Damien Hardwick

[Redford]

Hammies are always 3 weeks minimum, regardless of the extent of the "awareness"

I am aware of this.

 

[Little Ziggyadee]

Makes me wonder again if he's had a bit of a setback.
2 weeks ago there was vision of him helping the team prepare vs Gold Coast.
Now he's missing a 3rd week? I'm not drawing a correlation & there may be nothing to it but..

It's that bullshitt they put 'Awareness' at the front of doing a hammy these days.
Awareness my ass
Normal hammy 21 days

 

[RedanTiger]

I don't have empirical data, but I'd attribute our current poor form to this variety of things in no order.

1. Mental. The Emma Murray influence has evaporated. The players look pressured, panicky and rushed. The intent to chase and pressure (1.6 pressure rating? What? Richmond?) is not there. Lack of composure. Losing breeds losing. Need to win to make finals.

2. Leadership. Fits in to mental. But Grimes and Nank have battled for form. I don't know how that fits in to on field leadership, but it can't be good. I hate co Captains and the resultant abdication of responsibility.

3. Injuries. Martin and Lynch turn our last 2 games into wins. The year looks very different that way. Let alone what our injury list looked like 2 weeks ago.

4. Selection. We are not selecting sides sensibly. We haven't all year. We don't seem to have a structure of selecting like for like. We have players playing one week as forwards, the next as defenders. We have players omitted on form, then included as the sub. If they're omitted, omit them. We have players who are specialists in a position being passed over for players who are being trialled in one. I don't think players are coming in knowing what their roles are. This leads to a lack of responsibility for your position.

5. Age. Both young and old. Our older players are slowing down. Edwards, Cotchy, Jack, Lambo, Dusty. And these are irreplaceable, premiership superstars. Almost exclusively from our midfield. We don't really have a middle tier of 24-29 year olds. Balta, Bolton, Graham, Ross, Ralphsmith, Gibcus, Miller, Baker, MRJ, Clarke, Sonsie are all footballing babies, and are all being asked to play major roles. They will start to really hit their straps over the next five to seven years. This has hit our midfield most significantly, but has led to extreme inconsistency across the park.

Think all you say is true but.....
I would say the coaching is a major problem.
We have lost a lot of talent in this area.
Leppitsch, Rutten, Caracella and McCrae have all gone on to bigger roles elsewhere and it shows.

1} Our work in the centre is putrid and while this is a result of aging we have not developed our younger mids. Collier-Dawkins, Ross and Dow have stagnated. This is coaching.

2} Our work entering the forward line is putrid. We either kick high to a leading Lynch or on a sneaky lead from Riewoldt. Our smalls are not effective kicking goals and we have not developed the young ones enough in Clarke, Sonsie, Parker, Rioli to replace Castagna and Aarts. They dont seem to know what they are doing as a result of no strategy. This is coaching.

3} Our defence is putrid. We are leaking badly and seem at times to panic. Balta and Gibcus should only be used in defence. We probably are forced to use Short in the guts but have been more than well served by Rioli replacing Houli. All this is coaching.

I dont think Hardwick is any better and probably not worse than he ever was but with a second rate list of assistants his shortcomings are becoming ever more apparent. I think Hardwick has drunk the cool aid and now believes he is a genius and everyone else is failing him. A very dangerous place to be.

I dont think Hardwick even realises the failings in his MC and coaches.

 

[Smoking Aces]

As the old saying says you can’t turn *smile* into strawberry jam. This is what our midfield is right now. It’s bereft of quality.

 

[Tigers of Old]

I honestly don't think we're a bad team.
Just two weeks ago we ran with the top side right down to the wire.
We've just got to get our *smile* together & WANT to win.

 

[Dont Argue]

I honestly don't think we're a bad team.
Just two weeks ago we ran with the top side right down to the wire.
We've just got to get our *smile* together & WANT to win.

Last year we finished 12th and, post season, lost Houli and Astbury but gained Tarrant.
Our stars are a year older, with some in surprisingly rapid decline like Edwards and Lambert, whilst Dusty has been more or less a non event since his kidney injury.
Perhaps we’re not as good as we think?

 

[Tigers of Old]

Last year we finished 12th and, post season, lost Houli and Astbury but gained Tarrant.
Our stars are a year older, with some in surprisingly rapid decline like Edwards and Lambert, whilst Dusty has been more or less a non event since his kidney injury.
Perhaps we’re not as good as we think?

Perhaps we're not as bad as we think. Time will ultimately tell..

 

[daniel30]

It's no brainer isn't it were has Balta and Gibcus played there best footy and team looking there best , in defence so why we go back to moving magnets again puzzling.

 

[22nd Man]

yep. the mental gymnastics on here are extraordinary.

how about we stop blaming 1) Dimma's sudden lack of ability 2) players' sudden profound stupidity and 3) players' sudden profound lack of interest

and look at empirical data with a healthy dash of common sense?

1) we are clearly struggling through the ruck and midfield

2) our system (which depends on midfield scrap but only to a point) is holding up but we look a little lead-footed, which aligns with the heavy load theory. give the oppo just a little sniff and you see what happens

we didn't expect to lose to North, no doubt about it. some complacency? perhaps.

but I expect an absolute firecracker effort against Freo and believe it will happen.

if the heavy load theory holds true, then this week might well be a 'ease off the whip' week as we settle into the home straight.

How about we look slow because we are?

 

[22nd Man]

idiotic post.

variable training loads are commonplace in the AFL.

jack riewoldt has commented extensively on their benefit. go look it up.

Jack even hinted at it during his regular media appearances?

 

[22nd Man]

I have seen those stats and to be honest I can't work out the centre clearance stats at all. We seem to lose a string of centre clearances when we are giving up a lead (or giving up a lead by losing centre clearances, bit chicken and egg really), but we are not bad for centre clearances overall. Maybe it is the quality of our centre clearances because the opposition seem to be able to sustain periods of dominance in the middle and very effective spreading and delivery into their forward lines against us - see Rd 1 against Carlton and also GC. I reckon we would need more detailed analysis of centre clearances to really know.

The stoppage clearances are clearly not good on any measure.

But it is also the positioning when there is a marking contest, our players just seem to be where the ball isn't. We spoil marks in defence and at the fall of the ball no Richmond players. I also noticed a number of times last week when there was a contested ball in defence we had no-one near the goal line to spoil any hurried attempts by North to kick a goal and we often have maybe 1, or even no, players between the contest and the opposition goal.

Just not sure where our players are trying to be near contests for the ball and why.

DS

A cente clearance can be hack kick to wide half forward or a lace out dukes out pass to a leading FF. Can one result in a d50 intercept? Headline numbers need further.analysis

 

[22nd Man]

Think all you say is true but.....
I would say the coaching is a major problem.
We have lost a lot of talent in this area.
Leppitsch, Rutten, Caracella and McCrae have all gone on to bigger roles elsewhere and it shows.

1} Our work in the centre is putrid and while this is a result of aging we have not developed our younger mids. Collier-Dawkins, Ross and Dow have stagnated. This is coaching.

2} Our work entering the forward line is putrid. We either kick high to a leading Lynch or on a sneaky lead from Riewoldt. Our smalls are not effective kicking goals and we have not developed the young ones enough in Clarke, Sonsie, Parker, Rioli to replace Castagna and Aarts. They dont seem to know what they are doing as a result of no strategy. This is coaching.

3} Our defence is putrid. We are leaking badly and seem at times to panic. Balta and Gibcus should only be used in defence. We probably are forced to use Short in the guts but have been more than well served by Rioli replacing Houli. All this is coaching.

I dont think Hardwick is any better and probably not worse than he ever was but with a second rate list of assistants his shortcomings are becoming ever more apparent. I think Hardwick has drunk the cool aid and now believes he is a genius and everyone else is failing him. A very dangerous place to be.

I dont think Hardwick even realises the failings in his MC and coaches.

Third marking forward absent for two years.

 

[tigertim]

Karen Cornes at it again, slagging Dimma (and Richmond) as whingeing again. *smile* I hate this feral little *smile*.

 

[Brodders17]

It's no brainer isn't it were has Balta and Gibcus played there best footy and team looking there best , in defence so why we go back to moving magnets again puzzling.

would you have played Balta and Gibcus next to Tarrant, Grimes and Broad?
Who would you played next to Jack? Our developing ruckman Ryan?

Balta and Gibcus are better backmen, but we needed someone to play forward.

 

[Willo]

Karen Cornes at it again, slagging Dimma (and Richmond) as whingeing again. *smile* I hate this feral little *smile*.

A face and personality that’s begs someone to put a couple of knuckle sandwiches right on his beak

 

[seven]

Karen Cornes at it again, slagging Dimma (and Richmond) as whingeing again. *smile* I hate this feral little *smile*.

Unbelievable. Considering this is coming from a person who built his reputation on whinging and whining

 

[Coburgtiger]

would you have played Balta and Gibcus next to Tarrant, Grimes and Broad?
Who would you played next to Jack? Our developing ruckman Ryan?

Balta and Gibcus are better backmen, but we needed someone to play forward.

That argument makes sense for one of them.

Not both.

Balta forward had some logic and training behind it.

As for Ryan, without a doubt he would have been a better option than a Gibcus IF you want someone to play forward/ruck. Same age, both developing, one who has trained/played forward ruck with us, and one who hasn't.

 

[Carter]

Balta and Gibcus are better backmen

no way we know this for sure re: gibcus

 

[Brodders17]

no way we know this for sure re: gibcus

true. i was keeping it short- and probably should have said "probably at this stage".

 

[daniel30]

would you have played Balta and Gibcus next to Tarrant, Grimes and Broad?
Who would you played next to Jack? Our developing ruckman Ryan?

Balta and Gibcus are better backmen, but we needed someone to play forward.

Gibcus shouldn't have played fullstop has been in poor form needs a rest. Balta playing back is no issue we used that setup when Astbury was there Tarrant taken the role. Yep why not Ryan has been in great form gives Nank a chop out and play forward.