Thanks for the article Simon. For some players such as Dylan Moore and James Sicily, we aren't necessarily looking for improvement as they were All Australian in 2024. There are four notable declines (in possession numbers) - Impey, McDonald, D'Ambrosio and Moore, each of whom is 3-4 disposals down on 2024. Of these four, Impey's drop is explained by a change in role due to Hardwick playing forward for the first seven rounds and had he not been subbed out in round 8, it's likely that Moore's disposal numbers wouldn't look so bad. McDonald doesn't appear to have come back as the player he was prior to the ankle injury. So, there are explanations (at least in part) for some of the drop off in disposal numbers for these four players. The other declines are less significant (1-2 disposals) and are more than offset by the players who have higher disposal numbers.
It would be interesting to see the comparison by Champion Data points and/or AFL Player ratings.
While disposal numbers may not reflect much improvement, I'd argue that Meek, Weddle, Amon, Chol and Watson are improved on last season, if only for greater consistency of performance in some of those players. And while less relevant, in the twos Reeves, Ramsden, Scaife, Hustwaite, B. McDonald and Ryan are significant improvers, which is important in driving improvement across the whole group.
The bigger question is whether we've improved as a team and as you say, there are divergent views on that. The coming five weeks will give us the answer. I hope I'm wrong but watching us play over these past 3 weeks doesn't inspire a great deal of confidence going into games against the top sides over the next 5 weeks.
Thanks again for getting us thinking even more about the nighty Hawks!
Simon, just brilliant that the HI community have the HI team that take the time and have the passion to provide such interesting points to read, think about and discuss so thank you.
I think there are so many elements to consider about the question whether "have any players improved"? To me it's like comparing apples to oranges as each player is so different to one another and they all have their own varied experiences to contribute towards their improvement. For example, like the number of games played, actual minutes played on match day, decision making, playing with injuries and their possible multiple positions played depending on team balance against their opponent's team to name just a few. Like anything in life, practice can mostly show some improvement, however in some cases, it takes longer for some than others. Also, you could factor into the mental side of the game and not just the physical aspect ... for example, improvement in playing the game under scoreboard pressure, big crowd numbers, and trying to hold your spot in the senior side. The one thing that I also look forward to seeing is improvement in leadership both on and off the field which is another thing that some are naturally gifted with, but some take a bit more time to develop in this aspect.
Finally, I hope we see improvement in the result tonight by getting the win against Gold Coast in the NT ... GO HAWKS!!!
I think it is obvious that certain players, we don't need to name names, have dropped off in form: be it the number of possessions, the quality of the possession, disposal efficiency, or the number of goals. Some players have just not played the same amount of games. I would like to highlight how impressive Cam McKenzie and Jack Gunston have been this year. They are doing an amazing service to the club. Keep it up.
Thanks for the article Simon. For some players such as Dylan Moore and James Sicily, we aren't necessarily looking for improvement as they were All Australian in 2024. There are four notable declines (in possession numbers) - Impey, McDonald, D'Ambrosio and Moore, each of whom is 3-4 disposals down on 2024. Of these four, Impey's drop is explained by a change in role due to Hardwick playing forward for the first seven rounds and had he not been subbed out in round 8, it's likely that Moore's disposal numbers wouldn't look so bad. McDonald doesn't appear to have come back as the player he was prior to the ankle injury. So, there are explanations (at least in part) for some of the drop off in disposal numbers for these four players. The other declines are less significant (1-2 disposals) and are more than offset by the players who have higher disposal numbers.
It would be interesting to see the comparison by Champion Data points and/or AFL Player ratings.
While disposal numbers may not reflect much improvement, I'd argue that Meek, Weddle, Amon, Chol and Watson are improved on last season, if only for greater consistency of performance in some of those players. And while less relevant, in the twos Reeves, Ramsden, Scaife, Hustwaite, B. McDonald and Ryan are significant improvers, which is important in driving improvement across the whole group.
The bigger question is whether we've improved as a team and as you say, there are divergent views on that. The coming five weeks will give us the answer. I hope I'm wrong but watching us play over these past 3 weeks doesn't inspire a great deal of confidence going into games against the top sides over the next 5 weeks.
Thanks again for getting us thinking even more about the nighty Hawks!
Weddle continues to grow. Maginness is more rounded albeit with some skill deficiencies.
Simon, just brilliant that the HI community have the HI team that take the time and have the passion to provide such interesting points to read, think about and discuss so thank you.
I think there are so many elements to consider about the question whether "have any players improved"? To me it's like comparing apples to oranges as each player is so different to one another and they all have their own varied experiences to contribute towards their improvement. For example, like the number of games played, actual minutes played on match day, decision making, playing with injuries and their possible multiple positions played depending on team balance against their opponent's team to name just a few. Like anything in life, practice can mostly show some improvement, however in some cases, it takes longer for some than others. Also, you could factor into the mental side of the game and not just the physical aspect ... for example, improvement in playing the game under scoreboard pressure, big crowd numbers, and trying to hold your spot in the senior side. The one thing that I also look forward to seeing is improvement in leadership both on and off the field which is another thing that some are naturally gifted with, but some take a bit more time to develop in this aspect.
Finally, I hope we see improvement in the result tonight by getting the win against Gold Coast in the NT ... GO HAWKS!!!
Llyod meek
Do AFL player ratings instead of raw disposal numbers.
I think it is obvious that certain players, we don't need to name names, have dropped off in form: be it the number of possessions, the quality of the possession, disposal efficiency, or the number of goals. Some players have just not played the same amount of games. I would like to highlight how impressive Cam McKenzie and Jack Gunston have been this year. They are doing an amazing service to the club. Keep it up.