News Charlie Dixon signs for West Broken Hill

[agmsy]

It’s partly this but Charlie’s goalkicking is just awful now. I have absolutely no confidence in his ability to score, it seems like a spin of the big wheel every time.

Remember a month or two ago when every media hack was saying Richmond should drop Tom Lynch?

Dixon's coming back from a car-accident-esque leg injury, into possibly the most dysfunctional forward structure we've seen in his time at the club, with no pre-season fitness base to speak of.

Expecting him to immediately start scoring two or three goals a week is laughable, as is expecting him to rebuild the aerobic capacity that AFL demands by playing in the SANFL.

Without the fitness, and without any support (like Duckimus Prime explained), it's no surprise that his kicking is off - he's likely exhausted every time he has a shot.

Butcher could have been a good KPF

His kicking action was fundamentally (and, based on his hips, irreparably) flawed, but if you're willing to overlook that then sure.

 

[agmsy]

Executing it with tens of thousands of people watching and focusing on you isn't about skill execution, it's about confidence. Our club has sapped Dixon of his.

It's about endurance.

Go to your local oval, and take 10 shots from whatever distance and angle you think you can reliably hit 80-90% of them. Then repeat the exercise, but, before every shot, put in 3-4 minutes of sprint efforts. See how many shots you hit, and how easily you can get your breath back in the AFL-allotted 30 second shot clock.

 

[Lagooner]

Remember a month or two ago when every media hack was saying Richmond should drop Tom Lynch?

Dixon's coming back from a car-accident-esque leg injury, into possibly the most dysfunctional forward structure we've seen in his time at the club, with no pre-season fitness base to speak of.

Expecting him to immediately start scoring two or three goals a week is laughable, as is expecting him to rebuild the aerobic capacity that AFL demands by playing in the SANFL.

Without the fitness, and without any support (like Duckimus Prime explained), it's no surprise that his kicking is off - he's likely exhausted every time he has a shot.



His kicking action was fundamentally (and, based on his hips, irreparably) flawed, but if you're willing to overlook that then sure.

Expecting two goals a game is laughable? OK then.

The fitness argument would hold greater weight if his accuracy was even half decent at the start and waned as games wore on. But it’s not. He can’t be gassed in the first quarter and if he is then he shouldn’t be out there.

 

[El_Scorcho]

It isn't all the way we set up, that doesn't excuse his inability to time his leads, get separation on his opponents, not being able to use his body to advantage with those little deft bumps and touches, concrete hands, running straight under the ball rather than picking his moment to go (back to lead timing).

Actually, his lack of chemistry and timing with his teammates leading to poorly timed and directed leads and the inability to get into space is all about how we set up. Funnily he didn't have this issue at the Gold Coast of all place.

You talk about his bodywork as if he's regularly 1 on 1.

He could definitely hold more marks than he does but most of the ones he's dropping he's getting his hands to despite a strong double team.

Bad kicking is his issue too. If he wanted he could take responsibility to improve it in his own time. This is Port though and work life balance says that he'd rather travel out to the middle of nowhere on his day off to pick up some more project cars.

Agree, if only we could get Dixon, R.Gray, Ebert, Westhoff, Ryder, Motlop, Boak, Duursma, Butters, Wines, Powell-Pepper, S.Gray, Marshall and Boak to work on their goal kicking in their own time, all our goalkicking problems would be solved. After all, it's their issue individually too.

 

[Lagooner]

Agree, if only we could get Dixon, R.Gray, Ebert, Westhoff, Ryder, Motlop, Boak, Duursma, Butters, Wines, Powell-Pepper, S.Gray, Marshall and Boak to work on their goal kicking in their own time, all our goalkicking problems would be solved. After all, it's their issue individually too.

Poor Boaky has to work on it twice. He’s probably the best of that bunch too.

 

[El_Scorcho]

Despite coming back from a car accident type leg break without a preseason, Dixon has our 2nd highest goal per game average for 2019, only behind fringe player Kane Farrell.

 

[El_Scorcho]

Poor Boaky has to work on it twice. He’s probably the best of that bunch too.

Hahaha it was because I initially didn't think I'd added him because he usually is pretty good, but he's kicked 8.8 this year.

 

[Lagooner]

Despite coming back from a car accident type leg break without a preseason, Dixon has our 2nd highest goal per game average for 2019, only behind fringe player Kane Farrell.

Equal with Rozee, Ebert and Sam Gray (all four are on 1.2 goals per game). No one is shooting the lights out here.

 

[agmsy]

Expecting two goals a game is laughable? OK then.

There's not too many players going at 2+ goals per game this season. Very few of them are coming off a serious leg injury, and none of them play for Port Adelaide.

Averaging 2+ is a perfectly reasonable expectation once Dixon is up and running. Right now, with the unholy trinity of his injury, his fitness, and our structure? Nah.

 

[El_Scorcho]

Equal with Rozee, Ebert and Sam Gray (all four are on 1.2 goals per game). No one is shooting the lights out here.

I always round to 2 decimal places personally.

 

[Schulzenfest]

It's about endurance.

This is also true. And our gameplan (coupled with his fitness base coming off of a shocking injury) doesn't help him with that either.

 

[Lagooner]

There's not too many players going at 2+ goals per game this season. Very few of them are coming off a serious leg injury, and none of them play for Port Adelaide.

Averaging 2+ is a perfectly reasonable expectation once Dixon is up and running. Right now, with the unholy trinity of his injury, his fitness, and our structure? Nah.

Funnily enough he’s probably had enough opportunities to average 2 goals per game.

If not for, you know, his accuracy.

 

[Alberton Proud]

Charlie will be back in this week. Wasn't droppped for form...

Did hear it was for 'personal reasons'

Drags on at AIR ?

 

[bringbackbucky]

Did hear it was for 'personal reasons'

Drags on at AIR ?

Pretty much...

 

[agmsy]

Funnily enough he’s probably had enough opportunities to average 2 goals per game.

If not for, you know, his accuracy

Has he? I don't have data on "shots" that go out on the full or drop short, or on disposals/passes where he could reasonably have been expected to take a shot instead, but he's kicked 6.8 across five games. A couple of those stand out as shockers (like his lean-back snap and miss from the top of the square), but I think it's too small a sample to be making grand, sweeping statements about his accuracy.

How does expected score rate those 14 scoring shots, and what probability does it assign a return of, say, 9.5 (1.8 goals per game) or better?

 

[Lagooner]

Has he? I don't have data on "shots" that go out on the full or drop short, or on disposals/passes where he could reasonably have been expected to take a shot instead, but he's kicked 6.8 across five games. A couple of those stand out as shockers (like his lean-back snap and miss from the top of the square), but I think it's too small a sample to be making grand, sweeping statements about his accuracy.

How does expected score rate those 14 scoring shots, and what probability does it assign a return of, say, 9.5 (1.8 goals per game) or better?

Lol it’s hardly a grand sweeping statement when he’s averaging less than 50% of shots that register a score.

I don’t even know why this is in dispute. Just watch his shots, they’re shaky at best right now. It’s possible for both him AND the system to concurrently suck so there’s no need to plant a flag here.

 

[agmsy]

Just watch his shots, they’re shaky at best right now.

Then how do you account for his accuracy in the SANFL, where he's kicked 5.2, 3.2, and 3.1?

 

[ploppy]

we should play to dixon's strengths. he is strong and likes to wrestle more the lead up the wing..so tell him to stay in the goal square and wrestle for the ball. he will win more than he loses. the ones he loses just make sure he punches the defender in the back of the head..they will soon get sick of being near him.

 

[Lagooner]

Then how do you account for his accuracy in the SANFL, where he's kicked 5.2, 3.2, and 3.1?

I haven’t watched any of these games so I don’t know what the discrepancy is. Weaker opposition? Easier shots? Less pressure? I dunno. I’m sure someone like RossFC could shed some light on it.

Does it matter though? Andrew Moore and Jimmy Toumpas were routinely clocking up 30+ disposal games in the SANFL but for one reason or another they never translated into similar AFL performances.

To be clear I’m not advocating for Dixon to be out of the side. We need him (badly) and I think he’s competed reasonably well since his return. But for some reason his AFL goalkicking has been very very average.

 

[RossFC]

I haven’t watched any of these games so I don’t know what the discrepancy is. Weaker opposition? Easier shots? Less pressure? I dunno. I’m sure someone like RossFC could shed some light on it.

Does it matter though? Andrew Moore and Jimmy Toumpas were routinely clocking up 30+ disposal games in the SANFL but for one reason or another they never translated into similar AFL performances.

To be clear I’m not advocating for Dixon to be out of the side. We need him (badly) and I think he’s competed reasonably well since his return. But for some reason his AFL goalkicking has been very very average.

Level of opposition plays a part but I feel like our kicking inside 50 at SANFL level is better too.

Also Dixon has Hayes, Ladhams and Marshall to help free him up.

At AFL level he'd have just Howard.

 

[agmsy]

Weaker opposition? Easier shots? Less pressure?

Easier shots come about partly through structure, and I'm sure there's a decent benefit in having other genuine talls to work off (and occupy defenders).

Does it matter though? Andrew Moore and Jimmy Toumpas were routinely clocking up 30+ disposal games in the SANFL but for one reason or another they never translated into similar AFL performances.

I think it matters. Yes, SANFL is a different (slower, and easier) game than AFL, which is why a bunch of one-paced plodders look like stars in the SANFL but can't handle the AFL.

The act/art of kicking for goal, though, is the same at basically every level of football. If his shots look ok in the SANFL but shaky in the AFL, it's worth drilling down into the differences between the two.

All I'm saying is that it's worth considering the effects of those differences. Bigger/stronger/better defenders, always facing multiple opponents because we don't play multiple tall forwards in the AFL, terrible forward entries in the AFL, and a marked increase in pace and workrate that expose the lack of fitness and conditioning typical of a player returning from an injury such as Dixon's. They're all likely to negatively affect his goal kicking.

But for some reason his AFL goalkicking has been very very average.

Yes. That reason, or, rather, those reasons, being structure, fitness, and his injury.

 

[Lagooner]

Easier shots come about partly through structure, and I'm sure there's a decent benefit in having other genuine talls to work off (and occupy defenders).



I think it matters. Yes, SANFL is a different (slower, and easier) game than AFL, which is why a bunch of one-paced plodders look like stars in the SANFL but can't handle the AFL.

The act/art of kicking for goal, though, is the same at basically every level of football. If his shots look ok in the SANFL but shaky in the AFL, it's worth drilling down into the differences between the two.

All I'm saying is that it's worth considering the effects of those differences. Bigger/stronger/better defenders, always facing multiple opponents because we don't play multiple tall forwards in the AFL, terrible forward entries in the AFL, and a marked increase in pace and workrate that expose the lack of fitness and conditioning typical of a player returning from an injury such as Dixon's. They're all likely to negatively affect his goal kicking.



Yes. That reason, or, rather, those reasons, being structure, fitness, and his injury.

And/or higher stakes. And/or pressure. And/or confidence.

There probably are many factors at play outside of Dixon’s control but once he has the ball it’s mostly on him.

It’s wrong to say that the art of goalkicking is basically the same at all levels because you don’t have tens of thousands of people watching you do it unless you’re playing in the AFL and sometimes players struggle with the pressure of that. Anyone can be King Carey at their local park.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

He hasn't run a half marathon before he has a shot for goal in the sanfl.

 

[Magus]

He hasn't run a half marathon before he has a shot for goal in the sanfl.

This is essentially it. The coaches and players talk about how they're putting a lot of work into goal practice but it doesn't carry over well into games because they're usually gassed. A more efficient gameplan would improve an awful lot.

 

[Lagooner]

He hasn't run a half marathon before he has a shot for goal in the sanfl.

He hasn’t run one in the 1st quarter either. I’m all for lancing Ol’ Mate Ken but he’s not solely to blame here.