I didn’t see much of the game on Saturday on account of the election, but there was a bit I did see that was telling. Essendon kicked a scrubby kick into their forward line, Ryan and Wilson were both running at it from different directions. Not only did they each know who was going for the ball (Ryan, obviously), Wilson got out of his way and knowing Ryan would win it peeled off to get the receive and launch the other way.
That is the type of instinctive play that happens hundreds of times a game and is what decides matches. Hundreds and hundreds of micro-decisions.
That raises the question of how Ryan and Wilson knew to do that? Was it the coaches’ instructions, the players being smart, experience playing with each other, a combination, or something else? My view is that it’s mostly a combination of smart players and repetition. Wilson knew Ryan would straight-line the ball, and Wilson knows he’s a good kick, so they instinctively figured it out.
Contrast that with the forward line, where you can bet any two forwards would probably run into each other.
I think coaches have a role to play in making the game work for the players, and speeding up the teamwork process, but there’s no substitute for players being on the park together. In that sense, our backline is miles ahead of our forward line, and also ahead of our midfield. I don’t think it’s a coincidence our best midfield combination is Fyfe, Mundy and Walters.
I also feel for a bloke like Cerra. He just doesn’t have the experience or confidence to be in the right spot. In another year he and Brayshaw will instinctively know where some of their players are and can concentrate on their disposal. At the moment it’s all still a blur, and their kicking is suffering.
Some combination of Tabs, Hogan, Cox and Lobb will be really good for Freo eventually, but they look miles away.