Cyberdoggie
17-08-2009, 12:59 PM
I thought i would start a thread on Josh Hill's game against the Lions.
Personally i thought it was probably his best effort. Not so much for his stats or goal tally etc, but because he worked so hard defensively and set up several goals with his vision and smart play.
The previous week against the Eagles i thought he was dissapointing, sure he was beaten by a class player but i thought his mind wasn't on the game and he stopped playing to his strengths. Josh was trying to nudge his opponent out like Brad Johnson but he didn't have the body size to do it. He also opted out of jumping for any marking contests.
On Saturday night i saw him chase the lions from the goal square all the way back to inside the lions 50. Unfortunately in that instance they scored but it wasn't Josh's fault. More likely the 5-6 other dogs who gave up their chase.
Josh also ran down several opponents and created many goal scoring opportunities for us.
This was the first time i've seen him play a consistent 4 quarter game they way he needs to.
We also saw the return of his marking ability, something that has been lost for a while.
I compare him to Leon Davis a lot because i see them as similar players. Leon was always much maligned due to his lack of effort at times but he has turned the corner as a player. The big difference between the 2 of them is that Leon will kick those mercurial goals on the boundary.
So far this year Josh has kicked 1 goal from the boundary that i can recall in well over 20 shots. His technique in the set shots looks to be all over the shop, his run up doesn't appear to be re-hearsed, his head isn't over the ball and he doesn't follow through properly for that sort of kick. If he can improve in this area and his contested marking then he will rise to another level.
Was it just me who thought it was probably his best game to date on saturday night?
Personally i thought it was probably his best effort. Not so much for his stats or goal tally etc, but because he worked so hard defensively and set up several goals with his vision and smart play.
The previous week against the Eagles i thought he was dissapointing, sure he was beaten by a class player but i thought his mind wasn't on the game and he stopped playing to his strengths. Josh was trying to nudge his opponent out like Brad Johnson but he didn't have the body size to do it. He also opted out of jumping for any marking contests.
On Saturday night i saw him chase the lions from the goal square all the way back to inside the lions 50. Unfortunately in that instance they scored but it wasn't Josh's fault. More likely the 5-6 other dogs who gave up their chase.
Josh also ran down several opponents and created many goal scoring opportunities for us.
This was the first time i've seen him play a consistent 4 quarter game they way he needs to.
We also saw the return of his marking ability, something that has been lost for a while.
I compare him to Leon Davis a lot because i see them as similar players. Leon was always much maligned due to his lack of effort at times but he has turned the corner as a player. The big difference between the 2 of them is that Leon will kick those mercurial goals on the boundary.
So far this year Josh has kicked 1 goal from the boundary that i can recall in well over 20 shots. His technique in the set shots looks to be all over the shop, his run up doesn't appear to be re-hearsed, his head isn't over the ball and he doesn't follow through properly for that sort of kick. If he can improve in this area and his contested marking then he will rise to another level.
Was it just me who thought it was probably his best game to date on saturday night?