Strategy Collingwood Game Plan

[Royal Flash]

I find the player streaming forward with the ball only to look up and see absolutely no one in front of him, then stopping and going backwards or dishing off to a teammate standing still thus forcing a stoppage to be a particularly effective indicator of how well our gameplan works. And we execute it consistently too!!

It really is awe inspiring stuff and the foundation of which premierships are made.

 

[Axl the great]

One thing i do know, when your whole side push up and the opposition break through multiple times to goal its deflating, its just such a soft goal to giv away to your opposition.

Happens far too often

It also creates congestion because we are forcing the game to be played in 2/3 of the ground, this means, less space, less run and carry, more of a scrap and no easy goals.
It also means players are less open forcing dangerous kicks or over use of the handball because of the lack of space which we have effectively caused, I just don't get it because i reckon we have the talent and skills to pull off a smarter more open style of play, any team's kicking efficiency and uncontested footy will struggle when faced with the same scenario.

 

[Baltimore Jack]

The game plan allows the opposition to get an easy goal that deflates the team. That's something wrong.

The game plan or the execution of the game plan. They are two different things

 

[mike123]

The game plan or the execution of the game plan. They are two different things

If the gameplan can't be executed by the personal then it should be changed

 

[domin8tors]

The game plan allows the opposition to get an easy goal that deflates the team. That's something wrong.

there was nothing wrong with it in the 1st 11 rounds. infact we were top 3 defensive side. the problem is we are turning the ball over more in the forward half and then can be accredited to lack of composure when going forward. which in some cases = games experience.

 

[Baltimore Jack]

If the gameplan can't be executed by the personal then it should be changed

How would you get 40 to 50 games into first and second year players so they have the skills, experience and knowledge to execute it?
Is there some magic potion I don't know about?

 

[Axl the great]

If the gameplan can't be executed by the personal then it should be changed

It now stacks up well against teams that prick holes in a defence by moving the ball short and sharp and patient contested ball sides.
It is very vunerable against run and gun teams that take risks, in essence it is a finals style game plan but if it is 5% off it can be opened up and opened up very very easily.
The fact it is a very taxing style i for one doubt it can be sustained for 22 games and finals, I reckon that there needs to be more of a mix, we need more strings to our bow and chop and change when needed.

 

[mike123]

How would you get 40 to 50 games into first and second year players so they have the skills, experience and knowledge to execute it?
Is there some magic potion I don't know about?

Its not the 40-50 gamers problem, its the gameplan.

 

[DoubleDraw7710]

I'd like this added to our game plan: when no player is free and you have to kick to a contest, kick it to the Collingwood players advantage not straight to opposition.

 

[doodles98]

nothing wrong with the game plan. the players need to finish. look at last night we had 3 more scoring shots. plus fasolo kicked out on the full twice and blair once. we kick 3 goals instead of on the full we win. same against hawks we had 3 more scoring shots. Players need to execute the game plan better.

Gameplan involves outnumbering at the ball and then pressing when in our forward half. It creates congestion in our forward half and a lack of time and space when kicking for goal. Forwards are also pushed to lead to pockets where the only space is. I would say our poor goalkicking conversion is a consequence of the gameplan to some degree. That said, our gameplan execution is clearly still a work in progress.

 

[doodles98]

How would you get 40 to 50 games into first and second year players so they have the skills, experience and knowledge to execute it?
Is there some magic potion I don't know about?

If a gameplan takes players 50 games to learn and get right then the game plan is no good. That's half the career of the average player spent learning a game plan ffs that is hardly rocket science in the first place!

 

[domin8tors]

If a gameplan takes players 50 games to learn and get right then the game plan is no good. That's half the career of the average player spent learning a game plan ffs that is hardly rocket science in the first place!

ok so when you start a new job... it takes a good two weeks to learn the ropes inside out. that's 80 hours. equivalent on the football field 2 hour games is 40 games. so yes it takes players 50 games.

 

[TheFreshBanana]

ok so when you start a new job... it takes a good two weeks to learn the ropes inside out. that's 80 hours. equivalent on the football field 2 hour games is 40 games. so yes it takes players 50 games.

lol

i love it

 

[frizzle]

This post summed up my feeling exactly. This is the one thing which is driving me nuts and overshadowing the things I should feel good about like the youth coming through. Why has this not been addressed

Agree. We give up at least 3 out the back goals a match & probably 2 or 3 more going sideways in our backline.
Absolute gifts to the opposition week in & week out. When we can only kick around 70 points a game, giving away 30 every week is suicide.
Frost & Brown give us nothing in an attacking sense, so FFS let them play back & defend. That is all they are good for.

 

[Baltimore Jack]

Its not the 40-50 gamers problem, its the gameplan.

(seriously) I'll bet you don't know what our game plan is.

 

[sr36]

(seriously) I'll bet you don't know what our game plan is.

It appears pretty simple to me. Get numbers around the footy to win it and get it forward. Then when we get it forward, press up to lock it in. The problem is that the result is often a really crowded forward line for us and a really open one for them.

 

[Robroy22]

Against the Swannies we were set up. Think perfect storm! Game plan wise....they got us on a small ground (think tiny) with an experienced team that could bottle us up in one half with numbers and then release the likes of Jetta and Rowan on the rebound. They had a stronger midfield (as in Kg's v Kg's) and Pyke was able to compete with Grundy sufficiently to allow their grunt midfileders to over power Adams, a very sore Pendlebury and an ageing Swan. Greenwood may have helped if he'd played but all in all we were on a hiding to nothing on a ground we haven't played on in 15 years against a team that plays there every second week. Having said all that.....kick straight and we win....footy is a funny game eh?

 

[MeisterBot]

Gameplan is risky and aggressive, it relies on flooding the contest with numbers and getting it forward. When the ball is tight and in dispute, it means that we win more contests than we lose, and that we can cause a lot of turnovers if our opposition isn't careful. I've heard it referred to as a "pressure cooker", probably because it relies on the build up of pressure on the immediate ball carrier to create a turnover. Doing this allows us to run in numbers through the middle of the field until a target can be spotted where a long and direct kick or short pass will be difficult to stop. If we can get clean possession chains from the contest, it means that our forward line is open enough for forwards to lead into, or that we back Cloke and Elliott to win a 1v1. If a score cannot be generated on the first try, then the team pushes numbers up to force repeat entries until a score can be made. I don't have stats on hand, but from what I've seen, I think we are very good at scoring from forward 50 stoppages.

However, if our ball movement is slow, then there's time to flood our forward line and we are forced to kick to an outnumbered contest. Seeing as we have plenty of ball butchers and slow decision makers, this happens often. Also, when our opposition has the ball, they can often find free players hanging parallel to the contest since we like to encircle it. So if they're able to deliver it out by hand or short kicks to someone outside the contest, then they can break our formation in the midfield. Once that happens, our players all dissipate to chase the ball carrier or find their man, and it's through that confusion that a speedy player can cut through our defensive zone and make himself an option over the top by "cheating" and running forward of the ball. Of course, this is very likely to happen when we turn the ball over ourselves and our players have already run forward of the ball.

I don't like seeing it happen every week because it's so deflating but opening ourselves up is a calculated risk that the coaching panel thinks will bring us success in finals action. I can see the logic, because free wheeling teams that don't focus on contested ball get found out in September when there's less open space and more 1v1 action.

I have plenty of questions with our transition play from the back half (because it's shit) and I honestly doubt whether Buckley will coach us to a Premiership (right now I don't think he will because our kicking has been below AFL standard for years despite Bucks being a brilliant kick), but when we lose against 3 of the top 4 teams by less than 2 goals due to nothing else but our own poor kicking and conversion, I can't get on board with all the vitriol leveled at Bucks for the gameplan specifically.

 

[didaksrightfoot]

I think some of you guys being so negative need to go back and watch Hawthorn and Geelong games from pre-2007... Teams dont automatically become great, and winning gameplans dont just come out of nowhere.

I can understand people are upset at the losses, but for the most part they have been very close losses against most of the top teams in the league.
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There are 2 simple things that could make this very successful:
1. We must become better at disposing of the ball in congestion. This is a partly about footskills, but probably more about maturity and decision making - both the guys kicking it in, and for the forwards finding and creating space for each other. If we could be half as good as Hawthorn at this we would be a top 6 side (but remember most of the Hawks decision makers are in their 30s and have been doing this together for a decade)

2. We have to keep our defensive pressure going for as close to 100% as possible. I don't think you can ever get 100% defensive efficiency because there will be times the offence is good enough to get through - we just need to limit this as much as possible, or have our defenders more accustomed to be running back.
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The funny thing is, all of the complaints about this game plan were also being directed at Malthouse pre-2010. (and even for most of that year) - the only major difference now is that we are comfortable going through the corridor. Ross Lyon and the Dockers are also being told they dont have a gameplan that will win the GF, which is fair enough in one sense (you don't deserve that respect until youve won it) but ridiculous on another ( they are 2 games clear on the ladder... And winning one game in sept/october doesnt magically make you a better team)

 

[Big Bryza]

Game plan talk is so laughable. It comes down to basic fundamentals. Hardness at the ball/opponent and then decision making and skill execution when in possession. The latter 2 have dropped away in the 2nd half of this season.

We execute our goal kicking on Friday night then we beat Sydney by 5 goals.

 

[Chilli Con Incarnate]

And winning one game in sept/october doesnt magically make you a better team)

But apparently it makes you a better player.

 

[Maggie5]

At which point does miss gettable goals come in?
Is this part of the game plan?

 

[good4footy]

I must be the only one that doesn't know what our gameplan is. Everyone else seems to have it down pat.

As for changing the game plan if it doesn't suit the players - now I have heard it all.

 

[Baltimore Jack]

At which point does miss gettable goals come in?
Is this part of the game plan?

Nope, skill errors have nothing to do with the game plan, they are a symptom of either faults in concentration or poor decision making

 

[Bucksboys]

When the team matures and hits it's prime the execution will improve and everyone will say Bucks is suddenly coaching better