bornadog
12-06-2013, 10:44 AM
11 June 2013
Last week against Port Adelaide, we were able to just grind out a win with some grunt and effort around the ball and probably adapted to the conditions better than our opponents, particularly after half time. The conditions were difficult for both teams, and having watched it back on TV, probably didn’t provide a true indication of how wet and slippery it was out there. The greasiness of the grass meant we treated it like a wet weather game — which we thought suited us.
The first half presented some challenges, where we felt we needed to make quicker defensive decisions and perhaps simplify the way we played, and that was the message at half time — to stop overusing the ball and get the ball forward. We also were getting outnumbered once the ball left the stoppage area, so we wanted to correct that. You need to be able to work hard to repeatedly get to the next contest, and our midfielders led the way brilliantly in that area, in particular Ryan Griffen and Tom Liberatore.
We adapted pretty well after half time and I think Port Adelaide acknowledged that our want to work and will around the contest was too much for them and that we showed a great desire to get an important win for our footy club. We enjoyed the opportunity to play up in Darwin and against a team that was very good at running and carrying the ball and opening teams up — we didn’t allow that to happen which is a good step forward for this group.
The bye has been about recovery and down loading for some players, but we have still been able to get some good running into their programs, and also some base skills to keep the ball in their hands. It was a good mental rest for the group, but we have now well and truly launched into preparation for Collingwood.
One of the positives over the past few weeks has been our ability to deal, at times, with a growing injury list — which has seen a number of younger players relish the opportunity to play AFL. It is a sign that people are building good habits at VFL level, and probably the most pleasing thing for us as a coaching group is that our players are being trained up in how to best play their respective positions, which allows a better transition to senior football. For example, Michael Talia came in last week, and played exactly how he has been playing at VFL level. For us, that is exactly what building a football program is about. We’re about 20 months into that and are making some good progress.
There have been some really good signs in so many of our younger people recently, and that’s partly because of how influential our senior players have been over the past three weeks. They’ve taken the responsibility to help our younger people on board, and are driving how the game looks and setting a great example for their teammates, especially out on the field.
We know our supporters are enjoying us having a couple of wins and it’s really important as a Club that we do that, but we know we’ve still got a lot of work to do. We want you to know there’s been no let up and we continue to work our backsides off every day to get better.
Against Collingwood this Sunday, we want to see as many of our loyal members and fans barracking as hard as they can. Your support on the journey with us so far this year has been appreciated, and we look forward to continuing along this path as a Club together.
See you at the game,
Brendan McCartney
Last week against Port Adelaide, we were able to just grind out a win with some grunt and effort around the ball and probably adapted to the conditions better than our opponents, particularly after half time. The conditions were difficult for both teams, and having watched it back on TV, probably didn’t provide a true indication of how wet and slippery it was out there. The greasiness of the grass meant we treated it like a wet weather game — which we thought suited us.
The first half presented some challenges, where we felt we needed to make quicker defensive decisions and perhaps simplify the way we played, and that was the message at half time — to stop overusing the ball and get the ball forward. We also were getting outnumbered once the ball left the stoppage area, so we wanted to correct that. You need to be able to work hard to repeatedly get to the next contest, and our midfielders led the way brilliantly in that area, in particular Ryan Griffen and Tom Liberatore.
We adapted pretty well after half time and I think Port Adelaide acknowledged that our want to work and will around the contest was too much for them and that we showed a great desire to get an important win for our footy club. We enjoyed the opportunity to play up in Darwin and against a team that was very good at running and carrying the ball and opening teams up — we didn’t allow that to happen which is a good step forward for this group.
The bye has been about recovery and down loading for some players, but we have still been able to get some good running into their programs, and also some base skills to keep the ball in their hands. It was a good mental rest for the group, but we have now well and truly launched into preparation for Collingwood.
One of the positives over the past few weeks has been our ability to deal, at times, with a growing injury list — which has seen a number of younger players relish the opportunity to play AFL. It is a sign that people are building good habits at VFL level, and probably the most pleasing thing for us as a coaching group is that our players are being trained up in how to best play their respective positions, which allows a better transition to senior football. For example, Michael Talia came in last week, and played exactly how he has been playing at VFL level. For us, that is exactly what building a football program is about. We’re about 20 months into that and are making some good progress.
There have been some really good signs in so many of our younger people recently, and that’s partly because of how influential our senior players have been over the past three weeks. They’ve taken the responsibility to help our younger people on board, and are driving how the game looks and setting a great example for their teammates, especially out on the field.
We know our supporters are enjoying us having a couple of wins and it’s really important as a Club that we do that, but we know we’ve still got a lot of work to do. We want you to know there’s been no let up and we continue to work our backsides off every day to get better.
Against Collingwood this Sunday, we want to see as many of our loyal members and fans barracking as hard as they can. Your support on the journey with us so far this year has been appreciated, and we look forward to continuing along this path as a Club together.
See you at the game,
Brendan McCartney