Healy on the Swans

[NMWBloods]

Just the briefest comment on the Swans on On the Couch this week. Healy was very confident we would still make finals and we could be a contender. Thinks Hall needs to play deeper and we need to get the ball in to him quicker. With our quality forward line there is no reason we can't kick big winning scores. We just need to sort things out.

All makes perfect sense and is the key for us to do well. Can our midfielders actually do this?!?

They showed some footage from the Freo v Rich game and talked about how Freo spent so much time kicking sideways and avoiding contests and not looking for the forwards enough.

Walls noted that it seems to be because they don't trust their foot skills to hit targets so they go for uncontested passes. However, if their skills aren't so good then this chipping around will eventually come undone.

Sounds just like us. If your skills aren't so good you need to compensate elsewhere and play differently.

[sharpie]

Wow, so the two biggest culprits for playing keepings off are the only two teams to have never won a premiership (obviously taking the swans in their 'Sydney' state only)

hmmmm, it really makes you think...

[Matt79]

Some would consider it good that we did not get much media attention after our insipid display against the crows as the focus seems to be on the Dockers.

However, some media scrutiny on the team may have been a blessing in disguise and make a few senior blokes work a little harder.

What would be better...media scrutiny or we're happy the focus is elsewhere?

[liz]

When Roos took over from Eade he attributed the immediate improvement in form to releasing the team from its fear of making skill errors that they seemed to have developed in the later Eade years. He told them to go out there, relax and have fun. Their confidence lifted immediately and their skills improved tenfold.

He seemed to continue this mantra in 2003 and again the team's skills were probably at the most consistently high level that we'd seen for years.

This year he said that the main focus over the pre-season was improving skills, because turnovers kill a team. So now that's what the team is most worried about, their skills have completely disintegrated.

If you ever want to put someone off their game - in any situation, work, sport, games etc - just tell them to concentrate on not making mistakes. It's the best way to stress them out, make them retreat into their shells and make more mistakes. Everyone must have observed this, and there is lots of psychological research to back it up.

Last weekend in the final quarter the team didn't care about individual mistakes and they made plenty. But, it didn't matter. Because they were so focussed on running hard, attacking the ball and moving it forward that they made up for their mistakes, won the ball back and eventually created enough scoring chances.

My guess is that in the review of that game Roos pointed out all the skill errors they made and asked them to try to eliminate them. So this week they went back into their shells, didn't bother running for the ball and contesting (because if you don't have possession you can't make a skill error), and when they couldn't help but have possession worried themselves out of it.

We are seeing a repeat of the Eade era - a great first year with no pressure and the emphasis on fun, and then an attempt to address areas that were slight weaknesses backfiring by eliminating what made the first year work so well.

If the team is backing itself and believes it can create enough chances, mistakes don't actually matter that much. But when they stop trying to create they will never ever win because the effect of the inevitable mistakes will be magnified tenfold.

[NMWBloods]

I think media scrutiny is better.

[ROK Lobster]

I think Liz is right.

[Mike_B]

Re: Healy on the Swans

Originally posted by NMWBloods
Walls noted that it seems to be because they don't trust their foot skills to hit targets so they go for uncontested passes. However, if their skills aren't so good then this chipping around will eventually come undone.

Sounds just like us. If your skills aren't so good you need to compensate elsewhere and play differently.

You missed my Swans = Freo thread huh?

[dimelb]

Agree with Liz here. Steve Waugh once said that at Test level the game is 90% in the head. AFL isn't at Test level, but as the top level we have, I suspect the same principle applies. The blokes need more confidence in themselves, and it can come from Roos' confidence in them, especially in our "working class midfield" and their capacity to hold and match their opponents.

[Glenn]

Doesn't really come as any shock that Hall needs to be playing deeper , get him back to FF with someone (NOG??) as a crumber and have Goodes at the CHF IMHO

[ROK Lobster]

Originally posted by Glenn
Doesn't really come as any shock that Hall needs to be playing deeper , get him back to FF with someone (NOG??) as a crumber and have Goodes at the CHF IMHO

Get Schneider back in the fwd line, doing what he does best. Can Bloods (or anyone) give us the ratio of goals from set shots:goals from open play (inside 50 if that is possible) for 2003 and 2004. We don't seem to get many goals from crumbs anymore.

[giant]

Fascinating post Liz and very difficult to argue against.

I think we forget that Roos is a newish coach and so these sort of "mistakes" are quite understandable (tho no less frustrating for that). Heard the deplorable Laidley talk about engaging a "caoching mentor" the othr day - wonder if similar for Roosy might be a good investment at this stage.

[liz]

I don't think Hall at CHF is the problem. He plays a quasi FF / CHF role anyway. The issue is him having to run half up the ground to present as a target because no one else is. That's what the HFF should be doing.

I think we'll start to see the benefits of Magic back quite soon. He seems to gain some mobility and freakishness after just a game or two. He and Hall work very well together and at least he will provide a marking target for Hall to deliver to when he's taking possession on the forward arc. The problem with playing Hall back deep in the square is that we lose his aggression and tackling on the HF line. He's also very good at finding a short target deep in the forward area.

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by liz
We are seeing a repeat of the Eade era - a great first year with no pressure and the emphasis on fun, and then an attempt to address areas that were slight weaknesses backfiring by eliminating what made the first year work so well.

Definitely, and this happens in so many walks of life. When there is no pressure and you are still in the honeymoon period then things work so much more easily. Once it becomes expected the pressure builds, the mistakes creep in and then it continues to compound.

The Swans era from 2003-2005 is becoming very similar to 1996-98 and we know what happened after that...

I don't have stats on set shots and shots in play, however I believe that we get very few goals from crumbing packs. I don't feel we are likely to get a goal from a losse ball situation, say a missed mark, in our forward line like I expect it to happen with other sides.

I think Hall needs to operate between the goal square and the 50m arc. Schneider needs to play around near his feet. O'Loughlin needs to lead to other side to Hall. O'Keefe needs to go up the ground a bit further to open up the forward line and deliver the ball inside 50 and he also needs to make leads to spread the defence. We need someone tall or solid to play in the goal square.

[NMWBloods]

Re: Re: Healy on the Swans

Originally posted by Mike_B
You missed my Swans = Freo thread huh?

No - I saw it and was thinking about it when I typed the above. I meant to reference it actually as further evidence!

[ROK Lobster]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
Definitely, and this happens in so many walks of life. When there is no pressure and you are still in the honeymoon period then things work so much more easily. Once it becomes expected the pressure builds, the mistakes creep in and then it continues to compound.

Is there a reference here to impending nuptials?