AussieRulesBlog has been lucky enough to see all but one of this first week's games via our pay-TV service. Our initial view that the game had changed has been vindicated.
These are practice games and most teams will be holding something in reserve. Nevertheless, the standard has been good mostly with all teams giving fans something to look forward to. For some it was a competitive quarter by a young group, for others a commanding win.
The key takeout is the change in tackling mentioned in a previous post. Interestingly, while catching the replay of the Brisbane–Gold Coast game tonight, Jonathan Brown and Cameron Mooney made the same point in commentary. In the past, they said, players were taught to try to hurt an opponent, by driving a shoulder into their ribs, or driving their opponent's shoulder into the turf. So far in 2016, we've noticed one fairly gentle 'sling'-type tackle. The tacklers' objectives seem to be simply to hold the ball carrier up and to try to win the holding the ball or incorrect disposal free kick. Old players are wistful for those 'harder' times, but we think this is an especially good development.
The other key thing we've taken note of is the attacking nature of the games, generally from both sides. There's nothing more than pride riding on the result, so there's no incentive for coaches to close these games up to stem scoreboard bleeding. It will be interesting to review the style of play in the first home and away round and see if the attacking style remains in vogue.
It's tough to look too closely at this week's games and extrapolate to a full season, but AussieRulesBlog thought the Tigers were the least impressive team. Their disposal was poor for a club that has aspirations to go deep into finals. They'll look better against teams less well-drilled than the Hawks, but our view of Richmond has long been that they reward mediocrity. This week's game did nothing to suggest they won't be afflicted with the same problem in 2016.
All in all, though, isn't it great to have some footy back?
Monday, February 22, 2016
One week down
These are practice games and most teams will be holding something in reserve. Nevertheless, the standard has been good mostly with all teams giving fans something to look forward to. For some it was a competitive quarter by a young group, for others a commanding win.
The key takeout is the change in tackling mentioned in a previous post. Interestingly, while catching the replay of the Brisbane–Gold Coast game tonight, Jonathan Brown and Cameron Mooney made the same point in commentary. In the past, they said, players were taught to try to hurt an opponent, by driving a shoulder into their ribs, or driving their opponent's shoulder into the turf. So far in 2016, we've noticed one fairly gentle 'sling'-type tackle. The tacklers' objectives seem to be simply to hold the ball carrier up and to try to win the holding the ball or incorrect disposal free kick. Old players are wistful for those 'harder' times, but we think this is an especially good development.
The other key thing we've taken note of is the attacking nature of the games, generally from both sides. There's nothing more than pride riding on the result, so there's no incentive for coaches to close these games up to stem scoreboard bleeding. It will be interesting to review the style of play in the first home and away round and see if the attacking style remains in vogue.
It's tough to look too closely at this week's games and extrapolate to a full season, but AussieRulesBlog thought the Tigers were the least impressive team. Their disposal was poor for a club that has aspirations to go deep into finals. They'll look better against teams less well-drilled than the Hawks, but our view of Richmond has long been that they reward mediocrity. This week's game did nothing to suggest they won't be afflicted with the same problem in 2016.
All in all, though, isn't it great to have some footy back?
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