Sam Lloyd | PUNT ROAD END | Richmond Tigers Forum
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Sam Lloyd

CarnTheTiges said:
I think the last quarter goals thing may have been as a consequence of being played as the sub. When he gets them they seem to come in multiples in a very short space of time. The 3 goals he kicked against Collingwood late last year I think were all kicked in the 1st quarter.

Yeah, that would make sense. Hard to kick goals when you are in the subs vest.
 
CarnTheTiges said:
I'd take 30 as well. The reason I think he was made sub so often was because it often seemed to all or nothing with him. He may kick 2 or 3 goals quickly, but he may also go a lot of the game and hardly see the ball. That's how sides used the sub rule, they wanted someone who could come on and make something happen. Lloyd failed to do that in his final 2 games of 2015 and was subsequently dropped. Thursday night was the best game I've seen from him, not because of the goals, but because he genuinely tried to get involved and get the ball or create for a team mate when it wasn't going his way. If he can keep doing that then he should keep getting a game and will hit that 30 goal a season mark.

I suspect the sub issue was more about his ability to run out the game fully at both ends. Another quality pre-season has changed that perhaps - he certainly looks fitter and that translated into running out Round 1 beautifully. Has great intuitive skills, ala the spin turn and goal. Definitely needs to hit the scoreboard more this year. With opportunity he should get between 30-40.
 
30 should be his focus and a good return ... 35 is quite possible and would be an excellent result ... 40 would mean, well, possibly/definitely the Tigers are on the way to the finals.
 
mrposhman said:
I agree on the sub rule. There are generally 2 concerns most have with Lloyd. 1 - Doesn't get involved enough and 2 - Defensive pressure.

I think the first is a bit of a fallacy due to the number of times he has been sub. I had a quick look at his stats for the last 2 years and pro-rated them to an 85% TOG % (in the 5 games he played the full game last year he averaged 88% and had 87% on Thursday).

In terms of disposal he would have averaged 13.2 in 2014 and 16.2 last year. He got 14 on Thursday. I think thats perfectly fine for the role that he plays. For comparison, Ballantyne averages 13, Jeff Garlett 11, Betts 12 (last 2 years 13-14), so he gets involved enough.

His goals have not been bad either, again pro-rata up he averaged 1.2 goals per game in 2014, 1.6 last year which is again right up there for me.

The area that he struggles is tackling, last year he went backwards (actually would have averaged 3.6 in 2014) to only 2.6 which is well below those other guys. He had 3 on Thursday so if he can keep that up then he can certainly be a big weapon for us this year and could certainly score 30-35 if he plays all year for us.

Quality posting.

I will be happy if he kicks 30. As Jack and TV will kick more than 100 between them. Also Lids and Edwards should be aiming for 30 each.
 
mrposhman said:
Love that he's 2 footed as well. Being able to snap goals off either foot makes him a very dangerous proposition for defenders. a lot players can be turned through defensive pressure on to their unfavoured foot and they stuff it up, Lloyd doesn't do that. The 3 kicks at goal he had in the final quarter (the 2 goals and the left foot snap that was marked on the line but was probably going for a behind anyway) were all on the left.
Interesting isn't it that in the modern game, where players are full time professionals, a bloke whom has mastered the fundamental skill of kicking proficiently on both feet stands out.

Like I say, players are now full time professionals. Hence there is no excuse for not being able to master something as fundamental as kicking at least competently off both feet. Yet I feel this is a skill that has gone backwards since the 1980s. Instead we see these nonsense party trick dribble kicks, when a drop punt off a competent non preferred would be a much higher percentage option, if the player had it in his arsenal.
 
LLoyd, is a genuine striker in EPL parlance.


Interestingly his accuracy is much better in general play than in set shots.

One thing that is interesting is that I am not sure if his input on the game would have been any different if he was the sub.

All his touches seemed to have happened in the last quarter.
 
Leysy Days said:
Dont forget by hand either PT.

Amazing the number of football that struggle on non preferred.
Absolutely Leysy. My vivid memories of being a small child watching football in the 80s was of seeing a lot of Hawthorn, given they were the dominant club. Despite the fact that I hated them (still do), one thing I remember was their skill level. I remember my father always emphasizing to me, "look at these blokes, they can all kick on both feet." I was made to go out in the backyard and practice on the non preferred. Training as a junior and high school footballer, there were plenty of drills where the non preferred was the only side you were permitted to use. Certainly party tricks like dribble kicks were seen as unacceptable and were used to reinforce the need to get competent or even really good on the non preferred. It was seen as such a fundamental skill, but it seems not so today if even elite footballers, whom have all the time in the world to practice these skills (as they are full time professionals), more and more rarely show a high level of competence in this area.

I wasn't a terribly good footballer, but managed to get to the point that I could handball both sides pretty much just as proficiently, kicking on the non preferred, not so competent, but could be used in an emergency. Although plenty of my mates were really good on both, even as under age players.

I just don't understand the drastic deterioration of this fundamental skill over 30 years. More so when during this period we have moved from semi-professionalism to full professionalism. Some point to the speed of the game now. But to me the rapid speed makes it even more important. More often you'll get into situations where there isn't time to wheel around onto the preferred. If you can only kick and handball on one side, it makes you more vulnerable to your opponent working out which side to attack you from each time.
 
Dangerfield was a case in point yesterday, burst out of the middle at one point and drove the ball 60m to the top of the square on the right, then not long after did exactly the same on the left. He can just do everything; fantastic kick on either side.

On the way to being accepted as No. 1 player in the game?
 
leon said:
Dangerfield was a case in point yesterday, burst out of the middle at one point and drove the ball 60m to the top of the square on the right, then not long after did exactly the same on the left. He can just do everything; fantastic kick on either side.

On the way to being accepted as No. 1 player in the game?
The Tasmanian bloke drafted to Adelaide as a mature age rookie, Ian Callinan, was another whom was good in this area. Used to love seeing him roost 60m drop punts, under pressure, off one step, on either side of his body, hard up against the boundary line kicking towards goal.
 
nikolasmia said:
LLoyd, is a genuine striker in EPL parlance.


Interestingly his accuracy is much better in general play than in set shots.

One thing that is interesting is that I am not sure if his input on the game would have been any different if he was the sub.

All his touches seemed to have happened in the last quarter.

He would have started on and been subbed off at three quarter time.