Bigman’s Training Reports

[maxlilly]

Liking the sound of this speedy ball movement!


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

Sounds like the complete opposite to the game plan at the start of last year.
With a young team, I think you need a fast exciting game plan.

 

[StickerMan]

Sounds like the complete opposite to the game plan at the start of last year.
With a young team, I think you need a fast exciting game plan.

Gotta be prepared to risk it for the biscuit.

We need to accept that we may lose some games playing that way, but need to stay strong and use the weapons we have.

 

[cleanhands]

Gotta be prepared to risk it for the biscuit.

We need to accept that we may lose some games playing that way, but need to stay strong and use the weapons we have.

Nicks wants us to “seek the contest”, I would prefer we seek the sherrin then get it on the outside and open up the game.
Always believed the most important thing in our game is the pig skin, you get you use it, if you can’t do either you are no good to the team

 

[Alwaysacrow]

Liking the sound of this speedy ball movement!


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

Let's hope Nick's has learnt his lesson and doesn't slow it down for round 1.

 

[jackster83]

Interesting that we aren't practicing stoppages when that is a clear area of weakness of ours. So much so that we have to sacrifice a forward to try and be more competitive in this area.

 

[dylan123]

I want to believe, I really do. But reality seems to hit so hard when the real stuff starts...

Thanks as always Bigman, info is gold!

 

[Big Dub]

Interesting that we aren't practicing stoppages when that is a clear area of weakness of ours. So much so that we have to sacrifice a forward to try and be more competitive in this area.

I suspect that they are setting the habits where they are easiest to set first. Then gradually blended in stoppages to set the habits where they are most unlike the habits we already have.

 

[Jeffcrowe]

Nicks wants us to “seek the contest”, I would prefer we seek the sherrin then get it on the outside and open up the game.
Always believed the most important thing in our game is the pig skin, you get you use it, if you can’t do either you are no good to the team

Pretty much what we did in 2023 , one of if not the best D50 to F50 ball movement teams in comp

Lost it last year , was only seen spasmodically . We tried to tighten up in defence and lost some offence also not helped by players out of form

Feels like 2025 we have the players wi
th weapons to carry it out again and more of them to keep it consistent , would like a little more speed out of half back though , maybe Nank can elevate

 

[GrommoT]

Interesting that we aren't practicing stoppages when that is a clear area of weakness of ours. So much so that we have to sacrifice a forward to try and be more competitive in this area.

You don't need a ruck if you don't do stoppages

 

[The Shapeshifter]

Interesting that we aren't practicing stoppages when that is a clear area of weakness of ours. So much so that we have to sacrifice a forward to try and be more competitive in this area.

Interesting that we are spending preseason practising how to move the ball on quickly when we did the opposite last preseason.

 

[Executive Landlord]

Sounds like Nick's and co can't make their mind up on game plan

 

[Big Dub]

Interesting that we are spending preseason practising how to move the ball on quickly when we did the opposite last preseason.

The slow ball movement at the start of this year appeared to be an overcompensation for a perceived vulnerable defensive third.

We switched to faster movement about a month in, when both the problem and the solution were found to be wrong. But the season was already on life support.

So I would have been more surprised if we weren't working on fast ball movement, which is how we played our best football this season.

 

[The Shapeshifter]

The slow ball movement at the start of this year appeared to be an overcompensation for a perceived vulnerable defensive third.

We switched to faster movement about a month in, when both the problem and the solution were found to be wrong. But the season was already on life support.

So I would have been more surprised if we weren't working on fast ball movement, which is how we played our best football this season.

I agree, it’s an admission they got it wrong last preseason

 

[cmndstab]

I agree, it’s an admission they got it wrong last preseason

I mean, it goes without saying that they got it wrong last preseason.

 

[Big Dub]

I mean, it goes without saying that they got it wrong last preseason.

Glass half empty, getting preseason wrong last year killed our season before it started, and it's too hard to reset on the hop. Thilthorp and Murray missing for a large part of the season. We only won 2 close games (less than 2 goals), losing 6 close games with 1 draw.

Glass half full, if we don't get it wrong this year (which seems the call so far), we could get a big bump in results this year. We get it right, we play finals. Curtin found his feet at the end of the year, Keane looks a player, Rankine looks a star. We got Draper.

Hard not to be excited, particularly because of the obvious errors that cost us this year.

 

[40porpoise]

When is the next open training? I can't find a schedule anywhere

 

[Gtowncrow]

Isn’t it a little concerning that we have to hope our coaches don’t stuff it up again?

And that the club re-signed the coach who stuffed it up?

It is concerning but for every failed plan, something is learned.

 

[1970crow]

Sounds like the complete opposite to the game plan at the start of last year.
With a young team, I think you need a fast exciting game plan.

There wasn’t anything last year suggesting we were implementing a slow ball movement game plan last preseason. Ball movement was described as being slick this time last year. Tex also said in March that they ‘were the best attacking team in 2023 and had gotten better’. I don’t think what we see on the track necessarily translates to the way the guys are coached come game day. We’ve deliberately slowed ball movement on and off throughout Nicks’ tenure. If there’s pressure to perform, we go into our shells, our coaches are risk averse when there’s something on the line.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

There wasn’t anything last year suggesting we were implementing a slow ball movement game plan last preseason. Ball movement was described as being slick this time last year. Tex also said in March that they ‘were the best attacking team in 2023 and had gotten better’. I don’t think what we see on the track necessarily translates to the way the guys are coached come game day. We’ve deliberately slowed ball movement on and off throughout Nicks’ tenure. If there’s pressure to perform, we go into our shells, our coaches are risk averse when there’s something on the line.

Spot on

We have various "gears" as the coaches have described in press conferences, to help explain particularly insipid losses.

 

[Mostyn]

The slow ball movement at the start of this year appeared to be an overcompensation for a perceived vulnerable defensive third.

We switched to faster movement about a month in, when both the problem and the solution were found to be wrong. But the season was already on life support.

So I would have been more surprised if we weren't working on fast ball movement, which is how we played our best football this season.

I think at the start of the year we wanted our quick rebound game, and put mature bodies around the ball to try and get the pressure to start the rebound.

Except those mature bodies were too damned slow and there wasn't the anticipated pressure at all. It didn't actually translate into attack.

We got the mix right later and seem to not be making the same error now.

 

[Slime Roy]

It is concerning but for every failed plan, something is learned.

#learnings!

 

[Ham]

The 15v11 drill Bigman mentioned sounds a little like our own orange tsunami

 

[The Shapeshifter]

I think at the start of the year we wanted our quick rebound game, and put mature bodies around the ball to try and get the pressure to start the rebound.

Except those mature bodies were too damned slow and there wasn't the anticipated pressure at all. It didn't actually translate into attack.

We got the mix right later and seem to not be making the same error now.

No that’s not correct. We did not play on at all, we tried to move the ball by passing it, that’s instruction when everyone is doing it.

 

[Rory Walkerfield]

No that’s not correct. We did not play on at all, we tried to move the ball by passing it, that’s instruction when everyone is doing it.

Bang on. We went with a slow chip chip game to control the ball and protect ourselves on turnover. But we self sabotaged our attacking game style in the process.

 

[1970crow]

I think at the start of the year we wanted our quick rebound game, and put mature bodies around the ball to try and get the pressure to start the rebound.

Except those mature bodies were too damned slow and there wasn't the anticipated pressure at all. It didn't actually translate into attack.

We got the mix right later and seem to not be making the same error now.

Opening bounce round 1, the season and game was alive, ie slow, perfect football. Game getting away from you, throw caution to the wind. Opening bounce round 2, season and game alive, slow and perfect guys, no mistakes. 4 points going down gurgler, do something, anything, we just need to score. This has been us since 2021.

The continued reversion to slow & safe movement might be a confidence in developing group issue that mightn't be relevant to 2025. But it could also be an embedded feature due to the psychology of the senior coach or that of the group, which has only just had its first meaningful opportunity to change added. Hopefully adding another year of experience, 3 best 22 players and premiership forward line coach eliminates what has been a fairly obvious lack of braveness at various times.