Bad Fitness is no excuse

[arfadunger]

On the weekend Healy called it early that we were going to get overrun in the last quater. We were too big with not enough runners and at the end of the game we were going to struggle, he was right.

It's already been mentioned that because of our poor disposals we're working too hard early in the game for no reward, and then we just can't match the opposition at the end. Also, I think that this new game plan with zones etc is far more taxing on the players than they thought it would be.

 

[Marlin01]

During the pre-season just gone, I remember reading that the Eagles weren't doing any "pure" fitness stuff. Instead they were doing normal footy drills that incorporated a lot of running. I remember thinking that that was quite different to what I had heard from previous pre-seasons. So far, it seems this has not been successful.

Also, for those that haven't already, I encourage you to check out the pre-season drills video with Michael Broadbridge. I remember stating, at the time, that I was surprised at how basic the drills were. They are essentially what I was doing in about u/9's and more basic than what I was doing as a 17 year-old, and I was a mediocre footballer. What stood out to me was the fact the players were struggling to hit lace-out passes from about 30m. Every kick should hit the marker square on the chest with an easy trajectory and vertical spin. Go down to any local footy practice session and I guarantee you will see skills equal or better than those shown in the video.

I just don't understand how professional footballers can have such poor skills. What are the players doing with their time? They should be eating, drinking and $hitting football. If they can't kick well enough, get them kicking extra balls for two sessions, every day, until they can. It's not rocket science, it's repetition.

 

[TurleyBurley]

During the pre-season just gone, I remember reading that the Eagles weren't doing any "pure" fitness stuff. Instead they were doing normal footy drills that incorporated a lot of running. I remember thinking that that was quite different to what I had heard from previous pre-seasons. So far, it seems this has not been successful.

Also, for those that haven't already, I encourage you to check out the pre-season drills video with Michael Broadbridge. I remember stating, at the time, that I was surprised at how basic the drills were. They are essentially what I was doing in about u/9's and more basic than what I was doing as a 17 year-old, and I was a mediocre footballer. What stood out to me was the fact the players were struggling to hit lace-out passes from about 30m. Every kick should hit the marker square on the chest with an easy trajectory and vertical spin. Go down to any local footy practice session and I guarantee you will see skills equal or better than those shown in the video.

I just don't understand how professional footballers can have such poor skills. What are the players doing with their time? They should be eating, drinking and $hitting football. If they can't kick well enough, get them kicking extra balls for two sessions, every day, until they can. It's not rocket science, it's repetition.

This is all a bit circular - poor fitness equals poor disposal equals more running equals more fatigue equals (etc etc)

It's not like we were just run over at the end of the game - there was a good portion of the last quarter where it really was over for all intents and purposes. I can imagine that a team might be 85% as fit as another. But scarcely 75? Rings hollow for me.

Nail on head re: skills Marlin. It is baffling and frustrating as hell to watch. I went to the last SWFL game and the kicking standard (first home game, early season etc) was at least as good as ours in the second half. And that's not saying bloody much.