Game pattern: forward half 2020 v direct and carry 2021 from back lines?

[thundercloud]

Prompted by am paper article. A big change this year. Which more likely to win the premiership? I will watch with interest tomorrow and undecided. Would be good to get an analysis from janus.

 

[Schulzenfest]

I for one believe that the best way for any club to win a premiership is to sack Hinkley.

 

[Powerade 08]

It's called playing 'total football'.

 

[Winganeen]

I wasn't a huge fan of the WALL we used to run 70-80m back from the ball. As soon as it was breached we were cooked, also compounded forward 50 congestion.

 

[Steve Dore]

... Would be good to get an analyst for janus.

FTFY

 

[GoTheMightyCrows]

I think that any good side would be able to transition between both game patterns listed depending on how any individual game is panning out, setting yourself on one style of play is fraught with danger if it comes unstuck without a plan b in place.

 

[davesnothere]

Was a fan of the forward half and we should have reverted to it against Brisbane after about 5 minutes.
Getting the ball to ground and running it out of defence with minimal pressure because players are too stupid to lower their eyes is unforgivable. Coaching that doesn't pick up that one plan won't work and doesn't do something about getting talls behind the ball rather than in front of the ball on a wet night to force players to lower their eyes and the ball to ground and hold it in the forward 50 on a wet night is also unforgivable.

 

[thundercloud]

From what i saw last night the quick movement game and good kicks worked. They were able to adjust at quarter time and away they went. Imo interesting to observe this arvo.

 

[agmsy]

I'm not convinced our strategy is one or the other. It's not like we'd never previously been able to move the ball quickly from the back half or d50 into attack, and it's not like we've abandoned our forward press (look at how high our HBFs still push).

I think the difference is that it's now easier for us to move the ball quickly from defence to attack, so we're taking more of those opportunities.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

Really want a mix of both. Our forward pressure was sadly lacking against Brisbane and not helped by the way the ball was dumped in the forward line or our forwards playing from behind all night.

Finals are won by insane pressure across the ground.

 

[TeeKray]

It's also worth mentioning that our so-called 'forward half game' is largely built on defending the longer, narrower Adelaide Oval. We've only played 3 of our 7 games there this year and 2 of them were low intensity cake walks against s**t opposition where we could move the ball easily from the back half and didn't need to lock the ball in our front half for very long because we scored so easily.

I doubt we've drastically changed what we're trying to do.

 

[VineValerian]

McGuine thinks forward 50 superiority wins.
Richmond play manic pressure and slingshot out of defence all the time.
Lost last night but seem to win flags doing it!

 

[Janus]

I wasn't a huge fan of the WALL we used to run 70-80m back from the ball. As soon as it was breached we were cooked, also compounded forward 50 congestion.

Nor was I. Too rigid. Far better to be more elastic, to bend...like tentacles wrapping around prey. Give the opposition the wings, then have the high forwards and high backs collapse around them.

Sun Tzu: "When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard."

The reason for this is pretty clear - in any tactical battle, a good general is seeking to direct the flow of the fight - where it is happening, how many soldiers are fighting etc. If you don't give an outlet free, the opposition can do things that are unpredictable, the same way a cornered animal will fight to the death. "The object, as Tu Mu puts it, is "to make him believe that there is a road to safety, and thus prevent his fighting with the courage of despair." Tu Mu adds pleasantly: "After that, you may crush him."" The last thing we want is opposition taking risks that have the opportunity to succeed in a game where the bounce of the ball is difficult to predict. Expect the unexpected.

At the moment we are ranked 17th for tackles per game and 13th for clearances per game. Those are rookie numbers in this racket. But have no illusions on just how important the likes of Butters and Duursma are in executing the style we want. Ditto with Powell-Pepper, who was just below Rockliff when it came to the amount of pressure and tackles he put on the opposition last year.

Theoretically, we should be turning the ball over on centre wing or at half back against teams that play a possession style out of defence, and then turn it over in the forward half against teams that play a surge style.

 

[thundercloud]

Nor was I. Too rigid. Far better to be more elastic, to bend...like tentacles wrapping around prey. Give the opposition the wings, then have the high forwards and high backs collapse around them.

Sun Tzu: "When you surround an army, leave an outlet free. Do not press a desperate foe too hard."

The reason for this is pretty clear - in any tactical battle, a good general is seeking to direct the flow of the fight - where it is happening, how many soldiers are fighting etc. If you don't give an outlet free, the opposition can do things that are unpredictable, the same way a cornered animal will fight to the death. "The object, as Tu Mu puts it, is "to make him believe that there is a road to safety, and thus prevent his fighting with the courage of despair." Tu Mu adds pleasantly: "After that, you may crush him."" The last thing we want is opposition taking risks that have the opportunity to succeed in a game where the bounce of the ball is difficult to predict. Expect the unexpected.

At the moment we are ranked 17th for tackles per game and 13th for clearances per game. Those are rookie numbers in this racket. But have no illusions on just how important the likes of Butters and Duursma are in executing the style we want. Ditto with Powell-Pepper, who was just below Rockliff when it came to the amount of pressure and tackles he put on the opposition last year.

Theoretically, we should be turning the ball over on centre wing or at half back against teams that play a possession style out of defence, and then turn it over in the forward half against teams that play a surge style.

A brilliant piece of writing.

 

[thundercloud]

Thanks ken yu have answered as reported in morning paper:
dont want to lose our identity of being able to lock the ball…in front half.
had to be diff this year.
got a more rounded game.

 

[Igavemyloveachicken]

Would like to see Port be less predictable after an opposition point. Running out 10 metres from the goal square before kicking it to the point of the centre square (Half forward flank) tends to be the standard kick. Charlie Dixon often misjudges, runs under or is nudged under the ball which makes ruckman like Nankervis really affective against us.

 

[thundercloud]

They will love you forever: Behind the scenes of Port's Showdown week: afl site
great insight into what goes into planning for a week