Bulldog must impose himself

[Ozza]

Re: Bulldog must impose himself

I can't agree with you on this one Sedat. I think the article is a very good observation on how Griffen is going this year. The once called 'easy kicks' are no longer 'easy' because they are primarily handball receives that a player has to do a lot of hard running to be able to rack up.

We play our best footy when Cross, Boyd (and now) Higgins are dishing the ball out to the running Griffen and Cooney - for these guys to take the game on.

[Go_Dogs]

Re: Bulldog must impose himself

He's sitting about 7th or 8th in our tackle count this year, averaging his best ever possession count, plus having to deal with more scrutiny, especially with Cooney missing a bit over the first part of the season.


People said the same thing about Cooney, even through times last year, but especially a couple of years ago, that are now being said about Griffen. He's a real power athlete, probably more so than Cooney, so he'll continue to get better as he builds his aerobic fitness up.

Yes, it would be great if he was tearing more games apart, but he's not traveling as badly as some are believing.

[azabob]

Re: Bulldog must impose himself

He's sitting about 7th or 8th in our tackle count this year, averaging his best ever possession count, plus having to deal with more scrutiny, especially with Cooney missing a bit over the first part of the season.


People said the same thing about Cooney, even through times last year, but especially a couple of years ago, that are now being said about Griffen. He's a real power athlete, probably more so than Cooney, so he'll continue to get better as he builds his aerobic fitness up.

Yes, it would be great if he was tearing more games apart, but he's not traveling as badly as some are believing.

I don't think people are saying he is traveling badly, I think more was expected from him this year and so far hasn't really lived up to those expectations.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Bulldog must impose himself

I know this sounds bizarre, but I've often thought Griffin would make a pretty good Centre half forward-maybe an extra centremetre might help, but his body shape, strength and accelaration wouldn't be misplaced there.

[Missing Dog]

Re: Bulldog must impose himself

Would you prefer Griffen do have 20 possessions or Cross to have 35?

Number of possessions is the most over-rated stat in the competition. What you do with them is just a tad more important.

I do agree that his kicking is wayward at times. It seems to me that he gets lazy with his ball drop and just expects to kick it lace out every time rather than taking that extra split second which would ensure a better result.

Ablett 36 per game, Selwood 29, Chapman 29, Bartel 29, Mitchell 29, Judd 28, Dal Santo 28.


I reckon the above stats would confirm a strong correlation between number of possessions per game a player has and his ability to decide the outcome of game. I would say its far from an over-rated stat.

Grif is approaching 100 games, and really after the middle of this season there can be no more excuses. He's either gonna be an elite midfielder or he's not. Although i reckon his dads passing may be a factor so far.

[Desipura]

Re: Bulldog must impose himself

I know this sounds bizarre, but I've often thought Griffin would make a pretty good Centre half forward-maybe an extra centremetre might help, but his body shape, strength and accelaration wouldn't be misplaced there.

GRIFFEN

[Remi Moses]

Re: Bulldog must impose himself

Agree with Sheehan,it's time Ryan took a game by the scruff of the neck. Away strips having nothing on the outlandish pink shirt Mike gave us in ''On The Couch'' monday evening.

[1eyedog]

Re: Bulldog must impose himself

Would you prefer Griffen do have 20 possessions or Cross to have 35?

Number of possessions is the most over-rated stat in the competition. What you do with them is just a tad more important.

I do agree that his kicking is wayward at times. It seems to me that he gets lazy with his ball drop and just expects to kick it lace out every time rather than taking that extra split second which would ensure a better result.

Agreed. Look at Bowden last year getting over 40 a couple of times. Cross needs to lift his work rate in the middle for players like Cooney and Griffen to flourish. Clearly Griffen spends much of his time winning his own ball, which is great, but he needs to be protected and fed the ball as well as he is so much more damaging with it than Cross and to a lesser extent Boyd. With good ball winners in the middle like Hudson, Boyd and Cross we should be able to protect Cooney and Griffen with blockages more than what we are doing. I also reckon that 25 odd goals a season from a midfielder is not a bad result. Ease up Mike and fellow Doggie supporters who are placing too high an expectation on Griffen. Most young players are judged after 100 games and I believe that he will be back to his best form once he gets more support from the inside players.

[1eyedog]

Re: Bulldog must impose himself

I know this sounds bizarre, but I've often thought Griffin would make a pretty good Centre half forward-maybe an extra centremetre might help, but his body shape, strength and accelaration wouldn't be misplaced there.

Yep pretty bizarre. He'd be wasted there and an extra centimetre won't help. A player that good with a high constitution needs to be in as many contests as possible.

[Sedat]

Re: Bulldog must impose himself

Perhaps we are very lucky that Griffen has been winning so much of his own ball in close this season because Crossy's output has been well down.

Anyway Griffen has added contested ball winning ability to his bow, so it's only a matter of time until both the outside and inside facets of his game come together long-term. This guy has already proven to be perfectly suited to the cut and thrust of September-intensity football, and his new found improvement in winning the hard ball will only enhance his already impressive ability to perform on the biggest stages and in the hottest intensity.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Bulldog must impose himself

Needs to work on his left foot and his kicking in general.

[Topdog]

Re: Bulldog must impose himself

It is his first full season in the midfield and he isn't having anywhere near the season I had hoped for him. Hopefully it is just him getting used to playing in the middle.

I think he might need another pre season of building up stamina to do it properly unfortunately.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Bulldog must impose himself

Yep pretty bizarre. He'd be wasted there and an extra centimetre won't help. A player that good with a high constitution needs to be in as many contests as possible.

I would like to see Griff and Coons rested forward more often than they are though. They expend so much energy sprinting off and on the interchange bench as it is they might as well go up forward instead and spend more time up there and use the energy to lead out strongly. The more time they spend on the ground in general the better, I feel.

Ratten did it with Judd quite successfully last week, and from all indications will do a lot more of it, and I don't see why not.

A lot of these gun midfielders would be elite forwards if they spent all their time up there. I know Cooney would be -- he's shown that several times through his career already that he would be as good (if not better) than the likes of Nathan Brown as a lead-up forward pocket or crumber. I think Griff definitely could do some damage up there too, and would definitely draw a good opponent at the very least.

[Missing Dog]

Re: Bulldog must impose himself

I think the article has merit, while we don't want any players specifically hanging out and chasing easy kicks, it does appear at the moment he is competing well at stoppages and earning his own ball but he isn't running hard enough into space to get the easier kicks which more complete midfielders such as Judd do.

Having said that, I think with time his all round game will develop and also with the addition of a fit Cooney we will be able to see both of them flourish in the middle. It's just another aspect of his game that he needs to work on like any player, keep in mind that Cooney was only able to break a tag properly for the first time last year so no doubt it's something that you need to adjust to.

His efforts in the finals highlight what sort of player he will become for the club, specifically on the big occassions.