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Post season ponderings.....
When I look at the Storm or Riff or any of the great sides including ours in recent years... sure, every team has their stars that steer the ship (great halves) and put the icing on the cake with a couple of freaks in key positions.
But what they excel at above others are the things you should be able to train for and drill into a team...the coachable things!
While I think we do fall short in the key areas, the concerning thing for me is how far we are behind them in the coachable/trainable things.
What do great teams do well that is from training in which the coach leads and how do we compare?
- A strong solid defensive line which moves quickly and resets quickly as well as scrambles. This is training, fitness and player selection to ensure mobility. This isn't something a team has because they have a star or 2. It is from hard work, good coaching and player selection/development. Where we lack is in having the small spot players in the line. It is so obvious from behind or above the play. These players make it a challenge for their surrounding team mates and often allow a quick play the ball.
Robbo always said, he likes players who can attack then teaches them to defend. Well, they aint learning! And our line speed for 80 minutes doesn't match where it shoudl be.
- A strong kicking game with a great chase .... again coaches select and develop the players, but for our lack of a strong kicker, our chase is also terrible. It should be a solid brick wall line. but is often all over the shop. This is coaching, training and athleticism (player types).
- Discipline.... our penalty count is horrendous (although there is probably unconscious ref bias!) This is training/coaching.
- Cohesion in attack.... we are on fire when all clicks, but when up against it, the ball hits the ground too many times.... training/coaching.
An sure, you mightn't have the right players, but the coach needs to identify this during their development program and bring them in and through.
Or is it just luck that everything comes together and it all works?
Is it confidence or lack of that if you get all the training things right it means nothing because you know you have weaknesses?
Canterbury were doing all the coaching/training things right this year... we are not.
And this is where we look at Trent (who I really like) and ask the questions based on some basic observable KPI's not based on gut feels or hearsay.
What else are the things any team should be able to do with good training/attitude etc.
When I look at the Storm or Riff or any of the great sides including ours in recent years... sure, every team has their stars that steer the ship (great halves) and put the icing on the cake with a couple of freaks in key positions.
But what they excel at above others are the things you should be able to train for and drill into a team...the coachable things!
While I think we do fall short in the key areas, the concerning thing for me is how far we are behind them in the coachable/trainable things.
What do great teams do well that is from training in which the coach leads and how do we compare?
- A strong solid defensive line which moves quickly and resets quickly as well as scrambles. This is training, fitness and player selection to ensure mobility. This isn't something a team has because they have a star or 2. It is from hard work, good coaching and player selection/development. Where we lack is in having the small spot players in the line. It is so obvious from behind or above the play. These players make it a challenge for their surrounding team mates and often allow a quick play the ball.
Robbo always said, he likes players who can attack then teaches them to defend. Well, they aint learning! And our line speed for 80 minutes doesn't match where it shoudl be.
- A strong kicking game with a great chase .... again coaches select and develop the players, but for our lack of a strong kicker, our chase is also terrible. It should be a solid brick wall line. but is often all over the shop. This is coaching, training and athleticism (player types).
- Discipline.... our penalty count is horrendous (although there is probably unconscious ref bias!) This is training/coaching.
- Cohesion in attack.... we are on fire when all clicks, but when up against it, the ball hits the ground too many times.... training/coaching.
An sure, you mightn't have the right players, but the coach needs to identify this during their development program and bring them in and through.
Or is it just luck that everything comes together and it all works?
Is it confidence or lack of that if you get all the training things right it means nothing because you know you have weaknesses?
Canterbury were doing all the coaching/training things right this year... we are not.
And this is where we look at Trent (who I really like) and ask the questions based on some basic observable KPI's not based on gut feels or hearsay.
What else are the things any team should be able to do with good training/attitude etc.
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