what is the difference?

[TheMase]

which also means we havent had any decent draft picks.

And when we did have them, we did not get many decent players either!

[liz]

which also means we havent had any decent draft picks.

If you use 40 as the cut-off for "high' vs "low" draft picks and consider the following lists of players

Bolton J
Fosdike
Crouch
Doyle
Ablett
Schmidt
McVeigh

vs

Goodes
O'Loughlin
Buchanan
Kirk
Kennelly
Bevan
Malceski
Schneider
O'Keefe

would you rather have more high or low picks!!!

I've left out players traded for picks because the equation is slightly different when you have a better idea what you're getting. And I've excluded various types of zone pick too.

I realise this is a bit simplistic, but it goes to show that you can develop truly excellent players from lower picks.

[swansrule100]

yes you never know what you will get in the draft. But we havent had a chance to grab a top 3 pick , someone who could make an immediate impact in the team.

[Hazcam]

i dont think goodes was a top pick but i saw him in the u/18's grand final on tele for geelong or something and boy did he play a blinder.

only occasionally will you get a top draft pick going all the way
most of the time the player has developed over time

[dimelb]

Maybe what's wrong is that the team had only a season and a half of good play in it. It wore itself out in that intense period and has nothing to fall back on.

Brian Taylor said the same thing on the Sunday Footy Show (the real one) today. I think he's right to an extent.
Injuries - as others have said - are hurting us big time, and we don't have much depth. After his occasionally inept display yesterday I wonder if Dempster is carrying an injury too.
The lack of a player like Paul Williams.
The clanger count part way through the game was horrendous - does anyone know how we finished up? Worst was probably Benny's which cost 6 points.

[Wardy]

Injuries have played a big part - whilst we supposedly have the best injury management in the game - the fact is that our players have still played with patched up injuries (albeit, most were hidden from the media). You can do a patch up job for only so long on any injury. Wear & tear takes its toll after a while, we have had roughly 3 good years relatively major injury free, now the patch up jobs just aren't holding anymore.
What I have found in recent weeks that our players , whilst they are fit - are not as fit as other teams. They dont man up, yet the opposition man up on us no problems at all, as I have said before, our game plan and playing style has been studied by the opposition, and they have found a way to beat it.

[reigning premier]

The difference?

Kicking.

Not one of our players executes a kick with enough accuracy, enough of the time. Whether it be passing or for goal, our kicking is woeful. It is rarely to our advantage, and even less frequently "pinpoint" when it matters the most.

Whereas we used to pinpoint passes and hit targets with accuracy and ease, we just aren't doing that at this point in time.

[Wardy]

The difference?

Kicking.

Not one of our players executes a kick with enough accuracy, enough of the time. Whether it be passing or for goal, our kicking is woeful. It is rarely to our advantage, and even less frequently "pinpoint" when it matters the most.

Whereas we used to pinpoint passes and hit targets with accuracy and ease, we just aren't doing that at this point in time.

indeed - the kicking is woeful - maybe they all need eye tests - because some of the passes are too high to mark - or too short to the point that a players has to dive to get it, missing it 90% of the time. We also have the "hot pototo" hand passes to deal with as well.

I just hope that what ever has gone wrong can be rectified, that they get the passion back and start playing again the way we all know they can play.

[ScottH]

indeed - the kicking is woeful

More behinds need to be kicked this week.

[Snake]

And when we did have them, we did not get many decent players either!

Exactly! super dud McVeigh was pick no:5 from memory.

[Vivien]

Agree with all that has been said here.

I watched the 2005 season highlights DVD a few weeks ago and what struck me was just how good O'Laughlin and Hall were (particularly Hall). Hall was consistently kicking bags of 4 goals+, even had a couple of 7 goal hauls towards the end of the season. Not only that, but he was also setting up a significant number of goals. His poor form has really affected us IMO.

Another thing that struck me about this year is that none of our so-called second tier players have stood up like they have in previous seasons. For eg.

-In 2005, Schneider, Buchanan, Bolton, O'Keefe, and Kennelly all really improved
-In 2006, Fosdike stood up and players like O'Keefe, Kennelly, Schneider, Jolly and Buchanan all continued to improve
-This season, players like Bolton and Buchanan have gone backwards and improvement has only really been observed in Malceski and to some extent Jolly

[madswan]

We miss Williams. Not only through the midfield but as a mentor to our players.

[swansrule100]

Agree with all that has been said here.

I watched the 2005 season highlights DVD a few weeks ago and what struck me was just how good O'Laughlin and Hall were (particularly Hall). Hall was consistently kicking bags of 4 goals+, even had a couple of 7 goal hauls towards the end of the season. Not only that, but he was also setting up a significant number of goals. His poor form has really affected us IMO.

Another thing that struck me about this year is that none of our so-called second tier players have stood up like they have in previous seasons. For eg.

-In 2005, Schneider, Buchanan, Bolton, O'Keefe, and Kennelly all really improved
-In 2006, Fosdike stood up and players like O'Keefe, Kennelly, Schneider, Jolly and Buchanan all continued to improve
-This season, players like Bolton and Buchanan have gone backwards and improvement has only really been observed in Malceski and to some extent Jolly

one thing that struck me from the 2005 highlights was how many bad games we still played.

[NMWBloods]

one thing that struck me from the 2005 highlights was how many bad games we still played.

We were just a reasonable, but not great, side for much of 2005.

We played pretty well from rd 15-22, winning 7 of 8.

Hall kicked 34 goals in those 7 wins.