last year everyone was saying we were too slow and needed to increase our pace through the draft and trading.
Last year we lost Danger who is up there as one of the fastest in the game.
We replaced Danger with Seedsman who has some toe. So we lost one but gained one.
There has been no net increase in pace in our team.
Yet now we have this perception of being fast.
Its all about how fast you move the ball, not how fast people can run over 20 meters.

The ball by foot will always move quicker than a player on foot.

 

[Carmo]

some of us have said it was substantially gameplan for a long time. we did inject a tiny bit of speed, rat also adds a bit, more to come as well, knight and possibly hampton to come in eventually. Also the rotation cap slowed things down making us seem faster even tho we're not. having numbers forward of the play, having people less sucked to the contest, kicking more have all helped. we anticipate with things a lot more now, handpassing sort of in hope to where a running player will be. we also play on quicker after a mark. we play on more than ever. All those things keep the game open and allow speed of movement.

that said, I wouldn't call hawks quick, so this weekend gone was not a good reflection.

jeez melb is quick!

 

[Thylacinus]

You forgot McGovern and we didn't benefit from Danger's pace because he rarely used it being in close at every contest.

The side has definitely quicker this year than we have ever been, we've achieved this over last 3-4 years.

Smith
Seeds
McGovern
Laird
Brown
Charlie
Betts
Knight
DMack are all reasonably quick.

But our gameplan now uses it to our advantage

Add JJ. Hartigan isn't too bad for a big man either, and Lynch and Sloane add plenty of run.

 

[jenny61_99]

People always turn the leg speed debate into a black and white argument, like gay marriage. You either have to think it's the greatest thing ever or the worst thing ever.

Well it's neither.

Leg speed is an another attribute to add to a team, like kicking, like fitness, like footy IQ. You can lose with it, and you can win without it. Simple as that.

Why would you use gay marriage as an example?

 

[Coopers]

Even the slower players make up for it with work rate - Thommo, Sloane, Lynch, Walker, etc.

If you're average speed or worse, you have to have another weapon.

 

[Geoffa32]

The ball will always travel quicker with a long kick or chain of attacking handballs than run and carry. That is the change.

Leg speed is more important IMO in one on one contest running for the ball. We saw Cheney (who is not slow for his size) exposed against Poppy in this area. Do the work up the ground to limit this type of exposure and you don't need as many gazelles.

 

[Slippery Pete]

Why would you use gay marriage as an example?

To get under your skin.

 

[jenny61_99]

To get under your skin.

Oh, how very grown up of you!

 

[BunjiMac]

We have definitely improved our outside run with the addition of seedsman and milera.

This is more about the positions they play and not simply about speed.

Both operate in areas where the ability to find room and utilise pace is critical to the attacking flow of the game.

In addition to this, by adding these two players there's a knock on effect whereby your team becomes incrementally faster due to matchups. IE the opposition are forced to rethink their defensive strategy to ensure they match their quick defenders appropriately. Having Smith, seedsman and milera in the side in hbf/wing roles has most definitely made us a quicker side.

Danger is very quick yes, but he played predominantly played as an inside midfielder and wasn't often involved in a fast break situation. As the opposition you probably worry about his ball winning ability rather than his speed and you'd rely on the congestion around the ball to close down danger should he try to break away.

With our current set up, we have a fast break that is potentially lethal which creates perceived pressure on its own. Combine this perceived pressure with the movement of the ball and the actual pace of our players and yes we have become a significantly faster team.

The impact of this speed can also be seen in our transition defence.

 

[LC40]

Why would you use gay marriage as an example?

Quick ball movement!......Joke Jenny!

 

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

Footy smarts helps too. People talk about how quickly we spread. If you can read the play and start moving early, it can give on lookers a perception that were quicker than we actually are.

Yep, this can make a huge difference. I play lacrosse. In lacrosse there is a lot of transition from defence to attack (and vice versa) after a shot is saved.

I am far from the quickest player going around (in fact, I'd probably be one of the slowest in the team), yet the best part of my game is getting loose man breaks into attack (think of it like the Crows getting out the back and scoring). This is because as soon as I see a shot go down, I turn and run towards the middle of the ground as fast as possible.

Reacting and running a second or two before everyone else gets me a 5-10 metre break, which is often all you need. It's something that can easily be taught to players (which I found frustrating as my team mates didn't seem to "get it"), along with running patterns (such as running to particular spots, so your team mates can instinctively kick it to spots on the ground and know there will be a player there).