Final series, a week off.

[Test Tickle]

Earning a week off at this time of year by winning a 2nd Semi Final is structured to be an advantage, is it?
We've just witnessed in our comp alone Barooga and Deni 3rds look lathargic and outclassed after the week off, against Nathalia and Mulwala respectively, who were plassed lower on the ladder at end of home and away season.

Is the week off an Advantage or Not ?

I be very interested to see if anyone thinks its a disadvantage.

 

[tuckylives]

Most would see it as an advantage, but I believe it all comes down to the preparation by the team during that week off and how well the team can respond. Some teams are able to respond really well after a week off and use it as an opportunity to rest any niggling injuries, but also have their preparation spot on for the grand final.

I think juniors can be a totally different story to senior football. I know when I played juniors, we made the grand final after winning our semi-final, had the week off and were beaten by a team who played every week of the finals series. I think some of us felt that we had won the grand final, as young kids do get a bit ahead of themselves at times, and sure enough, we got rolled.

As for senior football, yes, the same sort of thing can happen, but for an experienced team, they know exactly what to expect and can adapt to the conditions and preparation. Now I don't know this for sure and I could be a long way off the mark, but after Barooga were defeated by Moama twice during the season and were able to turn the result around in the semi-final a fortnight ago, hence putting them straight through to the grand final, they may have felt that the job was already half done. If this was the case, they obviously found out the hard way. If not, I think the motivational factors for Nathalia were far greater than those of Barooga, so I guess you could say that it is just an unfortunate time to try and win a flag.

Just as a side note, I think Nathalia's player management this season was a class above the rest. With an ageing list, they rested players at exactly the right time and didn't worry so much on finishing on top of the ladder, but more on having their players fit for finals, which obviously worked perfectly.

Personally, I think the GVFL finals series works quite well, with the top two teams playing in week one of the finals, as well as the other four teams. I don't think any team is advantaged or disadvantaged by this system. Thoughts?

Anyway, those are my thoughts. As Homer said, it would be good to hear what everyone else thinks.

 

[flash2]

Well I've played in one Grand Final in my footy career so far, and we lost after having the week off. I think it has no advantage, maybe even a disadvantage, because your opponent comes into the Grand Final winning at least their last 3 games.

In junior footy I think it isn't an advantage, but maybe it is in senior footy with injury niggles etc.

 

[Simmy #18]

I used to think it was an advantage to have the week off untill i had it put like this..

If you win the game then that week off you had was just what you needed and probably got you over the line..

If you loose then it was that week off that got you off your game and will win the next one now..

So really it means nothing.. Just forces teams to have to make sure they train hard and get a decent preperation throughout the week!

 

[roader_4]

We had the week off in the thirds last year and went to the prelim and watched the thirds then went and had a light training run. i don't think it is a disadvantage but whether it is an advantage or not it depends on each team and how they use it