(09-29-2023, 06:53 AM)laj link Wrote:We were moving the ball beautifully during the earlier part of our run but as the run extended over the weeks the effort took it's toll. We kept winning but were able to move the ball like we were earlier in the run. When that happens, you run yourself out of options, hence it's down the line, bomb forward etc. We were brilliant defensively for many more weeks and that got us over the line in cliffhangers but weren't transitioning as we should. Also what helped is that we became a very mentally tough side, extremely hard to break. Even against Brisbane, where a 40+ loss should happened, we found a way of keeping it to 16pt and give ourselves a very small sniff with 8 minutes or so left.The defensive effort can't be faulted and you're right, nine wins out of the last ten, some by small margins, yet only really confirmed for finals in the second last round. We really had a lot to do, but we did it! No team wins pretty all the time. The long bombs are a part of fatigue and being a bit unsteady with ball movement, but yeah, the defence was something we never gave into. The long bombs are also to some extent I find, damage minimisation in case we do or will lose the ball in any case. With deliberate out of bounds being much stricter now and umpires being hot on holding the ball, sometimes the panic kicks long are in fact, the best option to go to. They can create space and with more ground-ball players around, can result in scores as the ball moves forward more. Even on turnover, territory is gained and the players are behind the ball, making it difficult for the opposition to score, as was the case in the second half of the year. Sometimes, it simply could be worse.
Edit: More speed to run and move the ball in chains, while keeping possession, yes on that.