Why are we so poor under pressure?

[Djevv]

For me, its more of a case of poor culture leading to poor list development. For 10+years Ive been saying we're stuck in a mindset that doesnt allow us to understand that skill and ability is key, and that everything else is just secondary.

The point of my post was that the high draft picks we select are actually skilled. The problem is that they don't develop into well rounded AFL standard players.

Do you think its is an accident that Rodan has worked out so well at Port? At Richmond he looked like a hack, a bloke with no footy smarts who ran in circles and specialised in the hospital handpass. At Port he has been anything but. Coincidence?

I think that Wallace and his coaching team have a lot to prove this year. To me the answer is to delelop our high DPs. Get Deledio, Tambling, Newman, Connors, Edwards and Cotchin into the middle as much as they can cope with. Meyer, if he can get over his injury issues should be in that group too - although he has done zero in AFL. Hughes or Riewoldt should be at CHF/HFF. *smile* at FF or CHB. Travis C should play HBF.

 

[IanG]

The point of my post was that the high draft picks we select are actually skilled. The problem is that they don't develop into well rounded AFL standard players.

Do you think its is an accident that Rodan has worked out so well at Port? At Richmond he looked like a hack, a bloke with no footy smarts who ran in circles and specialised in the hospital handpass. At Port he has been anything but. Coincidence?

I think it was more that he was surrounded by a better team. He certainly looked ordinary in the GF.

 

[Redford]

The point of my post was that the high draft picks we select are actually skilled. The problem is that they don't develop into well rounded AFL standard players.

Do you think its is an accident that Rodan has worked out so well at Port? At Richmond he looked like a hack, a bloke with no footy smarts who ran in circles and specialised in the hospital handpass. At Port he has been anything but. Coincidence?

I think that Wallace and his coaching team have a lot to prove this year. To me the answer is to delelop our high DPs. Get Deledio, Tambling, Newman, Connors, Edwards and Cotchin into the middle as much as they can cope with. Meyer, if he can get over his injury issues should be in that group too - although he has done zero in AFL. Hughes or Riewoldt should be at CHF/HFF. schulz at FF or CHB. Travis C should play HBF.

Are our high draft picks all that well skilled though to begin with ? Depends a bit on what you consider a high draft pick, but if we quarantine it say to the top 25, do you think guys like Pattison, JON, Polo, and Rance are all that skilled by foot ?

But anyway, high draft picks are just one part of the the overall list. Its right across the broad recruiting and list management spectrum that we have this mindset. And it doesnt have anything to do with lower draft picks naturally having a lesser skill base because as Ive said, other clubs dont seem to suffer from the same disease like we do when it comes to picks in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th rounds or when we get a player from another club for that matter e.g. Fleming, Fletcher, Weller etc.

As you point out, maybe there is a bit of a development problem as well compounding matters but I'll be happy if we can get to first base and consistently introduce a higher level of skill to begin with.

(Dunno if i'd be using Rodan just yet as an example of the lack of development thingo though. He's had just the one year at Port and is the sort of player just as likely to slip off the radar as quickly as he came onto it imo. )

 

[Bennnny]

We can deliver the ball properly sometimes. St. Kilda last year was a case in point.
I believe the issue is mostly mental.
Poor leadership and an introverted list of players who don't talk to each other or look out for each other.

They need some nights around the campfire and a few home truths to be dished out.

Either we make nearly all bad decisions in recruiting or something is wrong in the mental processes.

It doesn't help that we turn on our own all the time.

Does Richmond need a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Where the coaches get hauled in front of people like theclaw and grilled mercilessly until they admit that theclaw was correct all the time?

Should we have town hall meetings where supporters are allowed to question the board and coaches and get some straight answers. Although that could end up like the Simpsons when they blacked out the town giving each other electric shocks.

 

[Tango]

you play like you practice
if we practiced under constant pressure we would get used to it

 

[Opulentus Tigris]

you play like you practice
if we practiced under constant pressure we would get used to it

Well said Tango.

Our skills aren't the problem. It's the constant pressure applied by oppostion teams, that affects our disposal. We should all watch what the top sides do to other opposition teams. Take note of their skill errors. I guarantee, every team that faces this type of relentless pressure will ultimately cough up the pill. What sets top teams apart is their ability to absorb that pressure and return fire.

And that's the hundred up......not much substance, but a ton nonetheless. ;D