Analysis Game plan

[Yoda_]

This is what givesme hope against the Eagles this week. Bring pressure and a bit of luck and who knows if the Eagles are ripe for the picking

 

[Vindicater]

Big change from the last few years is that now our drive from half back is coming from hard working midfielders instead of our halfbacks.

Means if we turn it over we still have 6 or 7 back instead of 4 or 5.

 

[ant555]

Big change from the last few years is that now our drive from half back is coming from hard working midfielders instead of our halfbacks.

Means if we turn it over we still have 6 or 7 back instead of 4 or 5.

It is a work in progress . I would not say all the drive is coming from midfielders. The fact we have changed to a more intercept style back six has an impact. All of our defenders are intercept players so it is important that the midfield defends through the middle. People are also under estimating how much effect having Redman back at 100% and in good form.

 

[Mercurial89]

It is a work in progress . I would not say all the drive is coming from midfielders. The fact we have changed to a more intercept style back six has an impact. All of our defenders are intercept players so it is important that the midfield defends through the middle. People are also under estimating how much effect having Redman back at 100% and in good form.

Anything you see as key to us taking the next step that we would want to see develop over the remainder of this year?

 

[ant555]

Anything you see as key to us taking the next step that we would want to see develop over the remainder of this year?

Keep working on what they are doing and being able to extend that for longer periods of the game.
Our team zone can be a bit suspect for two reasons. Forwards letting the player in their area run off with no pressure and players not being switched on to the opposition working through their part of the zone. It can never be perfect as the AFL is full of top level players who are elite at playing footy so it is about he who can stand up the longest with the least amount of breaches .
No doubt there will be some personal changes along the way as some will not get to the level needed.
Buy in and teaching being clear is the most crucial part now.

 

[owen87]

Buy in and teaching being clear is the most crucial part now.

So what you're saying is; more learnings needed?

 

[ant555]

So what you're saying is; more learnings needed?

Probably reached the stage of

Don't think ! Do!

 

[ant555]

The biggest win for me has been our extra marking power around the ground. At the start of the year I was wondering where it would come from but Cox and Jones have given us a lot along with all the back 6 who can take a decent grab and even Phillips is chipping in with 3 or 4 marks up the ground at important times. It allows you to control the game by either going quick with the hands off or slowing the game down when needed.

 

[Megabattimus]

The biggest win for me has been our extra marking power around the ground. At the start of the year I was wondering where it would come from but Cox and Jones have given us a lot along with all the back 6 who can take a decent grab and even Phillips is chipping in with 3 or 4 marks up the ground at important times. It allows you to control the game by either going quick with the hands off or slowing the game down when needed.

It's so...weird watching an Essendon team that has gears and can possess the footy when there isn't an opening to just run it down the field.

On Pixel 3 using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[Lore]

Tonight’s AFL 360 had a segment near the end “the watchlist”. They analysed our game plan and it was actually really interesting to hear them comparing the different aspects of Essendon and Richmond.

It’s been a week of high praise for Essendon but even so what they were saying made sense I think. Hope the flag window prediction was right and we don’t stuff it up again

 

[Howard Moon]

I feel like most weeks you put a couple of the opposition goals down to a lucky bounce or a lucky handball....but against Richmond after the tenth bit of 'luck' you realise it's not luck at all, they can blindly handball out of scrimmage cause they know they will have a man parked here here and here. They know they lucky bounces will find a target because they have swarmed together in a wave, law of averages.

 

[Zach Package]

They also gamble a s**t load, Bolton and Martin in particular just practise educated camping ahead of the footy knowing that they’ll get found and be off to the races

 

[GUMBLETRON]

It isn't gambling when you can rely on the other 20 guys on the team doing their job.

Peak Hawthorn did the same - structure up, work hard and when you choose to scrap the ball forward odds are someone will be in a position to capitalise.

It looks like luck because other teams scrap it forward for lack of other options and then aren't in a position to benefit. The difference is what's happening off the ball.

 

[ant555]

It isn't gambling when you can rely on the other 20 guys on the team doing their job.

Peak Hawthorn did the same - structure up, work hard and when you choose to scrap the ball forward odds are someone will be in a position to capitalise.

It looks like luck because other teams scrap it forward for lack of other options and then aren't in a position to benefit. The difference is what's happening off the ball.

Its a calculated gamble based on a side winning the ball more often than not. Has not worked at times this year for them with different / inexperienced personal in the side.

 

[Howard Moon]

Even still, people say we are Richmond lite...I don't see the similarity, Richmond surge in number, we still use a give and go handball after a 45 kick to sling foward, sure we have more handball options thru the middle but it's not a surge, it's generally pre stationed zonal players

 

[Lore]

Even still, people say we are Richmond lite...I don't see the similarity, Richmond surge in number, we still use a give and go handball after a 45 kick to sling foward, sure we have more handball options thru the middle but it's not a surge, it's generally pre stationed zonal players

There's a lot of Richmond in the team defence high pressure stuff. Apparently the forward handball is a Gia from Bulldogs thing?

 

[Zach Package]

It isn't gambling when you can rely on the other 20 guys on the team doing their job.

It's why I described it as educated gambling. It takes the typical midfield head to head match ups involving guys like Matt Crouch and Tom Mitchell where they are 'on' each other but basically just chase the ball around and pay no attention to anyone else a step further. If your man wins the ball your recourse is praying that they miss. Martin is the king of this which is why it looks like he's always bobbing up like a sprinkler head in his own paddock, he's reliant on someone getting him the footy.

Trying not to get sucked in to the contest is counterintuitive which is why it's so hard, particularly for younger players. Having said that everything about Richmond is counterintuitive which is probably why no one has really solved for X yet.

It's also probably why when they lose they tend to get beaten pretty comprehensively, the whole thing is a highly functioning house of cards

 

[owen87]

It's why I described it as educated gambling. It takes the typical midfield head to head match ups involving guys like Matt Crouch and Tom Mitchell where they are 'on' each other but basically just chase the ball around and pay no attention to anyone else a step further. If your man wins the ball your recourse is praying that they miss. Martin is the king of this which is why it looks like he's always bobbing up like a sprinkler head in his own paddock.

Trying not to get sucked in to the contest is counterintuitive which is why it's so hard, having said that everything about Richmond is counterintuitive which is probably why no one has really solved for X yet.

It's probably why they lose they tend to get beaten pretty comprehensively, the whole thing is a highly functioning house of cards

I don't think there's a clear 'play this way to reliably beat Richmond' model, because the anti-thesis to what they do is the kick-mark style hold possession game, that's very hard to reliably execute under pressure.

The easiest way to stop Richmond handballing - kicking - tapping the ball as they run forward is simply deny possession. Hawthorn 2012 - 2015 would have been an interesting match-up because they generally had good footskills to maintain possession once they'd gained it. Richmond kind of brute force it forward off the turnover.

The changeover in personnel means that perhaps they're not quite as good at it as they once were, the new player is slightly slower / less fit / less experienced so can't execute for as long. Injuries catch up to senior guys. Motivation wanes a little.

Their top-end talent is still talented, their system still fundamentally works, their role players still play their roles. So they'll be thereabouts.

Zone defence is a tough one to break apart because assuming it's structured well, it relies on two things to get through; well executed ball movement, or a weak link in the zone.

Essendon have the fundamental of the zone right, but we're not (yet) experienced enough to maintain it reliably for a full game under heavy pressure and fatigue.

Combining the Richmond off-the-ball movement, with the Bulldogs with-the-ball movement, is a solid setup imo. The Dogs in close, by hand, are absolutely elite. Richmond's ability to generate turnovers via pressure, and having players be in just the right spot, is elite.

 

[GUMBLETRON]

Combining the Richmond off-the-ball movement, with the Bulldogs with-the-ball movement, is a solid setup imo. The Dogs in close, by hand, are absolutely elite. Richmond's ability to generate turnovers via pressure, and having players be in just the right spot, is elite.

How viable that is is another question though, given they demand players structure up in different ways. Bulldogs players move for the outlet, Tigers (outside the attacking exceptions) move to maintain pressure on the ball.

 

[Howard Moon]

The changeover in personnel means that perhaps they're not quite as good at it as they once were, the new player is slightly slower / less fit / less experienced so can't execute for as long. Injuries catch up to senior guys. Motivation wanes a little.

Their top-end talent is still talented, their system still fundamentally works, their role players still play their roles. So they'll be thereabouts.

There's a bit of pomp era Sydney about them. Sydney's game was so taxing to play that they never really brought it out til after the half way point of the season.. just did enough to stay thereabouts til the whips needed cracking. No point mentally and physically frying your team til it's absolutely necessary

 

[owen87]

How viable that is is another question though, given they demand players structure up in different ways. Bulldogs players move for the outlet, Tigers (outside the attacking exceptions) move to maintain pressure on the ball.

I don't think it's an either / or proposition. You find a way to combine the two that best suits your list.

Richmond aren't a strong inside ball winning side so they rely on turnovers, whereas the Bulldogs are the strongest clearance team in the comp.

Simply copying Richmond is unlikely to beat them, unless you've got players that are fundamentally better at executing the Richmond gameplan than Richmond's are. Similar for the Dogs.

What we might find is a hybrid approach works best for us.

 

[ant555]

Things look to be on the improve with our team defense . I am seeing a few more of the leaders working harder on a few areas including Zack who has been pushing back and finding a man more often than not rather than watching the play. The thing that is hurting us the most right now is giving up scores from turnover. We are the 4th or 5th worst side for scores against but it has more to do with how many points we concede on turnovers than actual poor defense .

Also well down the list for contested marks.

 

[windyhill]

I still think it’s kick ball through big posts. Killer game plan that one.

 

[ant555]

I still think it’s kick ball through big posts. Killer game plan that one.

That helps. Sides can not kick 8 goals in a row if you actually hit one of your forwards and he kicks a goal
A good example is after the Cats kicked the first two goals of the second quarter we have 6 inside 50 in a row.

 

[windyhill]

That helps. Sides can not kick 8 goals in a row if you actually hit one of your forwards and he kicks a goal

It’s such a beautiful simple game. I take it that over a season, 17 ”game plans “ don’t work, and one “game plan” does. Paralysis by over analysis. Watch any game and it’s kick and dump, kick it and hope for the best, 95% of the time.