Are we Capable of a More Handball-Centric, Corridor Directed Gamestyle?

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DoubleO7

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The question you should be asking is - Is Mick Malthouse 'Capable of a More Handball-Centric, Corridor Directed Gamestyle?'
 
The question you should be asking is - Is Mick Malthouse 'Capable of a More Handball-Centric, Corridor Directed Gamestyle?'

As I believe Mark McLure said on Saturday, every side is versed in the various ploys and tactics whether it be the huddle, man on man, the rolling zone etc.
It is always a matter of when and how the tactics are employed and for that matter on which teams. Some tactics do not work as effectively on a certain side or in fact when certain players are in key positions within the same side.
To simply say we have to play a certain style of play or use a certain tactic each time we meet a certain side in order to be successful is overly simplistic.
In any one game, several styles and tactics are used.

Currently the overuse of handball is the trend, but as recent upsets have shown reliance on a single, easy to identify, however new tactic has a limited shelf life and soon falls back into the pack of usable tactics as simply another option in the overall scheme of things.

The rolling zone is a prime example. In a very short time it will be just another huddle. A useful tactic when the game calls for it.
The handball-centric game will as well.
 

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I'd like to make 2 comments:

1. I think that MM's comment about not having the "players" to go through the corridor is only partially correct, but alo bull. He coached a West Coast Eagle team that had an outstanding midfield, full of talent, yet they still played predominantly wide. It is an MM trademark and I doubt it would change much even if we had Ablett and Judd in our team.

2. We are starting to get the talent to be more direct in my opinion. Pendles and Leon would relish it for sure and both Swan and Thomas, bearing in mind their overhead skills and run, would be very important. Also, the likes of Clarke, Beams, Wellingham, and Sidebottom would all be advantaged. I think we are building a team that has the capacity to play through the middle more and damage teams severely.
 
Oct 6, 2004
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I cant see why not. You don't need great footspeed, you just need to be prepared to take the risk.


The reason why i think we can do it is because we have good in close players. I have always thought our handballing under pressure around the stoppages is quite good. Pendlebury, O'Bree, Swan and Beams are all very good by hand and make good decisions.


We have guys with pace like Wellingham, Davis, barham who can create run. Heath Shaw also provides run.


I also think at our best, when our pressure is up and we are in form, i think we are a very good attacking side. We play with flare and excitement.

All that is needed is a different mindset. We are told to play wide, so we do. But i have no doubt that if we decided to take the game on, we would do well
 

Chase the Ace

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I'd like to make 2 comments:

1. I think that MM's comment about not having the "players" to go through the corridor is only partially correct, but alo bull. He coached a West Coast Eagle team that had an outstanding midfield, full of talent, yet they still played predominantly wide. It is an MM trademark and I doubt it would change much even if we had Ablett and Judd in our team.

2. We are starting to get the talent to be more direct in my opinion. Pendles and Leon would relish it for sure and both Swan and Thomas, bearing in mind their overhead skills and run, would be very important. Also, the likes of Clarke, Beams, Wellingham, and Sidebottom would all be advantaged. I think we are building a team that has the capacity to play through the middle more and damage teams severely.

So what is the problem with playing wide?
If it gets results, as you admit it did at West Coast, why should we necessarily play through the middle?
Isn't the ultimate aim of the coach to win the game? its not about how a team goes about getting that win

I remember the famous Vlad quote that "Sydney play ugly football", they then went on to win the flag
 
Feb 2, 2001
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We are told to play wide, so we do.
Where is the evidence of this?

Malthouse only has himself to blame in terms of "cattle", and it's not a recruiting issue IMO, but rather he wants to play the good bloke duds over the more skilled but less controllable types.

We saw last week how we moved the pill once we injected a couple of extra skilled runners in Wellingham and Corrie. We didn't consciously play the corridor or the flanks, we just moved it however suited us best at the time; THAT is the game plan you want! **** forcing it down the corridor. Teams who do that are below us on the ladder.

Playing Toovey, Goldsack, maybe Reid for the first game and having Leigh Brown drop behind the ball, of course you are going to struggle with footskills and have guys play within themselves (chip wide for safety). We have superior "cattle". We just need to play them and back them and coach them rather than sidle up to "grouse blokes that MM wants to date". The Lokan/Williams/Morrison days should be over. We need to win games with talent!
 
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Where is the evidence of this?

Malthouse only has himself to blame in terms of "cattle", and it's not a recruiting issue IMO, but rather he wants to play the good bloke duds over the more skilled but less controllable types.

We saw last week how we moved the pill once we injected a couple of extra skilled runners in Wellingham and Corrie. We didn't consciously play the corridor or the flanks, we just moved it however suited us best at the time; THAT is the game plan you want! **** forcing it down the corridor. Teams who do that are below us on the ladder.

Playing Toovey, Goldsack, maybe Reid for the first game and having Leigh Brown drop behind the ball, of course you are going to struggle with footskills and have guys play within themselves (chip wide for safety). We have superior "cattle". We just need to play them and back them and coach them rather than sidle up to "grouse blokes that MM wants to date". The Lokan/Williams/Morrison days should be over. We need to win games with talent!

I too believe we have the talent. Just need to let them go out there and play footy!

Very simplistic I know, but it really is a simple game.
 
O

Old Spice

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I think the important thing is fast and direct movement whether by hand or by foot. Sydney gave the Hawks a nice touch up earlier this year by playing fast via the wings with some quick kicking, and Essendon via some risk. Sydney of course are not known for their leg pace but a quick kick will sail over the fastest legs.

Alternatively, Essendon's quicks were able to run and carry through the corridor.

Hawks probably not best team at present but their much vaunted 'system' (rather than players per se) was taken apart by two very different paced teams who nonetheless were able to move it along quickly.

I thought last weeks game V North was better in terms of a mix. I think it was Corrie who from HB at one stage had an option on the boundary line and one thru the middle and went there and was successful. Corrie hasn't the best foot-skills in the club so if he can do it...Hope he wasn't reprimanded.

Those are the types of moments when you have to make a decision to go wide or through the middle. But is the plan to be defensive and kick to a 60/40 near the boundary so that we might be able to get a throw in, or risk a 60/40 in the corridor where a turnover might give the opposition a run thru the middle at goal. I suspect the plan is to adopt the former option.

The question of whether we have the cattle is a bit chicken and eggish. Would playing through the middle develop the skills of some players and allow us to see who can't play that style? You can only learn to ride a bike by doing it.

In any case, it's clear that playing wide is not a victimless crime. We compound the issues for our forwards when we come in wide and late. Anthony's accurate kicking has probably flattered us thus far. I think our mids suffer by not having to hone their skills as well, relying instead on safer kicking options out wide. I want Thomas and Marty down back to give us some good run, kicking and pace out of defence so we can really get the oppostion to spread.
 

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Where is the evidence of this?

Malthouse only has himself to blame in terms of "cattle", and it's not a recruiting issue IMO, but rather he wants to play the good bloke duds over the more skilled but less controllable types.

We saw last week how we moved the pill once we injected a couple of extra skilled runners in Wellingham and Corrie. We didn't consciously play the corridor or the flanks, we just moved it however suited us best at the time; THAT is the game plan you want! **** forcing it down the corridor. Teams who do that are below us on the ladder.

Playing Toovey, Goldsack, maybe Reid for the first game and having Leigh Brown drop behind the ball, of course you are going to struggle with footskills and have guys play within themselves (chip wide for safety). We have superior "cattle". We just need to play them and back them and coach them rather than sidle up to "grouse blokes that MM wants to date". The Lokan/Williams/Morrison days should be over. We need to win games with talent!

Agree with the bold statement. You move the ball as best suited to the situation at the time without being concious of going wide or through the corridor.

By being concious of certain "avenues" to goal, you are actually deprived of taking the "first" or "better" option because you only want to go one-way.
 
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I definitely think we are capable of a more corridor based handball centric gameplan. Our best passages of play this year has been played through the corridor. Our midfield - for the first time since Bucks was running around at his peak - is finally showing the signs of being genuinely classy. The development of Davis, Swan and Pendles in the last two years has been immense and on the back of these guys we have the players that are capable of winning the ball in the middle and moving the ball through the corridor. The fact we beat Geelong, the best midfield in the comp, at the clearances is testament to this. When you add to this the hopeful development of Thomas, Beams, Clarke, McCarthy, Sidebottom, Wellingham and Blight and we have some very good hard running players with good footskills (Thomas's kicking the exception). Not to forget Lockyer, Didak and Shaw.

I think Old Spice hits on the issue at hand pretty well. If we want to play a wide game plan and be damaging we need to move the ball quickly and precisely. This is what we did against NM albeit with very little pressure. Our problem has been we havn't executed this consistently enough to be really effective. I think there is merit for the wide gameplan but the problem has been our execution and also our predictability. The way I see it is we need to use the corridor more - in addition to our wide style of play - for a couple reasons:

1 - To be less predictable. Our gameplan is too easy to read and stifle especially when it comes to hitting target in our F50. If we don't become more versatile I can't see us progressing past where we are at the moment.

2 - Because we are starting to get the list together that justifies using the corridor (see the start of the post). When we use the corridor we look so much more damaging. We look at our best.

I think a big problem for us is that our players seem to instinctively look wide at every occasion regardless of whether there is a better option centrally. Players need to be drilled in both the wide and corridor game plans and be given the license to choose the corridor if its the best option. It is also necessary when our wide gameplan is obviously not working to be able to switch styles in order to get back in the game.

Our predictability and lack of versatility is really ridiculous. I mean if Soccer teams can make tactical changes and change formation in the middle of a game why can't we?? We're a professional sports team FFS!!!

My other big gripe is we need to play Cloke at FF. This would make us so much more dangerous in the forwardline and would make it easier to play through the corridor as we would have a really good target. It reckon it would really help out Clokes bad form as well. He would be one out deep forward and have the the whole 50 and any of its angles to lead into and beat his direct opponent. ATM he is getting no help from our predictable gameplan that gives the oppos defenders too much of an advantage.
 
Feb 2, 2001
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Agree with the bold statement. You move the ball as best suited to the situation at the time without being concious of going wide or through the corridor.

By being concious of certain "avenues" to goal, you are actually deprived of taking the "first" or "better" option because you only want to go one-way.
Two teams who 'force' it are Adelaide, Essendon and Brisbane. They all try to get it to a half back launching pad in the traditional HBF spot on the senna square.

They have all done ok this year, but have sometimes looked wonky for forcing it there (we stoopidly didn't wake up to it for 2.5 out of 3 games!).

For mine, forcing it through a path on the notion that the ground is thus fatter and faster there is flawed and will become predictable. Of course it's a preferred spot (usually), but gearing towards it is dumb, especially if you rewatch the Grand Final and watch Geelong crowd it. The Hawks won a granny directly off chip chip chip down the boundary. Horses for courses, and just play the blokes who can run, carry and kick straight!
 
O

Old Spice

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The thing is we are in a situation now where going wide is so engrained in our plan that it has become a mental habit for our players. It is first and second nature to look wide for the easy leads from back-half in line with the gameplan. The fact that Corrie was the one I noticed last Friday opting to kick into the centre rather than wide might reflect something about his newness to the club.
 

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Chase the Ace

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The thing is we are in a situation now where going wide is so engrained in our plan that it has become a mental habit for our players. It is first and second nature to look wide for the easy leads from back-half in line with the gameplan. The fact that Corrie was the one I noticed last Friday opting to kick into the centre rather than wide might reflect something about his newness to the club.

Exactly and that's why Malthouse is such a good coach
 

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