03-18-2018, 12:10 AM
(03-17-2018, 11:56 PM)crashlander link Wrote:I am inclined to think that her stamina isn't there at the moment. For that matter, last year she also has that extra yard of pace on most of her opponents.
This year she is coming back from a knee reco. She didn't have a single game in the VFLW season and was on a modified program during our Pre-season. That started her off very much on the back foot.
It also hampered her ball handling, as she fumbled a lot more this year that last year.
It comes from just handling the ball in game situations.
Now, next year will be the test for Vescio, and a number of others. Nobody will be talking 'premierships'. Getting off the bottom will be the #1 goal. Instead it is us who will have to come up with ways to get the most out of our players, as most are now known quantities.
With a whole season of VFLW and a proper AFLW pre-season (and hopefully a much more effective one than we had for this season) we should see the real Darcy Vescio. There will also be opportunities to experiment with her in different spots. Other clubs will not be prepared for that, while she will be at her athletic best.
I don't disagree with that, but for 15 minute quarters, surely she has 3 minutes of running on the ball in her. Knowing how little the ball got forward this year, she hasn't been running herself ragged down there.
I remember Eddie Betts being thrown into the middle when Ratts for took over at coach.
In a few minutes of being on the ball in the last half of the last quarter against the saints, he got 2 clearances which we got 2 goals from. We were almost going to win the match from it, so Ratts moved him out....as we were tanking at the time.
Eddie was about as unfit of an AFL player that existed at the time, but had the traits (like Vescio) to make a difference in bursts.
Just think its worth a shot, at least once in a season! What is there to lose?