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Warning: this is a little long, and a bit of a ramble but I am not going to put too much effort into it. Anyway, we have a week off, it might help pass the time. And if you feel inclined to reply, please read all of it and make some sort of sensible response. Thanks.
The worst thing that could have happened to the career of Nick Davis was the final quarter of the famous Geelong semi-final.
He played an excellent game that night, but the final quarter was brilliant. It was a once in a career quarter. I remember a Nico post on here about being in the zone, about Nico running a wing (I think) and hitting every target, lace out with a sublime left foot. Plenty of sportsmen and women talk about it. It happens but it cannot be summoned. I think that this quarter raised unrealistic expectations in fans, in the club and most importantly in Nick himself about what his true "potential" is.
Firstly, I think that regardless of how good the 1/4 was, its true quality was over stated because (a) the rest of the game was so crap, (b) the Swans came from behind, and (c) it was an elimination semi-final. Had Nick played a 1/4 like that in a home and away game aganst the side running 12th when the Swans led by 17 at three quarter time, it would be lucky to be mentioned beyond ther following Monday. The hype of the moment (and what a moment it was) has propelled the quarter into mythical status. That is fine, it remains a great 1/4 of football, but the moment should not be confused with the qulaity of the football. There are probably plenty of blokes who have played an absolute blinder for a 1/4 or a 1/2 in their day but their moment has been forgotten because it was not in a come from behind semi final win in front of 40,000 screaming fans and a live television audience of heaps.
1/4quarter, coupled with Nick's previous reputation as KFC loving, lazy, sometimes disinterested "wasted talent", have combined to produce a belief that this is what Nick is capable of if he applies himself. I don't think it is. He could develop the strength of Hall, the motor of ROK, the courage of Jude and the speed of Malceski and quite likely never play another 1/4 like that. That 1/4 was a moment in time that will never return - sadly.
I think that along with the fans, Nick believed it could happen too. I thought at the start of 2006 he looked absolutely fantastic - and I thought that he was one of the few that looked commited early in the season when the others looked flat. I believe that he got on the spirit of the bloods bandwagon a little bit late, but that he was a true believer of the hype. He thought that if he commited himself he would be able to reproduce his semi-final form - hence the 2 or 3 Brownlows comment during the 2006 pre-season. He got sucked in by the hype and the spirit of the bloods (I suspect the coaching staff may have too) and thought that if he trained like Kirk, he could reproduce that form.
In the context of the flat start to 2006 and injury - which had disillusioned him before - I think Nick (probably not the most persistent bloke in the club) probably got over the spirit of the bloods stuff pretty quickly, and lost his way in 2006. I still think his dropping was very badly handled by the club and has as much to do with why he is in the reserves now as anything else. He was made a scapegoat - there is no way he was the only underperforming player at that stage of 2006. However, it is easy to understand why in the context of the hype of his 2005 performance, his reputation as a wasted talent and a recorded fall in attitude at that stage of the season. I think that Nick, besides his football talent, has a great knack of getting himself in the wrong place at the wrong time - which proably shows a real lack of PR smarts and a genuine lack of judgement.
I think we all expect too much of Davis if we expect him to be 2005 semi final Davis. I like the LRT handball into space Davis goal from 30m out from off the ground v Carlton Davis. He can work hard, and often does, but is not quick and tends to want to be where the ball is going rather than where it is. I think Luke Hodge plays very similarly much of the time (I also think that Hodge is a much better player than Nick, and certainly a better tackler but has a same tendancy to try and get to the outside a pack where the ball is likely to come out). I thnk that his footy smarts are a great asset, and that he creates plenty of opportunites by being clever, much like MOL (MOL is a better mark, but also has a lot more of his leads honoured).
I think that Roos has failed to get the most out of Davis and that the blame should be shared. Roos has achieved a lot at the club and credit to him. But he has failed when it comes to Davis which is a shame for those of us that enjoy watching Nick. That said however, Roos may have got a lot less out of the club had he been the type of coach that could have achieved more with Nick. Roos is certainly stubborn, and in my opinion arrogant. Once Nick crossed the line he was always going to struggle with Roos and his henchmen.
In the final quarter against Geelong in 2005 Nick Davis set himself a bench mark that he could not reach. He set an expectation of himself that he could not fulfil. Combined with his reputation as a natural talent with a suspect attitude, the ease with which he seems to become disillusioned (part of the suspect attitude) and the approach taken by the club in 2005 and following, he was on a hiding to nothing from that moment on.
Someone needs to work out how to get the best out of Nick Davis. It would be best if it was him that was the someone. The club needs to consider it to, and work out what they really want from him and how they might get it. He is not irreplaceable - he is proably not in our best dozen - but he is far too good a player to be playing in Canberra. Rather than look at the 2005 game I think the 2006 GF shows his true value. He is a genuine match winner when playing confidently and well. We are a better side with him in the team and we have no other player that is like him, no like-for-like replacement. I genuinely hope that the club and Nick can work together, set some realistic expectations and find a way to get him firing for the run home. We are a better chance of a flag in 2008 with Nick Davis playing well in our best 22 than without.
The worst thing that could have happened to the career of Nick Davis was the final quarter of the famous Geelong semi-final.
He played an excellent game that night, but the final quarter was brilliant. It was a once in a career quarter. I remember a Nico post on here about being in the zone, about Nico running a wing (I think) and hitting every target, lace out with a sublime left foot. Plenty of sportsmen and women talk about it. It happens but it cannot be summoned. I think that this quarter raised unrealistic expectations in fans, in the club and most importantly in Nick himself about what his true "potential" is.
Firstly, I think that regardless of how good the 1/4 was, its true quality was over stated because (a) the rest of the game was so crap, (b) the Swans came from behind, and (c) it was an elimination semi-final. Had Nick played a 1/4 like that in a home and away game aganst the side running 12th when the Swans led by 17 at three quarter time, it would be lucky to be mentioned beyond ther following Monday. The hype of the moment (and what a moment it was) has propelled the quarter into mythical status. That is fine, it remains a great 1/4 of football, but the moment should not be confused with the qulaity of the football. There are probably plenty of blokes who have played an absolute blinder for a 1/4 or a 1/2 in their day but their moment has been forgotten because it was not in a come from behind semi final win in front of 40,000 screaming fans and a live television audience of heaps.
1/4quarter, coupled with Nick's previous reputation as KFC loving, lazy, sometimes disinterested "wasted talent", have combined to produce a belief that this is what Nick is capable of if he applies himself. I don't think it is. He could develop the strength of Hall, the motor of ROK, the courage of Jude and the speed of Malceski and quite likely never play another 1/4 like that. That 1/4 was a moment in time that will never return - sadly.
I think that along with the fans, Nick believed it could happen too. I thought at the start of 2006 he looked absolutely fantastic - and I thought that he was one of the few that looked commited early in the season when the others looked flat. I believe that he got on the spirit of the bloods bandwagon a little bit late, but that he was a true believer of the hype. He thought that if he commited himself he would be able to reproduce his semi-final form - hence the 2 or 3 Brownlows comment during the 2006 pre-season. He got sucked in by the hype and the spirit of the bloods (I suspect the coaching staff may have too) and thought that if he trained like Kirk, he could reproduce that form.
In the context of the flat start to 2006 and injury - which had disillusioned him before - I think Nick (probably not the most persistent bloke in the club) probably got over the spirit of the bloods stuff pretty quickly, and lost his way in 2006. I still think his dropping was very badly handled by the club and has as much to do with why he is in the reserves now as anything else. He was made a scapegoat - there is no way he was the only underperforming player at that stage of 2006. However, it is easy to understand why in the context of the hype of his 2005 performance, his reputation as a wasted talent and a recorded fall in attitude at that stage of the season. I think that Nick, besides his football talent, has a great knack of getting himself in the wrong place at the wrong time - which proably shows a real lack of PR smarts and a genuine lack of judgement.
I think we all expect too much of Davis if we expect him to be 2005 semi final Davis. I like the LRT handball into space Davis goal from 30m out from off the ground v Carlton Davis. He can work hard, and often does, but is not quick and tends to want to be where the ball is going rather than where it is. I think Luke Hodge plays very similarly much of the time (I also think that Hodge is a much better player than Nick, and certainly a better tackler but has a same tendancy to try and get to the outside a pack where the ball is likely to come out). I thnk that his footy smarts are a great asset, and that he creates plenty of opportunites by being clever, much like MOL (MOL is a better mark, but also has a lot more of his leads honoured).
I think that Roos has failed to get the most out of Davis and that the blame should be shared. Roos has achieved a lot at the club and credit to him. But he has failed when it comes to Davis which is a shame for those of us that enjoy watching Nick. That said however, Roos may have got a lot less out of the club had he been the type of coach that could have achieved more with Nick. Roos is certainly stubborn, and in my opinion arrogant. Once Nick crossed the line he was always going to struggle with Roos and his henchmen.
In the final quarter against Geelong in 2005 Nick Davis set himself a bench mark that he could not reach. He set an expectation of himself that he could not fulfil. Combined with his reputation as a natural talent with a suspect attitude, the ease with which he seems to become disillusioned (part of the suspect attitude) and the approach taken by the club in 2005 and following, he was on a hiding to nothing from that moment on.
Someone needs to work out how to get the best out of Nick Davis. It would be best if it was him that was the someone. The club needs to consider it to, and work out what they really want from him and how they might get it. He is not irreplaceable - he is proably not in our best dozen - but he is far too good a player to be playing in Canberra. Rather than look at the 2005 game I think the 2006 GF shows his true value. He is a genuine match winner when playing confidently and well. We are a better side with him in the team and we have no other player that is like him, no like-for-like replacement. I genuinely hope that the club and Nick can work together, set some realistic expectations and find a way to get him firing for the run home. We are a better chance of a flag in 2008 with Nick Davis playing well in our best 22 than without.
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