View Full Version : keys to the GF
monarch4
24 Sep 2006, 15:02
From my observations of watching the finals (mainly sydney), there are 3 keys to the GF that the eagles need to urgently attend to. What the solutions are, I don't know.
1. Barry Hall
2. Michael O'Loughlin
3. Sydney flood
Hall and O'Loughlin have kicked 19 goals in their 2 finals games and we know about the Sydney flood. Eagles have to revamp their game plan from 2 weeks ago to be successful next Saturday I believe.
Your thoughts
It's probably our strongest team we'll play Sydney with in a while.
QF: No Embley, Kerr, Hansen or Seaby
Round 15(?): No Glass, Nicoski or Chick
GF 2005: No Lynch, Braun, RJones, Waters, Kerr injured early
imright
24 Sep 2006, 16:34
From my observations of watching the finals (mainly sydney), there are 3 keys to the GF that the eagles need to urgently attend to. What the solutions are, I don't know.
1. Barry Hall
2. Michael O'Loughlin
3. Sydney flood
Hall and O'Loughlin have kicked 19 goals in their 2 finals games and we know about the Sydney flood. Eagles have to revamp their game plan from 2 weeks ago to be successful next Saturday I believe.
Your thoughts
Even though West Coast had 4 players out (Kerr, Embley, Hansen and Seaby) they only lost their last game to Sydney by 1 point. I think the West Coast plan dosen't need to be revamped just tweaked.
I think some sort of subtle zoning defence will take place at some stage in the Swans Forward line.
Kaitsey
24 Sep 2006, 16:37
i think we can still win with this game plan. if we play well with it, we'll win.
wce4premiership
24 Sep 2006, 17:06
Midfield is our key to winning, when we stop the ball being delivered to hall and o'loughlin with ease then it's so much easier for glass and co.
Lets hope lynchy performs at full strength and is in great touch.
who do u guys think could have the job on O louglin? not hunter he should be around the forward i think. not graham maybe chick?
keys that I see
1 Midfeild pressure and tackling
2 we must move the ball quicly when we get it
3 we must kick straight
4 we must take risks and come inboard on the G (from defense)....getting sucked wide gives the swans time to get back in droves
5 Glass and Graham need to play well
nibbles
24 Sep 2006, 19:05
who do u guys think could have the job on O louglin? not hunter he should be around the forward i think. not graham maybe chick?
bones... has got to be bones... he's in good nick atm and has a good record against him, and he has the ability to hurt him going the other way if he gets the pill, good in the air, body on body, and when the ball hits the deck - he plays a variety of 'sizes', very versatile and dependable - to me these match ups have to occur;
bones on o'loughlin
glass on hall
chick on o'keefe
with wirra, selwood, graham, waters, banners raffling up the other forwards depending who rotates through there - obviously they all have their ideal match ups, again, it all depends on who plays there on the day
wce4premiership
24 Sep 2006, 23:26
I think bones will do great on o'loughlin, if not then chick could getthe job. If wirra is to come back i think banfield has to go as sad as i will be if he does it's best for the team.
^BL|TZ^
24 Sep 2006, 23:45
My solemn beleif is that if we kick straight we will win.......too many times we've had the run of play and have let the other team (including sydney) back in the game.
If we keep O'loughlin and Hall to two goals each we will win. Glass will obviously get the job on Hall but Micky is bloody hard to match up on. Bones, Chicky, Graham, Wirra, Hunter?? I dont know.
Could be a big assignment for Bones on O'Loughlin...a career defining one. Or maybe they might think outside the square...Stenglein, Embley??
We cant waste Embley down back. Too dangerous going forward with his run and his goal kicking ability.
halfbackflanker
25 Sep 2006, 16:40
A good first half - If anyone has been observing the patterns of Eagles/Swans games, they'll note that the Swans make their biggest thrust in the 2nd quarter of most games. It happened in the 2005 GF, the prelim final and the game earlier this year. The Swans gameplan for a number of years in finals has been to take an early advantage and then grind down the opposition with defensive tactics. Generally speaking, they're not the sort of team suited to chasing down deficits of more than 2 goals, as this upsets their gameplan and style. While the Eagles are in fact suited to making up scores in the 2nd half, relying on this does play into the hands of the Swans a little.
Given the Eagles won't dominate the first half, the goal should be to come as close as possible to a break-even as far as scoring. If the difference at half-time is a goal or less either way, I'd be very confident in a WC victory.
I'm not entirely sure how that would be achieved, though it may require a somewhat more defensive mindset for the first half.
2. Defensive 50
Though the dockers didn't deliver in terms of skills under pressure, some of their tactical ideas against the Swans did have some effect. The way they blocked up space 40-50m out from the Swans goal, in effect applying a kind of zone around that arc, was pretty effective I thought. The Swans love to wait for someone to bob up and find free space around that zone, and will happily short pass to guys leading into those spaces from upfield. If that isn't available, they like having that space open so their forwards can lead into it. While this isn't rocket science, the Swans are very adept at suckering opposition sides into leaving holes in that space. And when facing an opponent who insists on man-on-man at all costs, they can create that enough for it to pay off. It's hard to combat, but I think it can be done with a bit of balancing, rather than a total strategic switcharoo. If you minimize the effective entries into their 50 by just a small ammount it'll go a long way to winning.
3. Forward delivery
The flipside is up the other end. We're all aware of what happened in the prelim with the mass flooding of the Eagles forward line. Again, it's not rocket science, and to me it's obvious why a certain ammount of flooding works. It doesn't matter how good your midfielders are - there are only so many places you can actually kick goals from. Quick ball movement and keeping the ball alive in the 50 is obviously a key, but also mixing up the methods of delivery - short low kicks to leading players, running it by hand into the 50, deep kicks to the square, and the preparedness to take the odd long shot from outside 50 - break up the predictability. This is something I think they should take into 2007, regardless of the result on Saturday. They need to be a bit more creative in terms of scoring opportunities. There's nothing harder to defend against than a truly creative forward line.