Re: Are we "hard" enough Reply #15 – September 14, 2024, 07:01:06 pm Weeters is no. 1 for winning one on ones in the comp. Quote Selected
Re: Are we "hard" enough Reply #16 – September 14, 2024, 07:21:27 pm Our hardness and toughness seem conditional. And Pinot is right, it's psychological for us. We have the ability and can be hard and tough but fail to do it consistently, in games and week to week.In too many games/quarters when the opposition hits us hard we resort to safe; we go into our shells. Hardness and toughness are dialled down as confidence weakens - above the shoulders. At our best, we've plenty of hardness and toughness but it wavers far too much. Being mentally tough does not allow that to happen.Last night I saw two sides with persistent mental hardness and toughness, from the first bounce right to the final siren. The physical hardness and toughness flowed from the psychological relentless determination and ruthless, even desperate, commitment to every contest. Quote Selected 1 Likes
Re: Are we "hard" enough Reply #17 – September 14, 2024, 09:49:45 pm Baggers, an excellent description of our problems. Quote Selected
Re: Are we "hard" enough Reply #18 – September 15, 2024, 07:14:42 am Quote from: Professer E – on September 14, 2024, 07:01:06 pmWeeters is no. 1 for winning one on ones in the comp.Last year, not this year. Ranked about 8th for defensive 1 on 1s lost. Quote Selected
Re: Are we "hard" enough Reply #19 – September 15, 2024, 07:54:55 am The old hard tough footballer is just that....a thing of the past.The game has changed to the point where you can't just run through players, bump or swing them in tackles.Even as recently as a player like Voss.He'd spend most of the year suspended under to-days rules.Toughness these days is players like Cripps dragging his team along with him, or Petracca's efforts against us in the last quarter of the game against Melbourne earlier in the year.Toughness today is all about pressure and pushing yourself to the limits.We haven't been a tough side this year.Injuries and players playing injured have restricted our ability to apply that pressure.But we were a tough side last year, until we ran out of steam at the end.We have the capability to get back to that type of football...but an additional few 'toughies' wouldn't hurt. Quote Selected
Re: Are we "hard" enough Reply #20 – September 15, 2024, 02:16:40 pm Quote from: Lods – on September 15, 2024, 07:54:55 amThe old hard tough footballer is just that....a thing of the past.The game has changed to the point where you can't just run through players, bump or swing them in tackles.Even as recently as a player like Voss.He'd spend most of the year suspended under to-days rules.Toughness these days is players like Cripps dragging his team along with him, or Petracca's efforts against us in the last quarter of the game against Melbourne earlier in the year.Toughness today is all about pressure and pushing yourself to the limits.We haven't been a tough side this year.Injuries and players playing injured have restricted our ability to apply that pressure.But we were a tough side last year, until we ran out of steam at the end.We have the capability to get back to that type of football...but an additional few 'toughies' wouldn't hurt.we don't need to be harder we need to be ruthless.We don't put sides to the sword. We need to do that and punishment teams each and every time (like we did to geelong). Hawthorn were ruthless against us. They smelled blood and used it as an opportunity to jump us on the ladder killing our percentage whilst boosting theirs. Put our hmwhole season in jeopardy and scored them a "home final" in week one. Our boys would have gotten the coleman to a chosen player then put the queue in the rack and won by 40 points (if we won at all). We attack the contest but not the opposition player in the contest. Other teams are ruthless in the contest if they can be. Won't hesitate to hurt us legally by going right through us. I've seen very few of our boys do that and we just do enough.Thing is that extends to list management. We've carried marchbank since what 2015? Cunners too? Sure it's all about what else is out there and cunners and marchy are talented but we can rehab players in the vfl and drop them off the list. Unlucky for some. Then coaching. Good players lairise without repercussions. Only the kids get dropped for no reason. Quote Selected 1 Likes