We played the same way even in our premiership years. Difference was fitness levels and younger list. Deduct 3 years off Cotchin, Martin, Riewoldt, Grimes, Nank etc and we win all games we have played this year.The effort is still there so Dimma still has the players faith which is great.
However I honestly think the way we are playing is so taxing physically compared to other teams now.
The good sides I watch seemingly hit the target with relative ease. It's simply keepings off with the stand rule if you have players who can spot up a lead.
Our side is always having to expend energy chasing tail & trying win the footy back because our bloody skill errors keep happening.
It's no wonder we can sustain the efforts for 4 quarters. We're physically cooking ourselves.
Also think we miss the real creative type ala Sheds. He was another that would always step up when the tide was against us and somehow create a goal scoring opportunity.
I think we may have actually been able to maintain our run if our drafting was better. The likes of RCD, Martyn, Ross, Dow etc should be the ones now stepping in with fresh bodies and enough games in the bag to take control of games. We missed that draft and now we need to wait a few years for the new batch to come through while also trying to maintain a decent amount of seasoned bodies on the other end. Going to be interesting.