Intensity. It’s one of the most important aspects of football, but the most overlooked.
We hear about gameplans ad nauseum, along with offensive systems and defensive structures, yet they all become meaningless if the appropriate intensity isn’t delivered.
In the opening game of the season, Carlton delivered AFL-standard intensity while their opponent Richmond didn’t. It allowed the Blues to play above their station, holding the lead for long periods of the game, but ultimately they lacked the overall polish to convert their advantage to a winning one.
Richmond has been a top-six side over the last three seasons while Carlton has resided in the bottom four. When the lower side brings intensity and the better side doesn’t, upsets can happen.
The Tigers will be the superior team in 2016, but the Blues were the better side on the night.
Melbourne showed fanatical intensity in the first quarter and a half of their win over Greater Western Sydney, but struggled to convert it to the scoreboard. When they dropped away, so did their hold on the game, and a ten-point lead became a 22-point deficit as the more talented Giants were able to get their running game going.
The Demons came out firing in the last quarter, full of intensity, GWS came out with barely a whimper, and that was the ball game. Intensity got Melbourne an early lead, a lack of it cost them it, and by delivering it again, they put themselves in a position to get the win.
Gold Coast were able to walk their way to a ten-goal win free of exertion, because Essendon failed to bring appropriate intensity, one of only four sides not to do so over the opening round. We know the Dons are going to have a talent problem all season, but their lack of application from the opening bounce was inexcusable, particularly against a side they should have considered themselves some chance against.
North Melbourne and Adelaide were two evenly matched sides that equalled each other for intensity. Within those parameters, the Crows played the better football for the majority of the game, but they didn’t have an answer to Brett Harvey and Todd Goldstein in the crucial moments.
Intensity can keep you in a game for long periods, but sometimes you need the class to win it for you.
Collingwood and Fremantle were the two most appalling cases of lack of intensity over the entire weekend, and it was no coincidence they suffered the two biggest losses of the round.
In fact, their lack of intensity was so abject and pathetic, that it’s hard to read too much into how Sydney and the Western Bulldogs played, impressive as they were.
AFL teams presenting themselves in that fashion, as the Pies and Dockers did, is simply unacceptable, and frankly they haven’t been damned enough for it. It was led from the top too, with Scott Pendlebury and Nat Fyfe, two of the games undisputed champions and my personal favourites, both playing flat, making an abnormal amount of skill errors and mistakes.
St Kilda has made themselves all about intensity in their time under Alan Richardson, and gave every other team in the competition a lesson in how to apply it against Port. They didn’t get the win, thanks to skill limitations and being one NAB Challenge game short, but they earned respect. The Power had to give their all for 100 per cent of the game, which they did, in order to shake them.
Brisbane lost by ten goals to West Coast in Perth, but wasn’t due to lack of intensity. They came out hard and desperate, had a crack in the contest and tried to play a bright brand of football.
The Lions were always going to be outclassed and outmatched, but at least went down swinging and kicked 15 goals along the way. If they had brought Collingwood or Fremantle intensity, the margin would have been 164 instead of 64.
Geelong and Hawthorn gave us a masterclass of intense, tough football on Easter Monday, as they have done for a decade now. The game ebbed and flowed, but the intensity from both sides stayed high.
Post-Round 1 discussions are now a race to see who can over-react the least, everyone attempting to engage in sober discussion as we all try and work out what was real and what wasn’t in the first week of footy for the year.
Collingwood and Fremantle will likely not play that badly again this year. It’s hard to see how they could. Sydney and the Bulldogs will have matches where they don’t turn up, and they will look a shadow of the sides we saw on the weekend.
So this week, and over the course of the season, we’ll hear lots of reasons why teams win or lose. Stats will be quoted about technical aspects of the game, and game styles will be analysed. Yet a lot of the time it will be about intensity.
There are always going to be differences in talent across AFL clubs. Differences in coaching excellence too. Differences in player leadership will also have an impact.
But playing with intensity must be a non-negotiable. The best teams will deliver it almost always, and those teams will end up becoming the best clubs over time.
mattyb
Guest
Dogs are on the march this year Wilson as I said during the pre season. Hodge will be a big out as he would have had the capacity to bully boy our younger players. I Don't mean that as a slight either and I'm sure your capable of understanding what I mean. The challenge for the young dogs will be to not get to intimidated by Hawthorn and to be willing to run.
mattyb
Guest
PD,are there two Pumpiing Dougies out there or are you the sole one? It appears one has the wonderful image of one of the greatest players to ever grace the game yet the other doesn't.
Graham
Guest
Macca.I was impressed with the character and effort of the Blues players last week and being a supporter of the swans in the 80's thats all you want to see until they can really start "competing" for the flag. You just want to see them play with passion and represent, but i think your right that might not be enough this weekend.
Macca
Guest
Graham - There aren't too many sides in the comp I would like my Blues to be playing less than the Swans this week, after a good start last week it would have been good to be able to build some momentum (maybe even grab a win) but I fear the Swans might really deflate us.
Graham
Guest
Gee my team the swans look rejuvenated and fresh. Long way to go but extremely excited about this year....
Macca
Guest
I agree Dalgety - I am not saying the dockers are gone, just that it was an interesting occurrence and with the round being more high scoring than recent years it is worth keeping an eye on is the cause just having a bad day or something more.
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
It's one game, it can happen to the best of them and nothing "bigger" needs to be behind it. Freo has had a bit of different pre-season this year with Lyon taking a more hands-off approach, so that could easily impact on their clarity of thought around game-structures. If this is still happening in round 3 or 4 then we have a (weak) trend.
Don Freo
Guest
Some say that that...certainly not "most". If they do, they are not neutral. No "neutral" observer would blame Ross' coaching for a drawn grand final or a crook bounce.in another. A neutral observer would acknowledge a coaching master class at Skilled Stadium. Clichés, Dougie. You can do better than perpetuating urban myth.
Brendon the 1st
Guest
Walters is good, but best in the league? Might be a player by the name of Wingard with a few more runs on the board than him.
Macca
Guest
Dalgety - Not symptoms of a blow out symptoms of a bigger cause. For example you list "poor disposal, second to the contest, bad decision making" - the question is why was a team that has been so successful in the past suddenly poor in this area? The players that have been so good for you over a number of years didn't suddenly wake up and not be able to kick the ball or not be able to make a good decision with it - something caused those issues to happen. On the flip side last year Carlton were guilty of all those things (especially poor disposal) yet on Thursday night they were suddenly good at all those things (especially their disposal) - the difference wasn't a massive change in personell or a greater concentration on simple disposal skills at training - the difference was caused by a change in game plan that was more instinctual, suited the players better and lead to less second guessing. I don't know what the cause is at Freo yet (I have some theories but 1 round is not enough data to support them) but something bigger than the symptoms you list is behind it.
Wilson
Roar Guru
Dogs will be interesting to see when they play Hawks and I will admit that game is a worry for me as a hawk supporter as Roughead, Hodge and Hill Missing it could well hurt the Hawks, Roughead we lose that main tall target unless Clanger (Schoenmakers) picks up his game compared to his game at the Cats Hodge we lose that leadership and person to fill gaps And Hill you lose the main thing they will need against the Dogs outside run.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
And yet, Anon, with that list they've made the grand final just once and were horribly embarrassed on the big stage. I think most neutral observers would agree Lyon took over a talented list. So far he's been fantastic coaching in home and away for Freo but poor in finals.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
Mattyb, I agree these guys are okay. I think they are good enough to play on the likes of both Riewoldts, Darling, Pavlich, Gunston, Petrie, Schulz, Dixon, etc. But I'm not confident they're good enough to reliably beat the likes of Josh Kennedy, Roughhead, Franklin, Tippett, Hawkins and Tex Walker. The secret to beating these guys will be in the success of our group defence and putting enough pressure on the blokes delivering the ball into the forward line. Adams was very impressive.
Momentbymoment
Guest
I agree with that and think the same happened for the Swans. They were given permission to go out and enjoy themselves and they looked like a completely different side.
Paul D
Roar Guru
All good suggestions...tough to pick from a crowded field
anon
Guest
The Freo had a lot of potential at the end of 2011, that's why Ross Lyon jumped at the chance to take the job from Mark Harvey. Harvey was an awful coach with a young team in 2010, and managed to take them to the second week of the finals. Since 2010, Fyfe has turned into the best player in the league, Mundy has become an elite midfielder, Neale is almost elite and knocking on the door of being an All-Australian, Sandilands has improved as a ruck man, Walters turned into the best small forward in the league, and on and on.
mattyb
Guest
LOL, he has just printed out this year's list,Don wins again but to be honest sometimes it looks far to easy. Laughable but easy.
Pumping Dougie
Guest
Dockers-done-Doggie-style
Pumping Dougie
Guest
Recchymech, I'm pretty sure Freo didn't have Harley Bennell on their list in 2012.
Don Freo
Guest
Wow...some of those blokes would have been 14 years old back then. Want to try again?