From my point of view it comes down to how costly they are. Also, it's like what I was saying about Howat at Coburg - 23 kicks is great but they don't mean much if they go straight to the opposition
Using Cogs as an example the dropped chest mark in the last that I mentioned on another thread (when trying to point out you can't blame the umpires for the loss) cost us a goal and there was instance in the first where a block on a Freo player would have given us a clearance in the back half instead one of our blokes ended up being tackled - turnover goal to Freo.
Believe me he wasn't alone as I said there were 2 other occassions where a couple of blokes didn't even bother to chase and they were costly too
One of the things so many of us have been critical of is how when the pressure's been on we don't seem to work for one another and that's one of the things I look at alot these days and it always stands out in my mind
Have to agree it’s an area that needs to improve WP. I think though that only the best teams have the ability to put consistent pressure on the opposition throughout a game. At the moment, the only teams capable of that sort of intense pressure seem to be Adelaide and the Swans.
Would be good for all supporters to be able to expect their team to do that as well, but I don’t think it’s a realistic expectation, especially as most teams are at varying stages of development.
I understand the frustration that supporters have with certain players sometimes, but I tend to look at it from the point of view of what stage the team is at. A team is made up of individuals, yes, but it takes time to get a group of individuals to play as a team.
As it’s a team game, to me, singling out individuals for certain mistakes, or lack of effort, seem contrary to what being in a team is all about. One of the key features of the Crows and Swans game seems to be their selfless attitude, and responsibility for their role within the team; which all teams can learn from.
But it’s not the sort of thing that is so much taught; because it’s something that seems to more or less evolve within teams, over time, as they gain experience. We’ve recognised that this has been an issue for our team over a number of years, but I think it has more to do with where our team is at, rather than where any individual is at.
The Crows and Swans seem to be setting the pace in this regard and it’s up to other teams to catch up and learn fast, or get left way behind.
Coaches have expectations of their players and it’s up to them to determine what standards are or aren’t good enough, and whether a player is up to it. If you took players out of those two teams, and put them in a younger, developing team, they would come back to the field. They won’t have forgotten what they learned before, but different group of players and set up makes all the difference.
That’s why I find it difficult to get frustrated by individual efforts from players, and have a hard time understanding why others do. For me, it all comes back to where the team is at.
