State of play
OUR PLAYING list as we head into the 2011 season is comprised of: 38 players on our primary list, one veteran and seven rookies.
In total, we have 46 players representing the Club this year.
If a club has two veterans, a club can only have six rookies.
In our case, we have one veteran: Brad Green.
That means one of our seven rookies can be classified as a nominated rookie entering the season.
Next Tuesday, we have to name our nominated rookie: this means that they are eligible to play senior footy all year (and not dependant on a long-term injury).
At the half-way point of the season, we can name an addtional nominated “mid-season” rookie. This will give us another player who can play senior footy in 2011.
Along the way, unfortunately, there will always be a long-term injury, which means we can elevate further rookies.
Hopefully, we’ll have at least two rookies who play senior footy, but there will probably be a circumstance where another rookie gets a look in.
We have already played three rookies in the NAB Cup series.
We had Daniel Nicholson, our first round selection, and Michael Evans play. Tom McNamara also featured.
McNamara is on the rookie list this year, after being on the senior list for three seasons.
Evans was our only rookie to play both NAB Cup matches this year.
In terms of where our rookie list sits, we are erring towards players who are most likely to play senior footy as the nominated rookie.
In terms of the team, we head into the season with an expectation of improvement.
That improvement will come from specific individuals who are now gaining confidence in themselves as AFL footballers, which in turn drives team improvement.
We’re looking to expose our playing list to bigger games. We’ve got 14 free-to-air games, including three Friday night games and one Thursday night match.
That’s an increase and one we want. We want our players to play in big occasions games and the exposure of Friday night football provides that environment.
The build-up to games, where we get more media attention, will also help us achieve a greater improvement at a quicker rate.
Interestingly, the average games played from the top four teams of the past 10 years has remained steadily. The one outside of that is Hawthorn, when it won the grand final with an average of 107 matches per player from the 22 who played.
However, Collingwood won the flag with an average of 101 games per player last year.
The difference was that Tyson Goldsack came into the team for Leon Davis in the grand final replay. Otherwise it would have been an average of 107 games per player - the same as Hawthorn.
The consensus among the football community is that Hawthorn probably won the premiership a year earlier than expectated. That would’ve put the Hawks back in the 127 or 128-game per player average.
The average 127 to 128 number has been consistent for the past 10 years.
One of the reasons I believe Collingwood was able to win a premiership with a younger list is because they recruited Luke Ball and Darren Jolly.
Jolly came in and nailed deficiencies in Collingwood’s game at the right time; they “seeded” a specific role player with great AFL experience just when their list required it. It was very good recruiting on Collingwood’s part.
The Magpies were also able to expose their players to big games regularly.
So what they might’ve lacked in games experience, I’m confident they picked up in their development because they were exposed in a media and big-game sense consistently.
They developed as players, because the scrutiny was on them. If a Club has the right support and development programs in place, this is when Players can make rapid improvement.
Their players improved otherwise they were out of the team.
Collingwood also had a good amount of experience not play in the premiership. For example, Leon Davis, Shane O’Bree, Tarkyn Lockyer, Simon Prestigiacomo and Paul Medhurst were not selected.
This year, we are hopeful our playing group will get exposed as much as possible - and the fixture has helped us in that area.
The Channels televising live to air / Friday night games are more inclined to put more promotion in the game. They make greater requests to the club and we want that.
We want that for our club, because that’s where we can teat ourselves and improve.
It might not necessarily translate into wins and losses, but it’s something players need to cope with and in turn thrive on to become next-level performers.
OUR PLAYING list as we head into the 2011 season is comprised of: 38 players on our primary list, one veteran and seven rookies.
In total, we have 46 players representing the Club this year.
If a club has two veterans, a club can only have six rookies.
In our case, we have one veteran: Brad Green.
That means one of our seven rookies can be classified as a nominated rookie entering the season.
Next Tuesday, we have to name our nominated rookie: this means that they are eligible to play senior footy all year (and not dependant on a long-term injury).
At the half-way point of the season, we can name an addtional nominated “mid-season” rookie. This will give us another player who can play senior footy in 2011.
Along the way, unfortunately, there will always be a long-term injury, which means we can elevate further rookies.
Hopefully, we’ll have at least two rookies who play senior footy, but there will probably be a circumstance where another rookie gets a look in.
We have already played three rookies in the NAB Cup series.
We had Daniel Nicholson, our first round selection, and Michael Evans play. Tom McNamara also featured.
McNamara is on the rookie list this year, after being on the senior list for three seasons.
Evans was our only rookie to play both NAB Cup matches this year.
In terms of where our rookie list sits, we are erring towards players who are most likely to play senior footy as the nominated rookie.
In terms of the team, we head into the season with an expectation of improvement.
That improvement will come from specific individuals who are now gaining confidence in themselves as AFL footballers, which in turn drives team improvement.
We’re looking to expose our playing list to bigger games. We’ve got 14 free-to-air games, including three Friday night games and one Thursday night match.
That’s an increase and one we want. We want our players to play in big occasions games and the exposure of Friday night football provides that environment.
The build-up to games, where we get more media attention, will also help us achieve a greater improvement at a quicker rate.
Interestingly, the average games played from the top four teams of the past 10 years has remained steadily. The one outside of that is Hawthorn, when it won the grand final with an average of 107 matches per player from the 22 who played.
However, Collingwood won the flag with an average of 101 games per player last year.
The difference was that Tyson Goldsack came into the team for Leon Davis in the grand final replay. Otherwise it would have been an average of 107 games per player - the same as Hawthorn.
The consensus among the football community is that Hawthorn probably won the premiership a year earlier than expectated. That would’ve put the Hawks back in the 127 or 128-game per player average.
The average 127 to 128 number has been consistent for the past 10 years.
One of the reasons I believe Collingwood was able to win a premiership with a younger list is because they recruited Luke Ball and Darren Jolly.
Jolly came in and nailed deficiencies in Collingwood’s game at the right time; they “seeded” a specific role player with great AFL experience just when their list required it. It was very good recruiting on Collingwood’s part.
The Magpies were also able to expose their players to big games regularly.
So what they might’ve lacked in games experience, I’m confident they picked up in their development because they were exposed in a media and big-game sense consistently.
They developed as players, because the scrutiny was on them. If a Club has the right support and development programs in place, this is when Players can make rapid improvement.
Their players improved otherwise they were out of the team.
Collingwood also had a good amount of experience not play in the premiership. For example, Leon Davis, Shane O’Bree, Tarkyn Lockyer, Simon Prestigiacomo and Paul Medhurst were not selected.
This year, we are hopeful our playing group will get exposed as much as possible - and the fixture has helped us in that area.
The Channels televising live to air / Friday night games are more inclined to put more promotion in the game. They make greater requests to the club and we want that.
We want that for our club, because that’s where we can teat ourselves and improve.
It might not necessarily translate into wins and losses, but it’s something players need to cope with and in turn thrive on to become next-level performers.
