5th best bacline in the AFL

[Enviable Tradition]

According to Mich McGuane..

Conceded the 5th fewest points.

It doesn't feel right watching our games but it also reinforces how much of a problem we had with our forward entries to end up finishing the season so low.

On SM-G975F using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[JakeNeadeFan]

If you are specifically talking about our ability to prevent goals when the ball goes inside our own 50, then the backline is actually a bit better than 5th. We are 3rd best in that metric.

That masks a mediocre midfield and forward unit. We are about 10th when it comes to inside 50 differential and 10th in terms of forward efficiency.

 

[TazD]

No surprises. My buddy TJ is an absolute wall.

 

[Macca19]

It feels about right. Our backline does a good job and was the best performing part of our team last year

 

[philthy05]

I feel like our system that we hate (rightly) and gives us fits when going forward is what kinda protects our defense.

Our numbers through the centre allows us to force turnovers and slow down teams trying to move through the field and we can get numbers back.

 

[Ports1870]

I feel like our defence system works alright most of the time, but when faced with elite tall forwards and elite teams we fail because of our lack of an elite KPD.

 

[DaTBird187]

The thread title certainly has a Hinkley vibe about it.

 

[davesnothere]

The game is built around your back six.

5th best may be about right but the difference between 5th and 12th probably isn't that much but between 5th and 4th it looks pretty significant.

Reality is we have a glaring deficiency in our back 6 that without a dominant midfield is going to bring us undone against pretty much quality side with a half decent tall forward.

 

[Wargreymon90]

Our backline is good against most sides but gets found out against contenders.

 

[El_Scorcho]

We have some absolutely excellent intercept markers. If the midfield aren't getting overrun, we're very hard to score consistently against. We could certainly do with tall who can play as a stopper if required.

 

[Power Raid]

How does our defence stack up against top 8 sides compared to other top 8 playing against the best?

I feel we do well against the weaker sides but the structure doesn't stack up under pressue

 

[powerrrrrrrrrrrr]

Think this is a great example of stats being misleading.

Our defence if viewed in isolation is woeful and has been for years. It’s constantly beaten by anyone in the top 8, any tall forward and usually small crumbing forwards as well.

Now yes some of that comes down to the role of the midfield. However in isolation, our backline is one of the worst in the league.

Conceding the 5th least amount of points is more an indication of our game plan which completely blocks up the field and stifles ball movement (ours as well) and less so an indication of a strong defensive group.

Anytime our defenders are forced into a 1 on 1 situation, I have very little faith they will actually win the contest (especially on a key forward).

 

[VineValerian]

We get our mids back to help out, and the forwards to apply pressure on the oppo so that their kicks going forward are not controlled, and we look good.

But that results in us having no forward structure when we do turn it over, meaning we have to bomb it onto an outmanned forward's head and hence why it catapults back into our backline time after time, or else we pfaff around with ring-a-rosey short kicks, leaving our gassed mids and forwards to lumber back into the forward line.

Against better sides, this is exploited, and that's why we struggle to score effectively in those games.

 

[afl2004]

We finished 5th because allir was all aus level the last 6 weeks or so of the season plus rozee and wines having great 2nd half's of the season meant our defenders didn't get swarmed

 

[PatientMental]

Ahh yes 5th.

Sydney conceded 22 less points than us but scored 261 more points
Melbourne had 155 points less conceded but scored 130 more points than us.
Geelong conceded 150 less points than us but scored 340 more points than us.

Fremantle played a similar suffocating plan but utterly shut teams out conceding 150 less points than us but also scored 67 less points than we did

We strangled oppositions but strangled ourselves in the process.

It was boring shit tier terminal full of buses parked football.

 

[jakey]

Yeah as others have said, were only ranked 5th for defence (and whoopdeedoo anyway) because we play a shitty pessimistic, little club from Alberton lucky to be in the big league brand of football, which is all about trying not to lose, rather than to actually take it by the throat and win. To the point we sacrifice an entire position in the forward line to blokes who have some perceived capacity to apply pressure and absolutely zero offensive capability. Our actual back 6 are middling to shit.

 

[Coobk001]

Our backline is nowhere near the 5th best. It's a significant weakness, and was very poor last year.

 

[Jonts]

Where did he have our mids and fwdz

 

[Peninsula Boy]

Our backline is nowhere near the 5th best. It's a significant weakness, and was very poor last year.

And worse, there seems to be no accountability.

 

[Windy Cindy]

Our backline is good against most sides but gets found out against contenders.

Normally caused by our midfield getting smashed by the contenders midfield

 

[Portology]

No surprises. My buddy TJ is an absolute wall.

Dunno about the full wall but he certainly is a "brick with eyes" as Roy & HG would say.

 

[Gryllis]

The smalls are relatively effective, but you'd think our backline will go....backwards this year. TJ seems near the end, as does McKenzie who have both battled as undersized keybacks but look like time is nearly upon them. Plus Clurey/McKenzie seem to be in a revolving door in the injury room anyway.

When old man injuries strike, there's a real chance we go into some games with Allir, begrudgingly Burton and TBC as our key backs in some games this year.

 

[240volt]

As said above the game style is so boring and congested it’s hard to score for or against us unless your a quality team.
We play not to lose or not get smashed under Hinkley we have never played to win.
Even when we are winning well the plan goes even more defensive to hold on like there’s no way we can keep this up.
Loser mentality.

 

[Andre]

No surprises. My buddy TJ is an absolute wall.

If by wall you mean stands still whilst people walk around or through a gap in, then yes he’s a wall these days. I’d prefer a KPD, of KPD height, that isn’t slow and the worst kick in across the AFL.

People looking at our Defense as 5th best and praising it and Jonas is what’s wrong with too many of our supporters, their inability to think beyond the daily talking points (Ken is god, worship Ken) we get gaslit with.