Game plan concerns

[lenny&carl]

I say if we concentrate on restricting our opponents' score - while scoring heavily ourselves, - then the rest will just sort itself out.

 

[loki04]

Main thing I want to see is kicks to advantage and less bomb and hopes.

For such a good side we have a hell of a lot of poor-ave kicks.

 

[unplugged]

Even when MM was our coach we played the NAB cup without looking like we even had a game plan whatsoever.

Bit too early to worry about anything game plan related if you ask me.

 

[Maggie5]

After 3 NAB games, one of which we fielded our AFL side, can't say I have seen enough to give an opinion but certainly not worried. After 3 or 4 games with our best 22 playing may comment then.

 

[DaVe86]

Yeah no doubt we are trialling a bit of a tweak to our game plan...but I am not concerned as yet. All teams trial in the NAB Cup...not to mention the fact that we are playing under different interchange setups, different rules and with half a side playing.

I think in the big matches, you will still see us revert to a safety first option as opposed to some of this scrappy corridor play.

But I think its a good thing that we are trying to find different avenues to goal and become a little less predictable.

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

If I was going to be as objective as possible given my man crush on Bucks, I'd say my biggest concern?

The lack of run. It's our ONE single biggest issue. Because the lack of run results in other issues.

- Opposition keep creating loose man? Because we don't run
- We don't clear out of defence as well as the opposition? Because no one is running
- No pressure in the forward line? Because they're not running
- Where are the crumbers? Sitting around, they're not running
- Why are they slicing us up through the middle? Where are our loose players? They're standing around, not running

Seriously almost all our biggest problems come from no one running. It's quite maddening. Aren't we supposed to be fit?

 

[The Royal Sampler]

We don't clear out of defence because no-one is running? That's a very self-serving conclusion.

 

[Cousin of Daicos]

We don't clear out of defence because no-one is running? That's a very self-serving conclusion.

We don't run out well, and no one up the field is running hard enough to provide the option.

Anyone with functioning eyes can see almost every side streams out of our forward line, but we're incredibly slow and stagnant out of everyone else's.

 

[Scottabe_pendles]

Am I the only one who thinks a more direct faster game plan could be what brings the 'beginning of the end' to Maxwell's and Harry O's spot in our lineup.
Dont get me wrong - Maxwell is fantastic at zoning off and helping out third man up but he and Harry O are both suspect when defending one on one.

With the Malthouse slow round the boundary line it gave Maxwell some awesome opportunities to set up and have time to be a phenomenal cut off man and Harry also often got help rather than getting destroyed one on one.

I think as the ball flys back down (if we are using the corridor more regularly) these guys will be found out more often than not in one on one situation - which as we saw in preseason can mean some heavy scoreboard impact.

Other than these two we are pretty good with one on one defenders with Brown and Toovey probably being two of our best and Shaw and Reid also being solid (Frost and Keefe are also good from a KPD sense judging by frosts preseason)

I know every team needs some 'offence from defence' but neither Harry O or Maxy make fantastic decisions or execution to make them a real weapon back there like Leon or Reid

IMHO, one out Goldsack is a better pure defender than both - although he doesn't do the one percenters nearly as well as Maxwell

 

[The Royal Sampler]

Good post, you're right, the gameplan could put those two under more pressure. Possibly contributing to Harry spending more time up the ground. I don't think Maxy provides much offense so it doesn't favour him either way.

 

[sr36]

With the Malthouse slow round the boundary line it gave Maxwell some awesome opportunities to set up and have time to be a phenomenal cut off man and Harry also often got help rather than getting destroyed one on one.

I think as the ball flys back down (if we are using the corridor more regularly) these guys will be found out more often than not in one on one situation - which as we saw in preseason can mean some heavy scoreboard impact.

I disagree with this. For the last few years, we've been a team that has chosen to press really hard and get extra numbers around the ball. It's been effective, but it has also resulted in our defenders regularly finding themselves one out in space and often running back with the footy when our press is broken. No deenders in the league look good in this situation. I personally think that Maxwell and Harry are ok one on one. Due to our game plan, they just find themselves one out in space more often than defenders from other clubs.

 

[Old Spice]

Every opposition game style presents it's own issues.

Quick and/or highly skilled kicking teams that have used the corridor and run through the midfield in numbers (Hawthorn/Geelong) have bothered us a lot over the last few years because we've not been able to prosecute an effective press as the ball comes out of their defence. If they hit a target at 50+ metres, the field opens right up. Once that occurs, a combination of fast running and skilled kicking means we are scrambling to cover players. A press between the arcs is not possible.

Buckley has put a premium on kicking skills and speed because he wants us to be able to pick our way through other teams who also deploy a fwd press or rolling zone type formation though the middle.

It may take longer than expected to build a team suitable to this task.

 

[Quicky]

Every opposition game style presents it's own issues.

Quick and/or highly skilled kicking teams that have used the corridor and run through the midfield in numbers (Hawthorn/Geelong) have bothered us a lot over the last few years because we've not been able to prosecute an effective press as the ball comes out of their defence. If they hit a target at 50+ metres, the field opens right up. Once that occurs, a combination of fast running and skilled kicking means we are scrambling to cover players. A press between the arcs is not possible.

Buckley has put a premium on kicking skills and speed because he wants us to be able to pick our way through other teams who also deploy a fwd press or rolling zone type formation though the middle.

It may take longer than expected to build a team suitable to this task.

I love the team we have pieced together. I think it's a winner. But this transition between yesteryears gamestyle and the future is telling and could be critical. We appear to be caught in this flux between a boundary gamestyle and attempting switch play and carve the corridor apart. Not enough in the starting team are able to do either. It is actually the biggest threat to our premiership ambitions I feel. That balance between the new and the old.

 

[Old Spice]

I love the team we have pieced together. I think it's a winner. But this transition between yesteryears gamestyle and the future is telling and could be critical. We appear to be caught in this flux between a boundary gamestyle and attempting switch play and carve the corridor apart. Not enough in the starting team are able to do either. It is actually the biggest threat to our premiership ambitions I feel. That balance between the new and the old.

I think Leigh Matthews said it best a few years ago when he said Mick's game style was well suited to get us into finals, but not necessarily to win a flag. True, we smashed Geelong in the 2010 Prelim and played perhaps the greatest game I've seen us play, but we were just inspired and the press still shiny and new. St Kilda's game style and defensive kicking under pressure in GFII played right into our hands

Once a plan is picked apart, you have to contrive a new one. The press was fine in isolation, but it became a problem when other teams were pressing our defence and we didn't have the foot-skills to navigate our way through there and were predictable through the middle.

It might take a while to build a list capable of quick running ormations and accurate kicking to bust opposition presses and open up best options for us in the midfield in order to achieve quick transition to our forwards. That's a personnel and development issue which may take time to work its way through.

 

[Hardas]

I say if we concentrate on restricting our opponents' score - while scoring heavily ourselves, - then the rest will just sort itself out.

Sorry, L&C - I've only just noticed your analysis.
If I understand you correctly, you're saying that if we kick a lot of goals and don't let the opposition kick that many, then we should be fairly successful?
Mmm...

 

[Go_Brad_Dick]

Sorry, L&C - I've only just noticed your analysis.
If I understand you correctly, you're saying that if we kick a lot of goals and don't let the opposition kick that many, then we should be fairly successful?
Mmm...

Lets keep this quiet, don't want this new gameplan falling in to opposition hands.