Yeah he avoided training like the plague ha!
For a bit of contextā¦
Fletch never had these problems. But he did play āundersizedā at 18 and did do a lot of weight training in his second year.
Yet one of his kids did have the same problems. The other one may have as well.
It could just be that the game has changed so much that a particular body type is more susceptible to breaking down due to the heavy loads imposed at a young age.
Iām not sure if cricket has evolved just as much in the same period of time to have these problems or itās just a fact that the average human is taller now and with population growth, thereās more of them around.
Bruce Reid (the cricketer) is the only bowler I can remember who continually broke down through the 90s. And thatās mainly because of the 12th man tapes rather than actually following the sport.
Running demands have definitely changed
Fletch would not have been doing 15km a game like Jones, Cox and Reid have done/are capable of. Theyād be running way more at training that he ever would have also
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Running demands have definitely changed.
In his first few years, Lockett and Dunstall barely left the forward 50.
Neither of those two guys (without adjusting their fitness) would make it nowadays with the amount of players flooding back nor running up to the centre square and working their way back.
Midfielders are definitely running more and at a greater pace. I recall when Buckley broke through the 12km mark it was a big thing. Now Players are doing 16 or 17km and a lot of it at a higher pace in a much shorter period of time.
Our quarters go to 30 minutes on average nowadays. In the 90s it was high 30s. Twenty years ago it was around 33 minutes.
But I also think weight training and gym work are having just as much impact. Back when Fletch was coming through, you could be a part time footballer. Nowadays, they only have 1 day off per week.
The science around gym work is different too. Building muscle was the thing in the 90s, whereas now itās more about building the core.
Any coach that ever develops a system whereby high amounts of repetitive running are no longer required will be lauded.
How this will be achieved is a different box of cheese.
The argument about ābut āplayer Xā is tall and skinny, and he hasnāt had back issuesā is a moot point.
The players who lack the muscular frame, are extremely tall and long limbed have a much higher risk factor of getting serious spinal injuries.
Not all of these players have this problem, but a high percentage of them do.
This is the point thatās being made. Itās a recruitment strategy problem, as well as a strength and conditioning department problem.
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I think some of your other posts on the subject are more apt.
Itās not about taking on the risk, but doing it across three or four drafts.
Iād say the guy we drafted in the last draft (name escapes me - tall defender) would also be in the same category of tall and lanky.
So thatās another one to keep an eye on.
I just found it odd in the earlier post mentioning the NBA. When Victor W is that exact tall and lanky player who I think his body wonāt allow him to be the star he looks like being. I still wouldnāt pass him up if Iām the Spurs. Heās worth the gamble.
criticism of taking too many developing talls in a short timeframe is 100% valid
criticism of drafting those types of players at all is genuine smooth brain stuff
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I continue to go back to the episode of the Sash podcast. When they were discussing this.
The main point was, when you have 6-7 of these types on the list, the workload of the strength and conditioning team is huge.
Theyāre continually adjusting individual work loads, including weight programs. they need to be continually doing CT scans on the playerās spinal cord to catch any early signs of back fractures because of their high risk.
Like Most clubs, the load should be 1-2 of these types of players on the list. Our conditioning team always has a big group of these guys on the list.
The over dependance on these types of players is large issue from a recruiting perspective. And Other than Hooker and Daniher, how often has it paid off?
Iām not sure youād throw Hooker in with that lot.
Otherwise, youād include Zerk in it too.
I have no troubles using later picks on these type of players. The risk benefit is there and you can afford to be more patient with later picks.
The early picks are too much of a gamble.
Gumby was one failed pick.
Cox and Reid can still turn out good, but it needs time.
How many stick thin guys have we had other than the ones Iāve mentioned?
Lewis Hayes.
Nick Bryan (he might be borderline though).
Harry Jones.
Tom Jok.
Sean Gregory.
Christian Bock.
Weirdly, if you add Gumby who was 197cm and 98kg, youād begin adding a lot more players (Ridley for example). Even Joe Daniher at 201cm and 94kg doesnāt quite fit the ratio (at least the one Iām working off).
Itās only been Reid and Cox that weāve taken with a first round pick since the Gumby failure.
Thatās not how you should be buying your cheese. Who is your Cheese Guy?
This guy.
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It would seem you have much, Charismaaaaaaaaar
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Balls are about to FIZZ
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I have long questioned the value of dragging bigger slower forwards up the ground. They have 1 trick - marking the kick up the line. Beyond that they are more often than not useless in the chain forward and the amount of times thereās nobody inside 50 to kick to negates a lot of what they might provide up the ground. Some forwards have the speed and agility to be dangerous all over the ground - they are rare.
I havenāt watched him closely but Iād be interested to know how much time Hawkins spends more than 50 from goal. Again, he never seems to hurt teams up the ground but inside 60 heās deadly.
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Weather heās good at his job or not the fact is Dodo has been at the club 20 years itās time for some one new no list manager apart from Stephen Wells has been at the one club for so long
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A major issue with dodo is that his recruiting philosophy is behind the times. Heās spoken very publicly and openly that he learned what he knows from sheedy, hence his focus on talls and neglect of our midfield.
Itās a big part of why weāve sucked for so long and I also believe itās a bit part of why we have recurring injury issues. The game has completely changed since sheedy was in his prime and dodo is stuck in that dated mindset. And the odd thing is that sheedy was sacked because the club perceived him to be past it.
There has never been a time the club has so desperately needed a fresh perspective.
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Look
Iāve been a dodo supporter
However the more I think about it, all this talk about the talls needing development time and not being relied upon until after year 3 in the system, the more I blame Dodoro.
These decisions should have been made in 2017-18, looking at life after Hurley and Hooker.
Itās not about finding quality talent but more about balance
Blind Freddy could have seen that by 2023 we would have one key tall on our list - Joe, and he would be 29.
We had just lost Carlisle, and the only slight resemblance of a KPP we looked at was Francis, and then later Ridley, who are both intercepting 3rd tall types.
Instead we wait until 2020 and of course those young kids are not ready yet.
And if the decisions were out of his control because board/coaches wanted a certain type or to trade for the now. Then he should have stood down, as that is the role of a list manager, to be independent from the coach and provide a balanced oversight/long term view of keeping the list on good shape.
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Thereās another strategy. Trade for these types of players. Let other clubs do the development work and poach them.
I would be leaning heavily into that modelā¦otherwise as we know, it can just be too much of an investment (also at the sacrifice of the rest of the list).
We kind of have done that by default (I think only because both deals were absolute no brainers) with 2MP and WEED.
The drawback with that approach is if you want to get a bona fide gun KPP (outside of FA), it costs a fkn heap in draft currency. If you can identify and develop the talent yourself, it will only cost a single pick.
Both approaches have validity, but both have trade-offs too.
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