04-20-2015, 08:51 AM
(04-20-2015, 08:38 AM)Juddkreuzer link Wrote:Our foot skills have been severely lacking for more than a decade now. Even those players who are very capable by foot are making too many turnovers. I speak of Gibbs, Murphy, Judd and Thomas. Then we have the butchers, Bell, Tuohy, Curnow and Walker. In between these two groups is a collective of uninspiring users of the footy. The only blokes I'd let off at this stage are the Ciarans (who have both shown a bit), Docherty and Simmo.I don't think we are lessed skilled than other teams, we just have an extra degree of difficulty in our execution.
It's a far cry from the 95 team when there were few players you couldn't trust with the ball in hand. (apologies to Harry)
Compare our ball use with that of our opponents. When we get possession, particularly in a clearance or contested situation, the ball is thrown onto the boot and it's a 50-50 proposition whether it goes to our advantage. This was particularly evident against Essendon where we won the clearances but turned the ball over before the second or third possession.
Most, if not all, other teams use a string of handpasses to get the ball to a runner in the clear. This results in a balanced kick not under pressure or a couple of bounces and a measured kick.
Our reluctance to handpass creatively means that our disposal by foot is under pressure and misdirected as a result.
“Why don’t you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don’t you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don’t you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?” Oddball