Zac needs to learn some spoiling skills

[thejiggingsaint]

Its just happening too often! Zac's attempts to spoil at times are crude and have resulted in us losing his services in vital games!
GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER SON! (there's the good boy!)

[Dr Spaceman]

Its just happening too often! Zac's attempts to spoil at times are crude and have resulted in us losing his services in vital games!
GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER SON! (there's the good boy!)

Well he's already spoiled quite a few threads

[thejiggingsaint]

Yarp!!!!!!!!!

[perfectionist]

I suggest you have a look (if you can bear it) at the last 5 minutes of the 2009 GF. Gary Ablett was certain to take a mark and there was no way anybody could spoil it without giving away a free. But Zac did. The ball was punched towards our goal but hit the foot of Matthew Scarlett and it rebounded back to Gary Ablett (both flukes). Ten centimetres further to Scarlett's right, the ball would have gone right past him and in to the waiting arms of a Saints player 20 metres clear. Then, anything could have happened.

Zac is a very good spoiler and is improving. He wasn't trying to spoil Josh Fraser he was trying to hit him because a spoil was impossible. He needs to get better at disguising the fact, but even the master of the hit/spoil, Dustin Fletcher, has been rubbed out a few times for the same thing.

[AnythingsPossibleSaints]

He also badly needs to learn when to make body contact and when to back himself to either mark, or spoil the ball, without going and trying to "body" whoever he's playing on.
Time after time he loses sight of the ball by insisting on trying to make body contact when it's not necessary and it costs him (and us) so often it's not funny.
It's like he's been taught that the only way to stop someone from marking the ball is to outbody them (which is not in his favour anyway, as he isn't that strong), when he can in fact also achieve that goal by marking the ball himself, or simply punching it away. Two of his greatest strengths are his height and his athleticism, yet he almost always tries to use his physical strength, which isn't as much of an asset to him. It's called playing to your strengths and he doesn't do it anywhere near enough.
Many times he's in a better position to get first touch on the ball (as he is coming from the same direction as the ball is travelling), but then he gives that advantage up by turning his back on the thing and looking for whoever the kick was meant for. He then tries to outbody them and by the time the ball arrives he has no idea where it is, while they do, because they haven't taken their eyes off it. So he goes from being in the best position to touch or mark it first, to having far less chance of doing either, as he now has little idea where it is, and often is not well balanced in the body contest, simply because of his obsession with making body contact pretty much every time the ball comes near him (in the air).
If he just improved that one aspect of his game he'd be probably 50% better and more valuable to us.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO MAKE BODY CONTACT IN EVERY MARKING SITUATION, ZAC. YOU CAN IN FACT JUST GO FOR THE BALL, AS BRIAN LAKE, FOR INSTANCE, SHOWED SO OFTEN LAST YEAR.

[Thinline]

I suggest you have a look (if you can bear it) at the last 5 minutes of the 2009 GF. Gary Ablett was certain to take a mark and there was no way anybody could spoil it without giving away a free. But Zac did. The ball was punched towards our goal but hit the foot of Matthew Scarlett and it rebounded back to Gary Ablett (both flukes). Ten centimetres further to Scarlett's right, the ball would have gone right past him and in to the waiting arms of a Saints player 20 metres clear. Then, anything could have happened.

Zac is a very good spoiler and is improving. He wasn't trying to spoil Josh Fraser he was trying to hit him because a spoil was impossible. He needs to get better at disguising the fact, but even the master of the hit/spoil, Dustin Fletcher, has been rubbed out a few times for the same thing.

Was one of the ballsiest plays I've ever seen a defender make.

Deserved reward.

[BigMart]

APS....your in form.

Ben McEvoy of the forum

[Rosco]

could have been "the spoil of the century".

[jays]

needs to learn not to be dirty aswell

[Bernard Shakey]

Its just happening too often! :twisted: Zac's attempts to spoil at times are crude and have resulted in us losing his services in vital games!
GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER SON! (there's the good boy!)

Well he's already spoiled quite a few threads :wink:

You seem to think he did nothing wrong Dr Space (who can see no wrong in Saints players).

Two weeks with Zac's record and a dumb act with seven minutes to go in a game we've won.

A dumb act?

Or a slight error of judgement in a desperate attempt to spoil a mark?

I'm glad that you can be so certain of your assessment.

And are you suggesting that the players should back off from all contests once the game is "won"?

[Dr Spaceman]

Its just happening too often! Zac's attempts to spoil at times are crude and have resulted in us losing his services in vital games!
GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER SON! (there's the good boy!)

Well he's already spoiled quite a few threads  

You seem to think he did nothing wrong Dr Space (who can see no wrong in Saints players).

Two weeks with Zac's record and a dumb act with seven minutes to go in a game we've won.

A dumb act?

Or a slight error of judgement in a desperate attempt to spoil a mark?

I'm glad that you can be so certain of your assessment.

And are you suggesting that the players should back off from all contests once the game is "won"?

I can see wrong in Saints players. I simply choose not to come on here and give them a spray, like you regularly do with Kosi. What do such comments achieve?

Anyway I maintain it was a fine line between a desperate attempt to spoil and a dumb act. The fact he got rubbed out does not give weight to it being the latter IMO. Campbell Brown got lucky, Zac didn't.

[Junction Oval]

I am a supporter of Zac. He plays exceptionally well and is a key defender, but he lets himself down on a regular basis by giving away free kicks through stupid/elementary mistakes and he needs to improve his concentration in this area.

I would also like to see him take more marks when he is well positioned to do so. Simply knocking the ball away every time, negates the more attacking option when it presents itself.

If he could learn to kick with his right foot, that would be helpful also !

[Bernard Shakey]

I am a supporter of Zac. He plays exceptionally well and is a key defender, but he lets himself down on a regular basis by giving away free kicks through stupid/elementary mistakes and he needs to improve his concentration in this area.

I would also like to see him take more marks when he is well positioned to do so. Simply knocking the ball away every time, negates the more attacking option when it presents itself.

If he could learn to kick with his right foot, that would be helpful also !

So, why are you a great supporter of Zac? He gives away too many frees, doesn't mark when he should and is one sided, all of which I agree with. How does he get a game?

[borderbarry]

How does he get a game? Because we have limited options for full back.

[Jacks Back]

He also badly needs to learn when to make body contact and when to back himself to either mark, or spoil the ball, without going and trying to "body" whoever he's playing on.
Time after time he loses sight of the ball by insisting on trying to make body contact when it's not necessary and it costs him (and us) so often it's not funny.
It's like he's been taught that the only way to stop someone from marking the ball is to outbody them (which is not in his favour anyway, as he isn't that strong), when he can in fact also achieve that goal by marking the ball himself, or simply punching it away. Two of his greatest strengths are his height and his athleticism, yet he almost always tries to use his physical strength, which isn't as much of an asset to him. It's called playing to your strengths and he doesn't do it anywhere near enough.
Many times he's in a better position to get first touch on the ball (as he is coming from the same direction as the ball is travelling), but then he gives that advantage up by turning his back on the thing and looking for whoever the kick was meant for. He then tries to outbody them and by the time the ball arrives he has no idea where it is, while they do, because they haven't taken their eyes off it. So he goes from being in the best position to touch or mark it first, to having far less chance of doing either, as he now has little idea where it is, and often is not well balanced in the body contest, simply because of his obsession with making body contact pretty much every time the ball comes near him (in the air).
If he just improved that one aspect of his game he'd be probably 50% better and more valuable to us.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO MAKE BODY CONTACT IN EVERY MARKING SITUATION, ZAC. YOU CAN IN FACT JUST GO FOR THE BALL, AS BRIAN LAKE, FOR INSTANCE, SHOWED SO OFTEN LAST YEAR.

This is spot on. Stop trying to play to your weakest point (lack of strength) and instead play to your strengths.

Also, there is nothing tough about trying to be a big tough guy after the fact (opposition mark, free, etc) as Zac so often does.

[Junction Oval]

It was just a matter of who would put forward the points that you raised Bernard.

The deficiencies that I raised, if corrected, will make Zac a much better player, potentially up to a Fisher standard. It's a question of the things that Zac needs to improve on to go from a good Saints player, to an absolute key player and prime mover.

[matrix]

averages just over one free given away a game, same as gilbert, joey and milne

oh yeah thats right a defender, who woulda thunk it!

string him up
better yet...

Dan...get the spade

[starsign]

A desperate act to spoil WAS spoilt by a dumb act!
He might only average one free a match like Gilbo Joey & the Tip Rat but theirs don't preclude them from playing off this handicap next week

[matrix]

good call starsign

[Sainternist]

Nah, his spoiling is generally quite effective. It's not as though he has bags of goals kicked against him game in and game out.

Anyway, he would have practised spoiling at training drills until he was blue in the face.

It was a split second decision which cost him. Perhaps a little too much of a blood rush to the head. If anything he'd need to work on composing himself psychologically for a game.

[Sobraz]

will make Zac a much better player, potentially up to a Fisher standard.

Whooooaaaaaaaaaaa slow down there....

I agree Zac has the tools to be a handy player, and needs to cut the crap, but Fisher is borderline all time Saints great...

IMO best backman in the comp right now...

Lets not jump the gun...

[joffaboy]

I loved it when Zac spoilt Buddy's smile by knocking out his tooth with another Zac Attack a couple of years back.

From memory got nothing for that. Nowdays he would get a month