4 blocks and shepherds for a game

[richmond1227]

I watched a game today with a Tiger mate with a piece of paper next to us and we counted how many blocks and shepherds there would be from the RFC. We got to 4. Are these guys mates? Watch the Pies and Blues and you will get 60+. RFC i will always pay my membership but from now on i will watch the 1st nab cup game and count the shepherds and decide whether i turn up. Life is too short!!

 

[NQTIGER]

Blocks and shepherds are not part of the game plan

Btw who did them?

TUCK?

 

[RoaringTiger]

Good post. This is without a doubt the main problem with Richmond at the moment. If we laid blocks / shepherds we would be a 20% better side no doubt. Collingwood would lay at least 60 per match and if a senior player didn't do the right thing Malthouse would not let them get away with it. Have a look at the goal Jake King kicked (snap near the goalsquare), Riewolt just stood there watching him when he could have laid a block on the opposition player to make it an easier kick for King. Not laying into JR because 20 out of the 22 players do exactly the same thing, so he is not in the minority.

 

[TigerTank]

It also sums up a fundamental problem.
Blocks and shepherds are not things you need to draft for. They can be taught and developed. Easily I would have thought.
I wonder how much of the blame for our endemic failures is NOT to do with poor choices on draft day, but rather a failure by the club to drill this basic concept into the heads of the players it has drafted?
It may also illustrate another problem. A lack of fitness. Why? Because laying a block or shepherd is also about gut-running to a position in which the player can influence themselves on the play even if they have not been directly involved in the contest.
I may be a little naive in this regard, but that is precisely why someone like Neil Craig would add so much to our club.

 

[Delids]

If you had of counted missed tackles i think it would of been over 15
Lack of blocks & shepherds also illustrates we have a selfish team. Not willing to help out a mate
Really dropped off since cuz has left

 

[NQTIGER]

If you had of counted missed tackles i think it would of been over 15
Lack of blocks & shepherds also illustrates we have a selfish team. Not willing to help out a mate
Really dropped off since cuz has left

Im with you on this.....

 

[Rustof]

Hence why we should bring Cuz back to teach our kids how to play in the midfield! Lade should focus on the rucks. We need an actual midfielder to coach the midfield.

 

[aNImatedTiger]

Im with you on this.....

I'm with you both. I can't believe how pathetic they have all become... Most of the time we are screaming "Help him out for crying out loud", plus a few more words. There's always one Richmond player and 2-4 opposition players.
Something doesn't smell right at Richmond!

 

[NQTIGER]

I'm with you both. I can't believe how pathetic they have all become... Most of the time we are screaming "Help him out for crying out loud", plus a few more words. There's always one Richmond player and 2-4 opposition players.
Something doesn't smell right at Richmond!

Watched the game today with the Trombone and both thought that they had 25 players on the field , every contest we were out numbered, the players arent working for eachother.

Watch out when dustin jack and cotch come out of contract.

 

[JR#8]

Yep! No one ****ing shepherds in this team. FFS you learn this shit in U9's yet we can't do it??

 

[tigerfan1961]

I'm with you both. I can't believe how pathetic they have all become... Most of the time we are screaming "Help him out for crying out loud", plus a few more words. There's always one Richmond player and 2-4 opposition players.
Something doesn't smell right at Richmond![/quote]
But I am tipping it will next year. All part of the learning curve. Hardwick would be well aware of this from his time at Hawthorn.

 

[aNImatedTiger]

Yep! No one ****ing shepherds in this team. FFS you learn this shit in U9's yet we can't do it??

Exactly, how come we can see it and Richmond can't.

 

[tigerT]

Blocks and shepherds are not part of the game plan

Btw who did them?

TUCK?

I saw one from Miller when Morton kicked one early and unbelievably saw Edwards put on a block for jackson near the end of the 1st quarter when Jackson got hurt (their were 2 players going for him and Edwards blocked one)

thats all i recall and 2 more than ive seen for the last 6 weeks


btw Good thread!

 

[Ralll]

I honestly think our gameplan is based around a hard running spread, with lots of small/skilled players through the middle and flanks. ie.Edwards,Nahas,Houli,Grigg,Delidio,Conca,Cotchin,Foley,Martin,Newman,Morton.

Tuck and Jackson and are the odd ones out, and Tuck has only just came back in, but none seem to be using their bigger bodies as some sort of new team plan to block or shepard at stoppages, they also look for the spread.

The problem with this gameplan (if its what we're trying to do) is the players dont run hard enough to make it work, especially when it comes to running defensively after our customary turnover.
We end up with lots of small bodies on the field, (with questionable skill/workrate levels) and is a large factor in our lack of defensive/tackling pressure.

Note how the 'back to school' training regime over the bye fortnight was concentrating on improving our offensive spread.
I think our lack of sheparding/blocking is deliberate.

 

[aNImatedTiger]

That is the worst excuse I've ever heard for a team not blocking. Excuses like those will see Richmond go backwards for another 30 years. When we went down the guts we won games, all this so called other crap is vomit.
Your fooling yourself if no blocks are deliberate.

 

[Spagman]

I think Lids even stuffed up a shepherd once when Houli was kicking out from defense and tried to play on.... makes you wonder...

 

[Bojangles17]

This is an aspect of our game that concerens me with dimmas coaching as I understood it to be an area he was conscious of improving...guess what there has been zippo improvement and anyone with two arms and legs can perform these basic motor skills so questions need to be asked with regard to what are the expectations on this playing group. What exactly are they measured on?

 

[tigerz18]

How many times does our backline handball to a player running DIRECTLY at him. I counted about 6-7 times a quarter. Its like the player is coming in to shepherd then, "oh crap, the balls been handballed to me, what do I do?" - dropped ball, turnover. Mcguane is the worst exponent of this. He did it about 6 times himself.

No wonder there was only 4 shepherds laid.

Big difference between the two sides on saturday. 1 knew what they were doing, the other didn't.

 

[rammbo]

Whoever laid those 4 shepherds should not b playing next week dont they know the team rules by now when its your turn to go YOU MUST NOT GO, we must master the polish first then and only then will we move onto the basics.

 

[dothebowdenshuffle]

Good thread. In a team sport where there are 36 players on field and just 1 ball, I'd suggest that the number one skill is movement without the ball. Blocks, shepherds, leads, interceptions, deflections, spoils, zone defences etc are all about creating space, time and opportunity and the denial of it when you're defending.

The top teams appear highly skilled but often that is more a result of the hard work in allowing the ball carrier the time and space to deliver to a target who is ready to receive and not competing 1 against 3 - probably isolated 1 on 1 by smart blocking or player movement up field.

Is our lack of work-rate lazy or partly due to immaturity? At end of day they are professional AFL players and I'd have thought this stuff was part of a players basic skill-set learnt through junior ranks.

 

[aNImatedTiger]

I personally think they aren't enforcing it at the club. This hasn't happened this round, it's been going on for some time (don't know the exact round). If their lazy, then they either need new fitness people or a motivational speaker. If their immature then they need to find something else too do or play in the reserves.

If a kid continues to steal lollies and nothing is done about it, one day he will steal them from under your nose and spit in your face. It's an example and most likely a bad one, but most of the team get away with producing garbage, if I was Hardwick I'd be pulling their heads off.

 

[Roachy8]

The Tigers have been virtually useless at these simple 'grass roots' footballing 1%ers for years and years now.

Blocking, shepherding, knocking the ball on, tackling and assisting team mates who are hunting and playing the hard ball are basic foundations and building blocks of Australian Rules Football.

Sure 'the modern game' is faster, perhaps more skilled, more 'structured' with game plans & presses and zones but at the end of the day, someone on your team has to go and get the ****ing ball and it is your job to help him get it and then give him an option to dispose of it.

As I get older I am accused of over simplifying things but hell, there is a difference between over simplifying and OVER COMPLICATING things for young footballers.
With our levels of inexperience and lack of overall depth & skill, we could do a lot worse that concentrating on the basics of footy and getting those right before we 'structure' our 'game plan' for our next premiership tilt!

Would probably keep the supporters and footballing public a little more satisfied in the meantime too.

 

[Slattery_20]

FWIW I know Collingwood not only keep tabs on these sorts of stats; they also give an end-of-season award (called 'team pressure acts' or some such BS but still)

 

[TOOs_Finest]

Watched the game today with the Trombone and both thought that they had 25 players on the field , every contest we were out numbered, the players arent working for eachother.

This I pretty much agree with. For whatever reasons, whether it be lack of work rate or they're dead on their feet, we don't get numbers to the contest.

Watch out when dustin jack and cotch come out of contract.

This just suggests that Dustin, Jack and Cotch are the problem. To think they will spit the dummy and want out, that's basically saying they are the ones playing for themselves. I assume you're just trying to incite a response?

 

[NQTIGER]

This I pretty much agree with. For whatever reasons, whether it be lack of work rate or they're dead on their feet, we don't get numbers to the contest.



This just suggests that Dustin, Jack and Cotch are the problem. To think they will spit the dummy and want out, that's basically saying they are the ones playing for themselves. I assume you're just trying to incite a response?

what im saying is that those three boys are ambitious and will WANT success, if they dont get it at the tiges they MAY look elswhere, and if we cant understand that players play for premierships and success then we have learnt nothing.