We have a poster on here JC, who wrote some intriguing stuff about touch football techniques and the power and speed aspects of our forwards in the game and the effect that power running backs add to that equation. I thinks he explains a lot out of tecqniques used in other rugby type sports especially touch football in a discussion sense.
JC, Thanks for that explanation you make a lot of sense with what you say and the "touch" analogy is interesting as realalistically I have no real idea of how that game has evolved to the state you imply, I assume similar principles must exist in 7's Rugby and league. Could I invite you to explain what happens in these other sports that maybe of interest to everyone.
You could possibly put a blog together based on your equations re big/medium/power and speed, both small and large player. General athletism is something that doesn't seem to be emerging through our juniors and people like me try to see football skills, and combinations of both.....the ideal presumably but we don't seem to have power and speed enough in combination. Dyllan Brown as a case in point is a combination and not a big man. Riley Smith brings down big forwards, skilful with the ball but lacking in running power! You could write up our whole team with respect of this type of analysis.
I also question whether our players maybe/should be doing more touch football training in the pure sense of what you explain. Areobic strength definately invites its way into this brief.
I think you could also wind Hoey's "dead zone" philosophies into that as well and it would be very enlightening to IEE readers and anyone else that is smart enough to understand.
I am thinking not enough thought is being given to these "philosophies" in change, Hoey is the only one that has driven a systemic approach to the idendification i.e the diagnosis is there, just not the cure or the fix! Daz and Coryn have also gone down comparative paths as well.
I haven't gone into much detail here but I specifically invite the contributers mentioned to maybe explain this whole aspect further.
Forget this is my blog, I am happy for anyone to take it over and maybe we will all understand better.
Replies
Just have a look at how sides are built Pops.
Roosters have a look at there foward pack and size of there pack and athleticism especially.They've definitely targeted a type size and atheltically.
Canberra Brisbane even the Dogs less the power but the game is now a track meet it's not the biggest it's not the fastest it's all about balance having the right amount in the right places.Outside backs are basically fowards and finishers you want your middles playing inbetween the 20s especially defensively the outside backs do the rest bringing the ball out and spell your fowards.
IMO outside your halves in the yardage game back 5 win comps.
Plyometrics, to the best of my knowledge there's only so much that can be done to enhance explosive power, unfortunately the composition of your muscles (fast twitch/slow twitch) is what you're born with.
The bigger power middle is coming back into the game. I think we need to go back to 3 bigger middles Tui, Mataele and Paulo. The bigger middles are needed to hold player in the tackle, not necessarily bring them to ground to slow the ruck. Anything but let a player find their front. You could see how quick the Cowboys play the ball was last week because they kept finding their belly in the tackle, we could not turtle them. Penreff are masters at holding players up then bringing them to ground at the last second.
Your more effective back rowers now are a lot lighter and more athletic, almost built like a centre now.. Lucas, Preston, Nanai. Kelma for example is too heavy in the modern game as a back rowers imo. Samrani should transition to back row very well.
Then as Coryn rightly points out your back 5 generally carry the first 3 coming out of trouble. So important to have yardage makers here. JAC has speed and can score long range for us but our other winger has to make metres
Then as
Look at the excellent play of those two youngsters at Souths Jye Gray and Ashton Ward......they are killing it. Further maybe Bevan French would have been elite in this new Vlandyball