Nathan Buckley has crafted his top five talking points out of the opening week of the 2022 AFL season.
Bucks wants more credit for coaching groups, explains what we saw at the centre bounce, ponders why some teams failed to get themselves up and more.
1. Coaching groups deserve more credit
“Craig McRae, Michael Voss, Sam Mitchell with great first-up wins.
“Their coaching groups need some acknowledgment as well. We put too much stock on the senior coach.
“He creates the environment, but it’s just easy to take it to one person. Coaching groups is where it’s at and you either have a good one or a bad one.
“I think those groups deserve a bit more credit.”
2. Centre bounce stoppage run-ons
“The 6-6-6 came in at the beginning of 2019. A lot of teams were putting a seventh player off the back and we just wanted to open then game up and get more even numbered contests.
“It actually hasn’t changed the percentage of scores from centre bounces. It’s been around 10 per cent and it’s stayed there.
“What we do see is in run-ons when sides get momentum, often it will be off the back of a couple of centre bounce scores.
“We saw Melbourne kick five goals from centre bounce and we saw Carlton win the game off it in the last quarter.
“It was up to around 15 per cent. There was some dominance of teams that were prepared to win the contested ball battle, 4 v 4 is the purest contest you get with a low number in footy.
“Centre bounce work is important. You’re seeing sides not getting drawn into the inside as much and if you win a 1 v 2 on the inside, that gives you a 2 v 1 on the outside and that’s where you get your Dangerfields that are streaming out and getting really deep penetration off centre bounce.”
3. Garry’s question - How does a side like Essendon put up that performance after having a while summer to get ready for it?
“How frustrating is it to watch that when your anticipation and hopes are for the opposite,” Buckley said.
“My closest understanding of that would be that sometimes players, teams, clubs actually play the game before they get out there.
“There’s no danger of being under-prepared for Round 1 or under-motivated. The biggest danger is being over-motivated and over-anxious.
“Just because it presents as listless, it doesn’t mean that it hasn’t been an over-the-top situation. Over the top is not necessarily about red-lining and running around like chicken with its head cut off. Over the top might simply be playing the game before you get out there.
“Physically you’re not able to reach the level of capacity that you would if you were in a really zen, calm, controlled state of motivation.
“Generally this comes from being over the top in your emotional or lack of emotional control. Or it might simply be the opposition were red hot and that’s clearly how it looked like with Geelong and Essendon.
“I thought St Kilda were a bit slow, Richmond started well but then dropped right away and I thought the Western Bulldogs at times didn’t look like the team that they normally were.”
4. Coaches equalising with contests
“We saw a lot of even number contests in front of the ball.
“Coaches were prepared to leave an even number of forwards forward of the ball to prevent the opposition from having an extra defender.
“Don’t get used to it, is what I’m saying.
“We had high percentage of entries that turned into scores, it was higher than normal.
“It was around 50 per cent whereas over the last few years the average is around 44-45 per cent.
“We saw a statistical difference in that. Don’t expect it to be the same. A lot of coaches want to try and take this rebound away from the opposition, but you’ve got to give to get, because that means you don’t have protection out the back.
“I don’t know how to mandate that because it only takes one of the two combatants to shore up their defence.
“It was good to see and we’ve got to find out how we can get that in more.”
5. A little less judgment, a bit more understanding
“Luke Beveridge had a bad moment on Wednesday. What I loved about it is he came out and he owned it and he apologised.
“As far as I’m concerned, that’s done and dusted. Humans are not perfect, but when you do fall short and when you don’t represent your people as well as you would have liked to, you put your hand up and you own it straight away.
“That’s leadership and that’s strength.
“If the worst deed that you’ve ever done in your life was on the front page of the paper, how would you feel after that?
“That doesn’t necessarily define your character as a person, but it definitely would impact your reputation.
“Do we just judge people on those isolated incidents? Or do we give them more chances or an understanding to pump the brakes a little bit?
“We’re not perfect, we are human, a little less judgment, a bit more understanding.
“That doesn’t mean you don’t challenge things that aren’t right, they need to be challenged, but if you were in the same position you’d want some understanding.”