When we first moved away from Windy Hill there was a lot of discussion that we might be a 5% - 10% fitter/better side as a consequence.
The narrow win against Hawthorn got me thinking again about a possible 5% improvement margin leading to victory.
Not sure how to assess this but I pose the general question:
“Are we seeing any evidence of improvement due to the new facilities at Tullamarine?”
Spongy floor.
Look at our free agents and realise we would have none of them without the TVSC
Spongy floor.
Coooooooooooooooooooooon
Look at our free agents and realise we would have none of them without the TVSC
Pretty much.
Not sure there is a heap of evidence at this stage that our fitness has improved, but it’s been worth it so far based on the above fact alone.
I think the ability to have two different sized grounds would have helped the coaches implement different strategies at training.
Whether this translates to greater success for players on game day is another question.
And probably one for the training reporters.
I dont think the facilities would allow us to have a 5% endurance advantage over the hawks. but it may have reduced the gap 1%-5% other clubs had over us with their facilities. Hawks would be in the top echelon in endurance Smith, Hill, Mcevoy, hartung all have good endurance.
I think the last 5 minutes of game time is probably more mental than physical, a number of hawks fans have said Colyers ability to run had at end of game and finish by kicking the goal was the play of the day. Mentally pushing your body to the limits. Stanton and his smother. Ambrose steam rolling hill. Its effort & will to win. All coaches love repeat efforts
Not training around roped-off cricket pitches (or roaming to find ovals over summer) is worth it on its own!
Mr Hooker showed the value of a kick down the guts last week…
An oval without a cricket pitch.
That might be worth a couple of %.
Edit: beat me to it.
Don’t under estimate the value of the spongey floor when it comes to re-habbing players with any form of leg/foot injury.
Maybe our short injury list is already testament to it.
An oval without a cricket pitch.That might be worth a couple of %.
Edit: beat me to it.
No cricket pitch AND an MCG sized training oval means:
You can actually practice using the corridor now on an MCG sized ground to transition coast-to-coast…just like we did with Colyer’s goal at the end.
You can do full ground drills like the 12:12 drills they’ve been doing.
You can have specialist coaching, for things like kicking for goal, whilst normal training continues on either the same ground or the the other training oval.
Etc.
Many, many things we can do & simulate now we could never do before.
Plus, the facility itself is a lure to recruiting players and has a role in retaining them.
Makes us a hell of a lot more appealing to opposition players who entertain coming to Essendon and also makes us look a hell of a lot more professional as a club off the field. Not just because our training facilities are now world class but because it shows the club is willing to make bold moves to further the club and keep up with the growing demands of AFL.
To me it was the official closing of the horrible era that us fans had to endure through '05-'10.
Was worth every penny.
I reckon there’s a big placebo effect as well.
Remember when Collingwood were the fittest and best team ever because they had the best facilities? Well now they’re not.
Are their facilities any worse than they were 5 years ago?
I reckon there's a big placebo effect as well. Remember when Collingwood were the fittest and best team ever because they had the best facilities? Well now they're not. Are their facilities any worse than they were 5 years ago?No, only their players (and coach) are worse.
Full marks to the fitness team too, our injury list is so much smaller than any year I can remember. Coincidence? Maybe not.
Combination of terrific facilities and quality fitness staff have us going well.
I reckon there's a big placebo effect as well. Remember when Collingwood were the fittest and best team ever because they had the best facilities? Well now they're not. Are their facilities any worse than they were 5 years ago?
Others have caught up or gone past them?
I think the new developement has had a big impact and there may well be a placebo effect. You want players to be excited about the going to training and having awesome facilities for them to work in because it helps you do your own work effectively.
Accessing the benefti
I reckon there's a big placebo effect as well. Remember when Collingwood were the fittest and best team ever because they had the best facilities? Well now they're not. Are their facilities any worse than they were 5 years ago?
No, but they now have Nafan doing his best…
I reckon there's a big placebo effect as well. Remember when Collingwood were the fittest and best team ever because they had the best facilities? Well now they're not. Are their facilities any worse than they were 5 years ago?No, only their players (and coach) are worse.
Boom, tish!
I reckon there's a big placebo effect as well. Remember when Collingwood were the fittest and best team ever because they had the best facilities? Well now they're not. Are their facilities any worse than they were 5 years ago?
Their facilities have gone through a major overhaul in that time period
Don’t think it make any difference whatsoever though
Don’t know if you can measure it precisely but I do think it makes a difference for all the reasons listed above. Whether it be the ability to train on the ‘spongy’ floor after a game on the hard Docklands surface… or to run full ground drills through summer without interruption… or having the perfect walking pool to help post game/training recovery… or having enough room for the front office and footy departments to share a space and create a more unified workplace… or that fact that it outshines just about every other club in the land when recruits have a look through…
Absolutely it has made a difference and absolutely it will translate to better on field performance. It was well overdue and I’m glad the club did it. Shame the other stuff happened at the same time and overshadowed this massive step by the club. Luckily we will still be enjoying the benefits long after the drama ends.