Game plans

[karmafree]

I was intrigued, after I think the North game, when Lyon mentioned the different game plans he has for Saints Footy. He compared that style to that which the Saints played against the Swans, plan A, plan B. It is interesting to see the press begin to pick up on this. Walls mentioned the different game plans that Saints Footy has, between opponents, between quarters and even within a quarter. Very evident after the match with the Doggies. I note that the cheats coach mentioned he found it difficult to plan for Saints Footy as you never knew which style of game we are going to turn up with.
I think this bodes well for our team and is a great reflection of Lyon's coaching ability, that he has got the opposition in a mental state that they don't know what we are going to do.
Any thoughts kids?

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Hey I wondered about this. People always talk about the Bulldogs, how they can be virtually unbeatable if they are up and running. Co-incidence that the Saints don't let them get up and running.
Hopefully we have a different plan for Carlton.
And another plan for those speedy annoying teams like Essendon.

 

[Squizz]

A couple of guys were talking before the Bulldogs game and saying "Ross will probably try to shut the game down in the first half given the NAB Cup and with Hall often being a fast starter".

Didn't really break out from that strategy when we would have liked, but maybe that was only due to some pretty poor field kicking from both teams on the night.

To me, Carlton's midfield is it's strength - and if we can't win the clearances it might again come down to rebound off half back. Along with Fish and Gilbo, Gram is pretty important in this regard (hopefully he is right to go).

 

[Squizz]

And another plan for those speedy annoying teams like Essendon.

Our tackle pressure was well down in the first game (where we scraped home) and I thought we were a little disrespectful towards Monfries in the second game (gave him 5m space all night, with 4 goals the result).

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Our tackle pressure was well down in the first game (where we scraped home) and I thought we were a little disrespectful towards Monfries in the second game (gave him 5m space all night, with 4 goals the result).

I felt they were kicking to space a fair bit, relying on their leg speed to get the ball and dispose, before their opponents could lay a tackle.

 

[Squizz]

I felt they were kicking to space a fair bit, relying on their leg speed to get the ball and dispose, before their opponents could lay a tackle.

There was a player for them who did well in both games :
- 25 poss, 4 tackles, 4 I50s
- 22 poss, 1 goal, 2 tackles, 5 I50s
who won't be a factor next time!

 

[Zagg]

There was a player for them who did well in both games :
- 25 poss, 4 tackles, 4 I50s
- 22 poss, 1 goal, 2 tackles, 5 I50s
who won't be a factor next time!

Aside from he who shall not be mentioned, it was Watson who killed us in the clearances in both games against the Bombers last year. If we can stop him being so influential we should be able to get over the top of them this year.

Great teams can either always play their own game and hope it's good enough (like Geelong or Barcelona), or adapt to their opponents on a game by game basis (like us or Inter Milan).

Some of the plans still need a bit of work, but the fact that we're 5-1 having had a difficult fixture list speaks volumes for the effort Ross & the other coaches have put in, not to mention the fantastic effort by the players.

The fact that we've stood up and performed in the 4th quarter in 4 games already when the match has been there to be won bodes very well for the rest of the season.

 

[Kildonan]

"Saints Footy" is a high intensity, accountable form of footy where zone defence is applied all over the ground forward of the ball. As the ball comes into a zone the players pressure the receiver and tackle him if possible, if not they try to corral the player while zoning off his potentential targets.

If the ball is in dispute, we pride ourselves on our "hard ball gets"...

Once we get the ball, we stream forward offerring several invasive targets forward of the ball. Often this requires a great deal of ground to be covered by the defending team to defend against us.

This form of footy requires players to be extremely fit, and always alert as to the state of the game. Young players, inexperienced players, unfit players and unaware players represent holes in this game plan.

The Saints were able to execute this gameplan beautifully all year 2009.

Several clubs have been travelling a different path to success. In particular Port Adelaide and Essendon, but several others as well have opted over several seasons to recruit lightweight speedy players who play a role in tackling and breaking the lines.

Recently several clubs have taken a leaf out of the soccer book of game plans by employing the AFL equivalent of the "counterattack".

Carlton and Essendon have both used this approach to break through the "Saints Footy" style (which has been adopted by several other clubs).

Counterattacks in soccer are very difficult to defend against. Will it translate to a successful gambit in AFL ? It is so far, but as we can see by the example of Hawthorn's game plan (premiers only 2 years ago - now almost defunct) gameplans need to adapt.

I think we need to adapt to the changing tactics used against us.

My thoughts are to build a few faster players skills in defence with a specific goal of stopping the counterattack.

 

[SaintsSeptember]

Essendon's game plan worked against StKilda, but I think they will struggle against some of the pacier midfields. ( Note that they struggled abeit won against StKilda ).
So they can adapt vastly different game plans for different teams, or utilise a gameplan that will not be effective against every team.
Either way it doesn't seem to be a recipe for consistancy.

 

[karmafree]

But what happens come September? The footy looks totally different, the pressure greater, the players unbelievably more desperate. Thats why I think Carlton and Essendon won't go too deep in September, they are just a bit too small and not strong enough to cope at this stage. Whereas we do have the strength, but not the speed of the above. So I hope this is behind a lot of Lyon's planning, getting it right for September.
Our general skill level around the ground has been the real downfall for us to date, not the game plan as such, although Kildonan's addition of a couple of speedy defenders would be a hugh help. Who are they? Smith, I can't remember if he has speed, Peake, fast but are the skills there? From 2000km away I can't comment upon our rookies and young ones. Lyon will tweak things I am sure. A genuine 1/4 back to chop off the opposition speedsters, maybe for the likes of the Bombers and Blues. I remember Franz Beckenbaurer from the great German soccer team of the early to mid 70's invented the stopper role, or 1/4 back. He used to just cut off the counter attacks like picking grapes from a vine. Then thread a through ball to Mueller to score a fantastic goal, it was like poetry in motion. He had great vision and beautiful kicking skills. Iam thinking Goddard here.
Reinvigorating the famed forward pressure as a focus for the next few weeks. But keep the basic structure and plans we have and see what happens when the general skill levels return to an acceptable level. If we are still found wanting, then.............