Interesting. The above comments made me cast my mind back to 1996 when we first went from second last in 1995 during the premiership race to first in the preseason cup against Carlscum with a bunch of enthusiatic, skinny kids who were prepared to push the ball into the open at all costs and outrun their oppo.True Blue Sainter wrote:It's not necessarily about being "fast" in the true sense of the word - as a physical attribute. It's the teams that MOVE the ball fast, look to play on at each opportunity, and play first-option football, they're the teams that are attractive to watch. They don't necessarily have a lot of players who are quick (i.e. Geelong; Ling, Bartel, Corey, Milburn etc.)
It wasn't until the balance of size and speed was available in the team during 1997 and the space between the ears of most players was filled with selfless acts and team spirit to realise theri dream that we could win the big prise. Unfortunately injuries bit us and the team confidence disappeared from halfway through the second quarter.
It seems the same with this side now that the team things aren't always maintained. A couple of injuries and our lack of midfield depth shows up a lack of speed, players no longer are able keep up the protection of the ball carrier, first options become quick (often wrong) decisions. Check out the confident Geelong, they are intuitive and instinctive given the knowledge that support is just close by.
