Review Difference in gameplan

[blues4flag]

Hopefully this doesn't go into one of the post game uber threads where it's impossible to get a decent discussion going...

Is it just me, or was anybody else infuriated as they sat there watching us do the exact same thing every bloody time when it was clearly not working?

I have never seen a Carlton team so reticent to attack through the corridor. We invariably set up our attacks by going along the boundary line.

All well and good if you don't want to risk a turnover by going through the corridor out of defence but to do it time and again without attempting to bring the ball back into the corridor is utterly bewildering.

I swear 90% of our set shots on goal came from the exact same position - 40-45 metres out 10 metres in from the boundary. How are you going to kick a winning score when every shot is 50/50 at best?

Fair enough when we had Fev down there. It doesn't hurt to be predictable because he was good enough to win the footy. Not so with our current crop at the moment. When we've got such an unpredictable set up, bringing it in along the flanks restricts us to basically the one pocket, making it much easier for the opposition to defend.

Whereas had we brought it in from a central location, we'd have had the whole 50 and 4 or 5 targets to choose from. The very few times we decided to attack up the corridor, we hurt them on the scoreboard. That bullet from Russell straight up the guts stands out most in my mind.

On the other hand, Essendon did it brilliantly. Time and again out of defence they moved the ball through the corridor, linking with handballs and getting more numbers to the contest. They were happy to leave men in the corridor while their opponents were out wider. A loose man in the centre is significantly more dangerous than one out wide and our inability to protect the centre in both this match and past ones is bewildering. Not only is it easier to spot up a target from a central location but it also tends to result in a much easier shot at goal.

Yes, it is high risk, high return but when you're behind on the scoreboard you've got to try something different and we lacked the daring to get ourselves back into the game. Even try to get it centre it once we get to the wing instead of kicking it to the flank/pocket. I can probably count the number of times we went up the corridor on one hand.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

It's because they lost confidence in each other so they went the safe route. Nobody was working hard enough to stop or outrun their opponent. Very reactive, very hesitant and it wasn't as if Essendon even put that much pressure on.

 

[blues4flag]

It's because they lost confidence in each other so they went the safe route. Nobody was working hard enough to stop or outrun their opponent. Very reactive, very hesitant and it wasn't as if Essendon even put that much pressure on.

Was it, though? I do seem to recall Ratten stating that he wants to slow down our style of play.

All well and good as the kamikaze approach we've had in recent years allows the opposition to score to easily. It's he's after playing tempo football but we've got the run as we did for lengthy parts of the game, we've got to be daring with our attack which didn't happen today.

Seems to me we're struggling to find the right balance at the moment and once we start playing safe, we struggle to get out of that mindset.

Thankfully we get Judd back next week who is the most direct player in our team. You can bet he'll take a risk and try to manufacture something when the chips are down.

 

[Bomba Sheldon]

Sorry, did someone say gameplan?

That's the first I have heard of a gameplan, maybe if one does exist, the players should be told about it???

 

[goreds]

It's because they lost confidence in each other so they went the safe route. Nobody was working hard enough to stop or outrun their opponent. Very reactive, very hesitant and it wasn't as if Essendon even put that much pressure on.

The game plan was very reactive, granted...

The major issue was our players and their lack of EFFORT...

Simply put, their heads were not over the ball...

I've heard the word being used on the radio this morning more than once... That word...

SOFT

 

[Lukesta63]

They must be scared of the big open spaces,seriously.The scariest thing is Essendon are shit,and we made them look good.Granted everything went their way but in the end they beat us fair and square.
Casual observations-No direct footy i.e corridor,skills atrocious,too "defensive" in general play,where was our elite midfield,Henderson not a KPP,the Irish experiment has failed,NO leadership on the field!

We have got a horrendous month coming up,Ratten better smarten up,otherwise there'll be a mid-season coach vacancy!

 

[Govinda blueboy]

They must be scared of the big open spaces,seriously.The scariest thing is Essendon are shit,and we made them look good.Granted everything went their way but in the end they beat us fair and square.

Agree

Casual observations-No direct footy i.e corridor,skills atrocious,too "defensive" in general play,where was our elite midfield,Henderson not a KPP,the Irish experiment has failed,NO leadership on the field!

What sort of rediculous statment is that?? Henderson is just a kid and as everbody knows and it's been stated a million times KKP's need more time to develop than others. I think he's a goer, he's fast, 2nd and 3rd efforts outstanding, and i think he's got good hands -yes. (1st Q against the lions I saw him on a hard leed to true CHF and receive a bullet like pass out in front of his eyes, only to have it knocked away once he'd brought it down near his hip - i could not believe the ump didn't pay it).

As for Irish, I didn't see the game last night but it did sound like he made some bad errors. However, to say that he's failed after 1 bad game is a tad harsh. I'm willing to give him half the season to prove himself, after all we are only 3 weeks into the season without Fev, it will take a bit of adjusting for all players.

We have got a horrendous month coming up,Ratten better smarten up,otherwise there'll be a mid-season coach vacancy!

yes I agree, I too have lost a lot of faith in Rats after such a pathetic showing.

 

[gbatman]

Our game plan was to be unaccountable, give them loads of space and deliver the ball to the wrong areas of the forward 50. We also played a midfielder at CHB instead of selecting a replacement tall in White. We also must have been told to avoid bumping and shepherding. I think we had a ban on getting back to help out the defence.

 

[TheHeatleyStand]

the gameplan is to kick the ball through the eye of a needle of a zone.

Ratts believes we should not give the ball up... but slowly work our way with our amazing kicking skills through a zone...

unfortunately by chipping the ball around.... looking for a shrt kick way through or around a zone... the zone only gets bigger cos the opposition have more time to set up... ultimately eading to someone booting the ball anywhere or having the wrong player on the end of a sequence of kicks or handballs... who turns it over.

meanwhile the forwards have to wait and wait as defences get more dense as we chip chip chip... with the runners playing tagging roles.

amazingly cunning gameplan....

 

[Murphinator]

There was a point in the game when Essendon were trying to slow the game down. I believe it was in the last half of Q3. Carlton had the momentum, Essendon were vulnerable. Yet we were the ones who put the ball up to show we need to slow it up and keep possession. This is the wrong time to employ this 'momentum halting' strategy.

We need to go through the middle a lot more. Time after time, game after game, we go up the wings, resulting in a set shot from a poor angle (if we even get there). You cannot win games like this. If you take it up the corridoor, you have a full 50 to kick to, and 3+ targets to find, if not pinging one on the run.

 

[as0l0]

it was total crap and the lack of effort shows the players don't believe in it.

 

[chaser1]

Can anyone please explain what is our gameplan.Tempo footy wont work for us bc we lack the compusure and skill to execute. Best way to play is down the middle, and then when we lose it our mids working back to help our defence. But the fact is we are to lazy, which is sad and we can only do it for short periods, bc we are not used to doing it!

This points to the fact that our coaching staff are finding it difficult to deliver the message to the players. Which could also mean that our players dont adhere to the instructions, and hence have no respect for our coaching staff!!

 

[Dustyjackman]

On the game plan and ways to execute it, as we all know we hold the ball up to signify that it's time to slow from our regulation trot to a walk. But what about the Bombers' signal? Nothing like a quick show of the old 'Black Power' hand sign to alert their teammates to pull up.

"Right on, brother" LOL.

 

[as0l0]

Can anyone please explain what is our gameplan.

try to restrict the other teams chance of winning, without actually trying to win ourselves.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

There was a point in the game when Essendon were trying to slow the game down. I believe it was in the last half of Q3. Carlton had the momentum, Essendon were vulnerable. Yet we were the ones who put the ball up to show we need to slow it up and keep possession. This is the wrong time to employ this 'momentum halting' strategy.

Agree with this part. We did this very late in the third quarter while we were 12 points down. Why on earth waste time when you are trailing?

 

[pumped]

I think our style of play is perhaps the greatest problem we have. For the first 5 minutes or so we had forwards in the forward line which gave encouragement to go direct. As soon as the Dons kicked a goal Ratten panicked and went defensive putting an extra defender down there. From that time on our forwards were flooding upfield giving little or no options to go direct. This then has the whole side hesitating and chipping it around and holding onto the ball. To me it is spirit sapping and creates a team that is scared to play from instinct. Be defensive when the other side has the ball. As I see it our gameplan or philosophy is about defensive play all over the field. The only times we really play well are when we leave the forwards at home and play instictive rather than programmed footy. This was evidenced in the 3rd quarter v Brisbane. This however is not just a Ratten issue as Pagan also played it when we were under pressure.

 

[Tanks_Alot]

Agree with this part. We did this very late in the third quarter while we were 12 points down. Why on earth waste time when you are trailing?

Fear is the answer. Fear of conceding another goal instead of being confident enough to score one. The wierdest thing for me to understand is out of the last 6 losses we've had against them, only 1 was a total blowout. The rest of them were all close. Even the second one in 2008, we lost by 36 IIRC but we were ahead in the last quarter. The players don't have the belief to beat this team. It's going to be hard to get it back but they're going to have to reach a point where they say enough is enough and convince themselves that they can win.

I could just see it from the start, the whole team didn't play with any confidence. They got a little towards the mid-late stages of the first quarter but apart from that little burst, they played with their tail between their legs.

Next week's game is a must win for us considering the month ahead.

 

[laminex]

They must be scared of the big open spaces,seriously.The scariest thing is Essendon are shit,and we made them look good.Granted everything went their way but in the end they beat us fair and square.
Casual observations-No direct footy i.e corridor,skills atrocious,too "defensive" in general play,where was our elite midfield,Henderson not a KPP,the Irish experiment has failed,NO leadership on the field!

We have got a horrendous month coming up,Ratten better smarten up,otherwise there'll be a mid-season coach vacancy!

You show yourself to be a tool

 

[Blue since 72]

Thinking about what Ratts has said in the pre season re a game plan I did see some of what he spoke about on the weekend. When the bombers had the ball in our backline our fowards pushed right up the ground and if we turned it over there was the attempted long kick to space for Irish primarily to run back into and take the mark, only he didn't take the mark (happened two or three times). I think Yaz was on the end of one of these too but didn't control the footy which ended up going back the other way. Obviously this is combating a zone but if the mark isn't held well ...... I'd like to see a two on one when they do this, ideally a crumber and a KPF, much higher chance of us getting a positive result, particularly while the likes of Setanta is the designated receiver. I like his endevour but I don't feel confident that he will take his marks more often than not.

I think Ratts also tries to employ a Geelong style of hand balling out of defense but this isn't working due to our obvious lack of consistant execution of this skill.

The backs also push right up the ground when the ball is in our foward line although all this clogging didn't seem to worry Essendon when they got the ball. Bit sick of this zone style staying off your man by 10 metres shit though, if the kick/handall is sharp you haven't got a hope of contesting/slowing the opposition movement down.

Apart from our lack of application which to me only the players know the answer to the two things that shit me the most about our plan is the tempo/slow the game down part and our kick outs after a point. The tempo should only ever and I mean EVER be used when the opposition has a run on and should be dropped as soon as the flow of the game is brought under control.

With regard to the kick outs I see no real plan and definately no real urgency to get the ball moving. Every player that takes the kick out effectively waits until the opposition has its zone or what the hell ever plan in place before we look for an option. Does anybody recall a fast break from the kick in in any of our games so far?

I continually see our best wins coming when we take an attacking view and when we kick the footy (strange as this sounds considering the skills on display on the weekend). We're winning clearances/stoppages hands down and then it falls apart from there. When we actually start hitting targets and we can do this, we will start winning well because we are not getting belted yet our performance on the weekend should have ended in a belting.

And heres a simple thought, if we win the centre clearance and the ball gets to an outside player its pretty much one kick to a leading forward, so we don't need all our mids running forward in droves trying to get a piece of the pie. If you're not involved in the direct play how about tracking your direct opponent so they arn't left in space if the ball is turned over. The ball still comes out of our forward line far too easy more often than not.

We have the cattle to win clearances against most teams and we have been fast starters in all three games but our inaccuracy early is killing our confidence and the resulting turnover and probable goal is killing it further. Even if we're getting lots of the ball early but murdering it, man up and don't give the opposition early freeby's. The game is still pretty simple really; beat your man (and we have enough guys who can win one on one), dispose of the footy then find your man again.