Dressing room seems a lot happier and united under Fraser and the effort factor from all players seems higher as well,
You mean they are happy when winning, and the pressure is off!
The players are out there selling their wares, the question is why did it take them to arrive at the cliff edge before they switched on?
The obvious simplistic answer is they were not happy under Voss despite the players all pledging their allegiance and praising his leadership abilities but I think it was more complex than that and some how they seemed mentally shackled to the dilemma of the coach fighting for his job and looked mentally exhausted. Under Fraser its been zero expectations, the pressure released and freedom to enjoy the game and obviously some players are playing for their careers so have the pedal to the floor a bit more. Maybe when Cripps ends his career he might write a book and talk about what happened but Im sure its a lot more complex than it looks...
Fair comment on Walsh, he has been as important as Cripps in the revival and has stamped his mark on being the clubs next Captain. I'll be interested if his form can continue if Fraser isnt the coach next season...
Walshy cares about the club, you're right though, what happens if he does't like the new coach? You may recall there was a rumour last year that Walsh wanted out if Voss was remaining. Walsh extended with Voss at the helm but I wonder if he had the good oil on what was going happen which made him extend knowing Voss wasnt going o be around long? It all fits together, but the bottom line is I still dont like players knifing coaches. Ill give Walshy the benefit of the doubt and suggest that when he is fit and healthy, he is happy and only knows one way.
Dressing room seems a lot happier and united under Fraser and the effort factor from all players seems higher as well, I wont debate the merits of Fraser vs Voss as thats not important anymore but I cant see that level of trust/belief being as strong initially under a new coach and that has to affect what happens on the field.
So here's the thing for me. I reckon we have gone back to the sort of form that on our day/night, we can beat anyone. You can see it in the players actions in game (ie the type of footy we are playing) right across the board. You can see it in the players demeanours. You can hear it when they speak in the media. The player that stands out the most to me in all this and IMO has led this "re-boot" of our club is S Walsh. He's been the first to run in and start a blue to stand up for our club and say "f-off" to the oppo. He has taken his hardness at the contest to another level (frankly I didnt think he had it in him. The fact he extended his contract early shows he is committed to the club and wants to drive standards to another level. You can see the determination in his eyes every time he runs out and goes for the ball.
Fair comment on Walsh, he has been as important as Cripps in the revival and has stamped his mark on being the clubs next Captain. I'll be interested if his form can continue if Fraser isnt the coach next season...
1. Less reliant on contested ball......because the opposition are worse and offer less resistance and are allowing us to do as we please more. 2. Training standards lifted....interesting considering that was something that Voss was VERY strong on in his Damo interview about introducing that to the club and being something he is proud of.
As mentioned previously, game plan shift was highlighted 2-3 weeks before Voss' exit. Confirmed by Voss, Fraser, Wright and Davies (and maybe Priestly too)
You can see from our performance, Cripps performance and by those mentioned above that this became evident in the Brisbane game.
A lot of fecking around with the ball, way more disposals than the Tigers, beat them in the clearances/stoppages easily but for only 49 entries only....Tigers had 49 entries also but their I50 work was less efficient. We are moving the ball better and retaining possession(less turnovers) but a lot of it is going nowhere( across the ground/backwards) and we dont score enough for the amount of ball we have. Vs Essendon we lost the ruck/contested ball/clearances but were saved by Essendons poor i50 work(39% efficient) to our i50(49%) which was poor also but not as bad....
It appears Frasers future if he has one as senior coach depends heavily on the next few games...the players couldnt save Voss or didnt want to so lets see how they go looking after Fraser if they really want him coaching for the future...
Riley in, Pitto to float D50 in the absence of Weiters and Young?
Quite a few Dawks also under injury clouds, and Weddle is still out suspended, not sure if Reeves will be back. Little push in the lower back for Watson and that hammy will snap again like a rubber band.
A war of attrition!
Battle may or may not get up after appendix removal surgery. Blues by 7 points
The kid they brought in at CHB Mraz had a very good game, can't see Battle playing.
Hawks had their weakest team in for the year with 4-5 players I havent seen play so they were ripe to lose. Id be expecting a rebound after the poor loss to Melbourne but Id be wanting to see the teams first before I make a prediction...
Yes, it was obvious to me Pitto and Cripps both looked sub-par at times last week.
If Pitto and Cripps dont play, we are screwed.
Not sure the Tigers are knocking themselves out to win at the moment, missing a few players and they have been deplorable of late imho with some odd positional moves. Cripps missing in particular would hurt us but I think Hewett, Walsh and Jagga could cover vs the Tigers who dont have much other than Taranto who is being played forward more these past few weeks.
Acres has been a big inclusion since he was reheated and brought back into the team and his best is very good but you have to manage him and plan the games he plays and doesnt play imho. I would have rested him this week too....
Reid would be insane trade value and insane contract money so No....Id be taking Walker and then Kouta's boy who can be our Harley. FWIW the Cripps rumours to WC are still around....
So if we do see them together, it's probably more a chance in other colours.
That would be the easier way with a Cripps trade to WC a much easier trade to engineer... Reid was a passionate Cats supporter as a kid and Id have them favourites to land him if he came back to Victoria based around what seems to be happening with Butters to the Dogs rumours.
If we could pry Reid from West Coast...would you be prepared to give up the chase for Cody Walker and use the picks for Reid?
Reid would be insane trade value and insane contract money so No....Id be taking Walker and then Kouta's boy who can be our Harley. FWIW the Cripps rumours to WC are still around....
Ben Stokes the first victim from the Bazball era to fall on his sword and retire from International cricket. The English are about lose a home series to New Zealand and Id expect there to be more fallout with a couple more big names to follow. The Stokes/McCullum relationship was strained and there was the recent nightclub incident as well and I think Stokes has decided its all to hard be English Captain despite his good form especially with the ball of late. He did say the last Ashes defeat took a lot out of him but for me its more about the politics and expectations of English cricket weighing him down. Sad to see such a gun cricketer leave the game and it will be interesting to see if England go with another troubled player in Harry Brook as their next captain given he is the vice captain or they turn back the clock and give Joe Root the job until they find a find a new Stokes.
Currently the Vic State House of Reps is: 56 ALP - 34 held by <10% 29 - Coalition - 20 LP/9 Nats - 23<10% 3 Greens - 1<10% 1 Independent
There are currently 17 sitting members not re-contesting.
There is one endorsed candidate for One Nation (didn't win the Nepean By-election). As State and Federal governments have different responsibilities (eg education, health, state levies/taxes, transport), different policies are required.
I have had a quick look at the health policy. It states that there could be a 100k nurse shortfall in Australia by 2025! and 123k by 2030, then goes to talk about a few strategies for Victoria. It doesn't say what the Vic nursing shortfall is likely to be - so doesn't address the Vic issue. Does bring up an interesting question, though as it talks about having discussions between Vic ON and Unis to make nursing a more attractive degree - as the funding is federal for Unis, does this type of conversation happen a lot?
A read of the education policy is a bit scary.
No preventative measures for tackling crime.
From the "Looking after our environment" policy: protecting iconic native flora like koalas from the expansion of wind and solar farms.
As the ON leader doesn't know what the monoculture policy is - last I saw she answered a question on it by saying 'Howard and Abbott didn't think that multiculturalism works"
There is not a lot out there to attract a vote!
The State Government have funded more free Nursing places in Uni's etc but there are not enough Graduate positions available so they cant complete their training. Grad nurses are a costly investment and you need clinical educators to supervise them plus a lot of grads leave when they complete their training for higher paid positions or leave the system so hospitals end up having paid to train them for nothing. Its a repeat cycle and why agency nursing is booming and being relied upon more but leads to a reduction in specialist nurses ie Cardiac, ICU, and other fields and agencies sending out non specialist nurses to fill specialist positions in some cases because they dont have enough specialist nurses on the books to go around.
While I wouldn't say that we had players standing back, I think that the improved form and effort of the support cast in Hewett, Acres, Cerra, Aisworth, Hayward, and now Cottrell, has taken pressure off Cripps and Walsh. If Cripps or Walsh is quiet, others are filling the void but that support is also enabling Cripps and Walsh, as well as Jagga Smith, to accumulate possessions and distribute the pill effectively.
Cripps' form is scary when compared to the teams performance
Have a look at the following breakdown of team with Cripps possessions in that game in brackets.
Our worst 2 games for the year IMO would be... Sydney (19 touches) St. Kilda. (14).
Our best games of the year would be IMO GWS (33) Port Adelaide (32) Geelong (30) Brisbane (32) Fremantle (32) Richmond (32) Bulldogs (29)
Thats the point I have been making yep others have improved but imo its all down to Cripps and to a lesser extent Walsh returning to their best. The timing of the improvement is also confusing for me, why did the change of coach prompt such a massive form reversal and ability to run out games. I dont buy its all the new Fraser game style/methodology etc etc ...Cripps couldnt run out of sight on a dark night under Voss but under Fraser is bobbing up as the matchwinner late games under Fraser and is in brownlow form.
Fit or not fit we are heavily dependent on Cripps still and to a lesser extent Walsh if they dont play well we still struggle. Its not healthy moving forward and not sustainable imho, Bulldogs have the same problem with Bont having to be in the best players on the ground each week for them to win.
