Surely the last quarter deluge would have had a big impact on those figures.
Surely the last quarter deluge would have had a big impact on those figures.
We have them where we want them, everything is going according to plan!
Not sure what everyone else thought but I actually think our skills improved when the rain came.
I thought the intensity lifted, and generally skills improve when the intensity lifts. It's probably a concentration thing, as much as anything else. By the final quarter, most of the senior players had been benched. I reckon the youngsters realised they were the ones who needed to get the team over the line, and couldn't leave it to the Kennedys and Franklins of the team. While it would have been nice for the more seasoned players to have played the whole game with a bit more intensity, it is pretty easy to understand why a Hannebery or Kennedy might just go through the motions a bit in the opening NAB Cup game. They don't really have anything they need to prove to the coaches this time of year.
Except it is a worry for fans if players like Hanners and particularly Kennedy who has been in the game for so long, are still not disposing the ball effectively much of the time. Does that mean that their elite skills are limited to hard running and getting the ball and they are never going to improve much in their ability to consistently pinpoint players up field, or is it a result of years of training where handballing to teammates close by or putting boot to ball and bombing it long or to the boundary line has been the style of play required?
Neither is likely to become elite kickers of the ball, but I don't think their disposal efficiency is that bad. Kennedy, in particular, is much better than when he first arrived. But I think a lot of it has to do with their concentration levels. Especially Hanners. So while his disposal was ordinary last week, even by his standards, I don't think that suggests he can't get somewhat better than what he showed then (or compared to a few of his games from last year). I just think he wasn't really concentrating last weekend. He barely got out of second gear.
In advance of the match thread for Friday night's game I must say I am looking forward to seeing Lewis Melican, Sammy Naismith , James Rose, Aliir x 2, Nick Newman and Abe Davis as well as some more from, Leonardis , Dawson, Hewett and Heeney. A lot to ask for but hopefully we will get to see something more of them before the season proper arrives.
We have them where we want them, everything is going according to plan!
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