The Old Dark Navy's
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I'd really like to flesh out the pros and cons of our side and our premiership readiness, and am hoping to hear what others have to say on this specific aim.
What are you bullish about, and what are you scared of with this aim in mind?
These are some of my thoughts.
1. Injuries/high performance. There, it's out there. It will happen to many teams. Some can overcome, some can't. It's an unknown so I don't want to speculate on it anymore. It is neither a pro or a con at this stage, with maybe a slight shadow still hanging over the club until we show otherwise.
2. Team unity/motivation. We seem like an incredibly united team so that is a huge positive. We have had form lapses during each of the past few seasons, end of 22, mid 23 and end of 24. Having to go down to the Curnow property to bond is not something we should be relying on. We need to unlock how to fight through those gruelling months and grind out those wins. What happens between the ears is a huge worry for me, because we have yet to prove we can overcome these lapses.
3. Game Plan. Once a huge con for me, it is now a pro. Voss has shown he can be flexible and will try things. Hollands and Silvagni to defence, Kemp and Williams up forward, Docherty midfield. These are all things that have happened or are happening under Voss. This shows that he has decided on how he wants us to play, and is prepared to change the side around to fit the plan. It has been a long while since we have had the luxury to have the players to fit into the game plan, rather than having to come up with a game plan to fit the limitations of the list. Yeah, we are a contest side. We also intend to intercept and rebound, and have a mixture of marking players and ground ball players. If we can somehow be the team that can create mismatches for our opposition to deal with, as opposed to always being the team that gets exposed by mismatches, we are well on our way. We have the players, we just need the tactics to make it happen. Imagine us being able to clear out our 50 and leave Charlie or Harry one on one.
4. Team. Do we have the players to win a premiership? We have the elite talent to win a flag, but do we have all the ingredients? Midfield pace, a strong 2nd key defender, and pace at ground level up forward, were our big issues last season. Pundits say we addressed the defensive need with Haynes. I disagree. He will be an asset to our defence for sure, but a key defender he is not. Nor is McGovern. I am encouraged by Silvagni's recent training form down there. For a guy who is a similar height to Gov and Haynes, he plays taller as we know. He lacks the pace of Lewis Young, but he will match opponents for strength, he rarely gets outmarked, and he slays most opponents for footy smarts. It is imperative that someone stands up in this role to help Weitering. Aside from that one query, we have the best spine in the game. Weitering, De Koning, McKay and Curnow is mouth-watering.
Have we addressed the midfield pace issue? Yes and no. Jagga Smith is a point of difference. He is quick, evasive and he can find the ball. He is something we did not have, but he's a first year player. We need more. Docherty being back does not address the pace issue, although I was suitably impressed at how quick he was in the training sprints I saw. I don't think of him as a particularly quick player though. We have seen glimpses of Motlop at clearances in game sims, and Orazio is getting into the midfield a little bit, and he seems to have gained all of his pace back winning the sprints easily. Who would have thought that Fantasia might be the missing ingredient this year?
I was worried about our forward line pace, but the training form of Williams, Motlop and Fantasia has been impressive. They all seem fit and at their physical best, and if that holds, we will be seriously dangerous.
Conclusion: I still see potential gaps and a lot is dependent on availability as to whether we can adequately plug these gaps.
5. Depth. I'm quietly optimistic here. All of our guys are plugged into how we want to play and we have some cover for most key spots in the team. We have inside midfield depth. We have some halfback depth. We have some extra leadership down back if the unthinkable happens back there. We have ruck depth that I trust to an extent. The only thing we lack is genuine key forward depth, but we do have players who can pinch hit if need be. I see our depth as a major pro now, and I am expecting to see some good things from our VFL team.
6. Other teams. Some teams will improve, some will decline. We need to improve to stay ahead of the curve.
I will still be scared of the youth and vigour of the Hawks and they should improve. Brisbane will be formidable again and we don't want to play any more finals at the Gabba. The Crows are a bit of a bogey side and they will be a finals contender. Fremantle will be dangerous.
Honestly though, it isn't really who the side is that can beat us, it is what the side is. What type of side threatens us the most? Will we get them on an up or a down, with their best side, or with key pieces missing. A lot of luck can go into the timing of these things.
I think we can challenge for a flag. I think we have 90% of a premiership side and it will come down to the success of a few moves, and our mental strength as to whether we can bridge that 10%.
What are you bullish about, and what are you scared of with this aim in mind?
These are some of my thoughts.
1. Injuries/high performance. There, it's out there. It will happen to many teams. Some can overcome, some can't. It's an unknown so I don't want to speculate on it anymore. It is neither a pro or a con at this stage, with maybe a slight shadow still hanging over the club until we show otherwise.
2. Team unity/motivation. We seem like an incredibly united team so that is a huge positive. We have had form lapses during each of the past few seasons, end of 22, mid 23 and end of 24. Having to go down to the Curnow property to bond is not something we should be relying on. We need to unlock how to fight through those gruelling months and grind out those wins. What happens between the ears is a huge worry for me, because we have yet to prove we can overcome these lapses.
3. Game Plan. Once a huge con for me, it is now a pro. Voss has shown he can be flexible and will try things. Hollands and Silvagni to defence, Kemp and Williams up forward, Docherty midfield. These are all things that have happened or are happening under Voss. This shows that he has decided on how he wants us to play, and is prepared to change the side around to fit the plan. It has been a long while since we have had the luxury to have the players to fit into the game plan, rather than having to come up with a game plan to fit the limitations of the list. Yeah, we are a contest side. We also intend to intercept and rebound, and have a mixture of marking players and ground ball players. If we can somehow be the team that can create mismatches for our opposition to deal with, as opposed to always being the team that gets exposed by mismatches, we are well on our way. We have the players, we just need the tactics to make it happen. Imagine us being able to clear out our 50 and leave Charlie or Harry one on one.
4. Team. Do we have the players to win a premiership? We have the elite talent to win a flag, but do we have all the ingredients? Midfield pace, a strong 2nd key defender, and pace at ground level up forward, were our big issues last season. Pundits say we addressed the defensive need with Haynes. I disagree. He will be an asset to our defence for sure, but a key defender he is not. Nor is McGovern. I am encouraged by Silvagni's recent training form down there. For a guy who is a similar height to Gov and Haynes, he plays taller as we know. He lacks the pace of Lewis Young, but he will match opponents for strength, he rarely gets outmarked, and he slays most opponents for footy smarts. It is imperative that someone stands up in this role to help Weitering. Aside from that one query, we have the best spine in the game. Weitering, De Koning, McKay and Curnow is mouth-watering.
Have we addressed the midfield pace issue? Yes and no. Jagga Smith is a point of difference. He is quick, evasive and he can find the ball. He is something we did not have, but he's a first year player. We need more. Docherty being back does not address the pace issue, although I was suitably impressed at how quick he was in the training sprints I saw. I don't think of him as a particularly quick player though. We have seen glimpses of Motlop at clearances in game sims, and Orazio is getting into the midfield a little bit, and he seems to have gained all of his pace back winning the sprints easily. Who would have thought that Fantasia might be the missing ingredient this year?
I was worried about our forward line pace, but the training form of Williams, Motlop and Fantasia has been impressive. They all seem fit and at their physical best, and if that holds, we will be seriously dangerous.
Conclusion: I still see potential gaps and a lot is dependent on availability as to whether we can adequately plug these gaps.
5. Depth. I'm quietly optimistic here. All of our guys are plugged into how we want to play and we have some cover for most key spots in the team. We have inside midfield depth. We have some halfback depth. We have some extra leadership down back if the unthinkable happens back there. We have ruck depth that I trust to an extent. The only thing we lack is genuine key forward depth, but we do have players who can pinch hit if need be. I see our depth as a major pro now, and I am expecting to see some good things from our VFL team.
6. Other teams. Some teams will improve, some will decline. We need to improve to stay ahead of the curve.
I will still be scared of the youth and vigour of the Hawks and they should improve. Brisbane will be formidable again and we don't want to play any more finals at the Gabba. The Crows are a bit of a bogey side and they will be a finals contender. Fremantle will be dangerous.
Honestly though, it isn't really who the side is that can beat us, it is what the side is. What type of side threatens us the most? Will we get them on an up or a down, with their best side, or with key pieces missing. A lot of luck can go into the timing of these things.
I think we can challenge for a flag. I think we have 90% of a premiership side and it will come down to the success of a few moves, and our mental strength as to whether we can bridge that 10%.
![C4[2]Yo`DooR](https://www.bigfootycontent.com/avatars/m/21/21849.jpg?1742370429){kind=avatar}
