At the same time it's hard to argue with 13 wins in what was a difficult season for the players.
But I agree, there is a lack of running hard both ways and players being in the right spots.
It's been an issue for a long time. Look at Goddard asking players to get to their spots throughout the whole year.
I am assuming that the fitness/running is still a work in progress.
It is interesting how Hinkley and Lyon can change things so quickly at other clubs though.
who knows.
It seems that Hinkley (and Macca) have the strong ability to TEACH football and Lyon from what I hear absolutely demands a certain style, approach and application from his players - play this way or don't play in my team! Plus they recruit "smart" footballers in terms of their ability to know how to play defensive space and where and how to run.
I worry that we have "dumb" footballers...
In terms of our midfield - Watson, Hocking, Melk, Hepp and BH can absorb tackles and stay upright - Stanton doesn't want to and it's not BJ's style. Zakka is getting a bit better at this but its also not his style.Kav is still developing and needs a stronger body. Yes we need outside run in the home and away but someone who can both the win the ball and carry is important for us to find/develop. Today I watched Fyfe, Mundy and Barlow carve it up in the middle combined with Suban, Spurr and the smooth moving Hill - they were just so hard at it. However, they knew their structures - where to run, where to position, how to defend both space and a man and were prepared to run hard. We just seem to keep pointing around aimlessly and our only real GUT runner is Licha.
Does our game plan stack up or do we have more holes than we think both in game plan and player stocks..?
It's a bit hard to see exactly which is game plan and which is playing list. I tend to think more of the latter, borne out by our results when we've got a ful lside vs results with a few out, although a great game plan should be able to help smooth that out.
Certainly we fall down in slickness & execution forward of the ball.
Working our way out of a zone - going back, sideways, forward the other side was IMHO a strength this year where it's been a weakness in previous years. That requires patience, calmness under pressure and a team who run to options. Don't have all those things & you either have to try and kick it too far and turn it over or hoof it straight to them. Setting up a zone also improved. We strangled Richmond & Collingwood and a few other teams early.
Conversely, if anything, we were less dangerous, and more predictable when we did get it over the back. Jetta & Davey got a lot of goals that way last year, both had their struggles this year. Predicament - Jetta's probably one of our worst at positioning himself to either make or break a zone, big part of why he's out of favour - but also one of our best when he was out the back.
Winderlich's abscence really hurts here. Not only great at doing all those things but great at helping organise the zone. I don't know if (as you say) he's our only gut runner, but he's certailny our most dangerous & creative. He makes more space for Hurley & the other talls because he's that little bit more dangerous in the air, and he honours them with good delivery more often. Huge difference to our side.
I'm unsure whether we should continue with Zaha in the midfield, or whether we're best served with him in more of a half forward role - at least when Winders is absent.
For mine we can match Barlow, Spurr, Suban even Fyfe - but probably not Hill, and definitely not Ballantyne or their other small attacking options. And that really hurts with the amount of goals coming 'out the back' or on turnovers these days. Priority #1, #2 & #3 for mine are dangerous, attacking smalls. Even if that means we're just crossing our fingers & hoping like heck Browne/Kav/Ashby/whoever come good in the midfield.
As for gamestyle tweaks. I'm not sure you can do a heck of a lot when you just don't have guys who's ball handling & pace & disposal, in a key part of the ground, doesn't stack up to the best of the competition.
We can kick goals when we're pressed up & holding the ball in their backline.
We get run down far too often when we get the ball on the break. You can't hold the ball in their all game every game. I've often thought we could do worse than Watson (OK, falls down on the pace, but his ball skills are top notch) as a mid-sized forward. Leads up, marks well, uses it well generally (bar his goalkicking which was AWOL this year). But then you're significantly weakening the midfield. I hope Merrett continues to improve as he does a lot of the things we lack; and we might even see Gleeson next year. Very elusive.
Just crossing my fingers for a few benfti specials.