Not just another Davis Thread

[2005]

Have to try something different with Davo agree.
Will be forever grateful what he did in 2005 and even in our loss in the GF 06

Though its 2008 now and Davo is not the player he was.
Maybe this spell in the magoos is what he needs , I dont know and really dont think the club has the real answer either.

The answer is there though : In Davo himself !!!
Does he really want it that bad with us or is it time to part ways.

[swantastic]

I agree totally with the premise of the opening thread. To me he's always looked at his most dangerous when he spends time in the midfield. A week or so ago I watched again that 10 minute burst in the final quarter of the 2005 PF and was struck by how energetic and purposeful Davis was working in the area between the centre and the 50m arc. You're never going to find him - or want him - wrestling with Kirk or Bolton for the ball at the bottom of a pack but on the skirts of a crowd he is very good at receiving and getting clear. He's not quick over distance but he can make space in a step or two. I love his trademark fend off with an arm to the chest. He almost always executes it perfectly and it's very effective.

Go back to the 2005 SF and he didn't just kick those 4 goals. He had something like 24 possessions and for 3/4 was mostly playing up the ground. Along with Crouch, he was probably the most effective 4 quarter player in the game quite aside from his last gasp heroics. And getting him involved throughout a game seems to make him mentally sharper when he is up forward.

The big question, though, is whether it is Davis' or the club's fault that he's not used that way more often. It would have to come down to fitness. He said at the start of the year that he was fitter than ever, so it's disappointing and puzzling now to read that he's "under done". Was he kidding himself on the amount of hard work he'd done, or has he been carrying a niggle since the season started that has prevented him keeping up the work on the track? He was reported as having had a bout of flu but that can't just be it, totally.

I agree Liz,he seems to me to be the type of person who needs some thing to do all the time.When he just sits down in the F50 he looks bored.So maybe he needs the hustle and bustle of the midfield to keep him 100% occupied.

[chammond]

As always, Liz' comments make a lot of sense, but I fear that Davis' problems are more fundamental than finding the right role on the field. Throughout all his career ups-and-downs, his game has been underpinned by his unflagging confidence in his goal-kicking ability, and I suspect that for the first time in his life he is wondering if that ability is as infallible as it once was.

He was right in front of me when he slammed the shot into the goalpost against the Roos, and the expression on his face wasn't the look of anger I expected, but rather a resigned and dispirited look of someone who felt that the whole world is against him.

I hope that Davis can come back to his best, but I suspect that his self-belief is going to take a lot of repairing. Maybe if he can kick a few bags in the reserves . . . . . ?

[ScottH]

Maybe if he can kick a few bags in the reserves . . . . . ?

He already has this year. Maybe a few more may help.

[Xie Shan]

I believe strongly that (especially with the number of rotations) he could be the kind of midfielder we are desperate for (ie. one who needs to be tagged).

Think you've hit the nail on the head there. That might explain the question mark over his fitness, I'm sure Roos would love to play him as an attacking midfielder but realises that if he does, he's likely to be pretty heavily tagged. If he has the fitness/mental toughness to break tags (we have seen Goodes struggle with taggers in the past), then it could allow O'Keefe to play deeper forward, we know he can play there.

[NMWBloods]

Having a midfielder that went out there to get the ball and didn't worry about tagging is a bit of an anathema to Roos. He does it with Goodes and did with Williams, but that's about it.

A talented player down on confidence - surely the coach has to take some responsibility, especially when the coach is recognised for the improvement in certain players.

Davis has everything required to be a quality midfielder, except possibly fitness. On this score I'm not sure if we really know either way.

[liz]

In the reserves one victory of the year - against Belconnen a few weeks ago - Davis' goal kicking was supreme. You can argue that he was able to take marks more easily due to the lower standard of the game, but a set shot is a set shot whoever else is standing around watching. Of his 8 goals, I think around 5 of them were set shots from 40+ metres out and all but one was as straight as a dart of the boot. One did a bit of work in the air before sneaking in.

I truly hope he and the club find some way to reinvent him. The game has changed - it's quicker and forward lines get crowded more often and more rapidly. I don't think he has the tricks as a smallish forward to win the ball often enough to be effective. But I do think there is a valuable footballer somewhere there if he can be rediscovered.

[chammond]

I don't think he has the tricks as a smallish forward to win the ball often enough to be effective. But I do think there is a valuable footballer somewhere there if he can be rediscovered.

He probably doesn't need to win the ball that often to be effective. If he takes 4 or 5 marks, kicks 2 or 3 goals, and applies enough forward pressure to keep Roos happy, then I think he'd have a permanent position in the pocket. Unfortunately, the perception is that he's not even getting close to that level at the moment.

Kick the goals and everything is forgiven.

[Nico]

He's a soft tackler and you want to put him into the midfield? His problem is that he is in the side to kick goals and he isn't doing it. He still has to improve his body language.

Yes he should definitely swivel the hips a lot more.

[Goal Sneak]

Kick the goals and everything is forgiven.

Exactly. If Davo had kicked a couple against the Roos, which he was unlucky not to have, then he would be in the team this week. He seems to get put off if something doesn't go the way he would like. He is obviously way too good to be in the reserves, and his kicking for goal will return with a bit of faith in him. He seems to be our only goal kicking player to get this sort of scrutiny. If Hall or O'Loughlin have two bad weeks kicking for goal, does their ability get questioned? If we stick with Nick and show him the respect given to our other forwards, he will come through for us more times than not.

[sharp9]

Don't know where people get this idea that Davis is soft from. He is very strong, very difficult to tackle and can clear the ball from congestion as well as any player in the league.

Someone said that maybe Roosey is worried about haow he would cope with a tag, well IMO........it's worth finding out. There's a possibility that he could thrive on that attention rather than chuck a sook.

[JF_Bay22_SCG]

Yep - I think he should get a proper run on the wing.

Do you think for 1 minute that he has the application & aerobic capacity to play a whole match as an onballer? I certainly don't.

JF

[elroy67]

Someone said that maybe Roosey is worried about haow he would cope with a tag, well IMO........it's worth finding out. There's a possibility that he could thrive on that attention rather than chuck a sook.

The problem with this approach is that the really good taggers these days are really good ball winners and ball users as well eg. Kane Cornes, Cam Ling.

If the talk that Davo is not providing enough defensive pressure when the ball is in the opposition back line, what problems will arise when there is a lack of defensive pressure in midfield?

Our undersized (and slow) defense is ill equipped to handle the ball coming in quickly the number of times it is already.

That said, if he can overcome the 'advertised' deficiency, I'd be very happy! Davo is quite possibly our only 'X factor' player when in form. He has the ability to do things on a footy field that no others in our current crop seem to be able to produce.

[Reggi]

Don't know where people get this idea that Davis is soft from.

Watching Him "Play"

[goswannie14]

What is your defeinition of soft?