I am thinking the club has been sneaking in a cunning little drafting strategy, and I like it.
This years draft haul includes four players who all have decent disposal of both feet, and Valente from last year was the same. With some of those players it is actually difficult to tell which is the preferred foot.
Skills have been identified as an area we need to improve, and a lot of discussion has been about doing that at training. I am more inclined to think you draft for skills, and training is more the arena where they are honed and strategised.
YOUNG; Duel sidedness is a major part of what is going to make Young a fantastic player for us. Added to his decision making and disposal efficiency being able to kick off either foot has a multiplier effect off the hbf. The dangerous areas of the ground that he can get the ball into and the number of player options he will have as targets are going to be a dramatic advantage to us. One of the draft profiles talks about how dangerous he is with the 45 degree kicks, and when you have that left or right it is a big deal.
SERONG and VALENTE; As clearance mids these guys are always under pressure with their disposals, and being able to get a kick off with either foot gives them a one-step advantage in the phone-box that they operate in. As with Young, it also opens up the ground forward of the ball, and forwards will love that, and defenders will hate it. From the highlights Frederick looks useful off both feet as well.
HENRY; He has been one of our most anticipated recruits for a reason, and that reason is skill. He has dancing feet and brain that works just as quickly. His left and right boots are going to become things of legend at our club.
As a little side thought, I wonder how the left-handedness of Darcy may play into it. I do think it gives him some small advantage in the ruck work, and if the players he is tapping down to have less predictability about where they will position themselves to receive the taps, perhaps something can be developed to create an edge.
Is this a mere co-incidence, or is it a similar strategy to when the club developed our super-sized midfield of Mundy, Fyfe, Barlow and Crowley, but this time a strategy with an edge in duel sided kicking?
This years draft haul includes four players who all have decent disposal of both feet, and Valente from last year was the same. With some of those players it is actually difficult to tell which is the preferred foot.
Skills have been identified as an area we need to improve, and a lot of discussion has been about doing that at training. I am more inclined to think you draft for skills, and training is more the arena where they are honed and strategised.
YOUNG; Duel sidedness is a major part of what is going to make Young a fantastic player for us. Added to his decision making and disposal efficiency being able to kick off either foot has a multiplier effect off the hbf. The dangerous areas of the ground that he can get the ball into and the number of player options he will have as targets are going to be a dramatic advantage to us. One of the draft profiles talks about how dangerous he is with the 45 degree kicks, and when you have that left or right it is a big deal.
SERONG and VALENTE; As clearance mids these guys are always under pressure with their disposals, and being able to get a kick off with either foot gives them a one-step advantage in the phone-box that they operate in. As with Young, it also opens up the ground forward of the ball, and forwards will love that, and defenders will hate it. From the highlights Frederick looks useful off both feet as well.
HENRY; He has been one of our most anticipated recruits for a reason, and that reason is skill. He has dancing feet and brain that works just as quickly. His left and right boots are going to become things of legend at our club.
As a little side thought, I wonder how the left-handedness of Darcy may play into it. I do think it gives him some small advantage in the ruck work, and if the players he is tapping down to have less predictability about where they will position themselves to receive the taps, perhaps something can be developed to create an edge.
Is this a mere co-incidence, or is it a similar strategy to when the club developed our super-sized midfield of Mundy, Fyfe, Barlow and Crowley, but this time a strategy with an edge in duel sided kicking?