Re: Congratulation Sam Walsh - B+F winner 2021
Reply #59 –
I wonder if sometimes Plow hasn't been somewhat unfairly judged due to his high draft position? I don't see a world beater, but I do see a bloke who gives his all for the club and his mates. I do see someone who has been given some dreadful match-ups and expectations. My only knock on him would be his joking and laughing with opponents after a horrible loss... but that's likely just his nature. Conversely, I don't think I've ever seen him take a short step and I've often seen him one of the first blokes to come to a mate's help in a dustup, etc. He was often the bloke, along with Weiters and Jonesy, who'd come to Stocks' support as he was learning and making mistakes.
He's just the sort of bloke who could do better under our new coaching regime. Time will tell. And that goes for a good number of our blokes. Plenty of cautious optimism here.
He's not Robinson Crusoe; most players have a laugh with opponents, many of whom are former teammates. I think it's a sign of the times but it doesn't mean that Plowman, or any other player, isn't hurting after a loss. Perhaps it's a coping mechanism.
I think that Plowman will do better under the new regime ... if we play more effective defence before the ball gets to our defensive 50.
I saw an interesting statistical comparison:
Plowman
Disposal Efficiency: 80.4%
Clangers: 1.9 per game
Turnovers: 1.7 per game
Contested Defensive Losses: 21.6%
Defensive Half Pressure Acts: 6.1 per game
Jones
Disposal Efficiency: 77.4%
Clangers: 2.4 per game
Turnovers: 3.1 per game
Contested Defensive Losses: 11.8%
Defensive Half Pressure Acts: 4.1 per game
Weitering
Disposal Efficiency: 74.0%
Clangers: 2.6 per game
Turnovers: 3.4 per game
Contested Defensive Losses: 20.8 percent
Defensive Half Pressure Acts: 4.2 per game
The significance of those statistics is diminished by the different roles of the three players but we don't pile on Jones or Weitering when their turnovers or defensive losses give up goals.