Analysis Let's talk Game Plan

[pjcrows]

Posted this in the post-game, re-posting here to continue the discussion:

The overriding issue in my view, above all else, is gamestyle - our game is designed to be "soft". It's a high-scoring, rebound style game. It works well against teams who turn it over and teams who give us field position. In these games, B Crouch, Atkins, Smith and Laird rack up 30+ but are largely unaccountable, by design. When we've played teams who don't turn it over (Hawks at their best), or those who take field position from us by winning the ball first (Geelong, Sydney) then we expect these "outside" players to all of a sudden rack up possessions - but the gamestyle design itself doesn't allow for that.

Under Sanderson we had no discernible gamestyle from week to week. Under Walsh I think he was working on the right mix. Pyke has gone a bit crazy with the current gamestyle, thinking eventually it will work against the best, but has overcooked it.

The LAST thing we want to see is a pseudo-successful gamestyle (eg. Craig 2005/6) work during irrelevant games but fall over in the big ones, repeatedly (2007/8/9), so that it ends with a fit and willing group who has no faith in the gameplan because it has failed them (2010/11).

 

[Elite Crow]

Contested Marks. This is the issue with our game plan.

Our defenders are good at the contested mark.

Our midfield has only Sloane that is good in this situation, occasionally sauce.

Up forward we've got no-one.

How the **** do we have a forward line that won't take contest marks. It's like having a defense where no-one attempts to go the fist, it just doesn't work.

JJ has never been a contested mark, which is exactly why he's worth about 200k less than we are paying him. Tex used to be (and before you argue with me, go watch 2012) but is now softer than butter. with McGovern out Lynch is probably our best contested mark and he's a medium forward.

If we aren't going to learn to take contested marks we need to look to the Hawks of previous years and learn how they get so many uncontested marks. But at the moment we do neither of these things.

Had a look at when Tex kicks his goals yet?

 

[Vhaluus]

Had a look at when Tex kicks his goals yet?

Mate i did before i posted which is how i know you are bluffing

 

[Elite Crow]

Mate i did before i posted which is how i know you are bluffing

Really? 100% sure of that? Now I know you are talking out you arse, only one of us checked and it wasn't you.

You said you knew it because you watched the games. In the emotion after the game you made the claim, based on your memory and that's it. A memory that was wrong.

 

[pjcrows]

There we have it. Our game revolves solely around contested ball and if we don't win it it falls apart.

We don't have the personnel to beat the best at contested ball. Nowhere near it.

 

[Rotayjay]

Contested Marks. This is the issue with our game plan.

Our defenders are good at the contested mark.

Our midfield has only Sloane that is good in this situation, occasionally sauce.

Up forward we've got no-one.

How the **** do we have a forward line that won't take contest marks. It's like having a defense where no-one attempts to go the fist, it just doesn't work.

JJ has never been a contested mark, which is exactly why he's worth about 200k less than we are paying him. Tex used to be (and before you argue with me, go watch 2012) but is now softer than butter. with McGovern out Lynch is probably our best contested mark and he's a medium forward.

If we aren't going to learn to take contested marks we need to look to the Hawks of previous years and learn how they get so many uncontested marks. But at the moment we do neither of these things.

Watching that game on Friday, it was pretty annoying watching Geelong players taking mark after mark with our players taking **** all. It's been years since I've seen a Crows side that's good or even okay in the air.

To top it off, McGovern is odds-on to leave the club. Now if he takes a Barry-esque mark and dobs the winning goal in a grand final this year, I won't give a s*** if he goes

 

[feenix67]

There we have it. Our game revolves solely around contested ball and if we don't win it it falls apart.

We don't have the personnel to beat the best at contested ball. Nowhere near it.

As we've noted, every other problem stems from CP. Would be a great game plan if we had Duckwood instead of CrouchSquared

 

[skoobydoo]

Just another damning thing about our club.

At the top club they might look the other way on off field transgressions but if you let the team down on the field they're gonna punish you for it.

Our club? Set a foot out of line off the field and we'll smash you, don't do the team things on the field? Well you're best 22 so it's ok.

I hate the term/ concept Best 22.

 

[pjcrows]

As we've noted, every other problem stems from CP. Would be a great game plan if we had Duckwood instead of CrouchSquared

Or SloaneCliff...

 

[skoobydoo]

There we have it. Our game revolves solely around contested ball and if we don't win it it falls apart.

We don't have the personnel to beat the best at contested ball. Nowhere near it.

Yes. And what happens is we can't defend our loss of contested ball/first use and so we fall apart.

 

[pjcrows]

Yes. And what happens is we can't defend our loss of contested ball/first use and so we fall apart.

That's right. Our whole game revolves around it. We have no alternative. One trick ponies. It will allow us to beat poor teams, often by massive margins. We won't make a Grand Final with it.

 

[hunteyes]

What has happened to Betts or Cameron off the back of the square in the last 5 weeks?

Early rounds it was such a weapon to win a centre bounce clearance that other teams like Melbourne started copying us. I cant remember seeing it in recent weeks at all.

 

[mattymac]

There we have it. Our game revolves solely around contested ball and if we don't win it it falls apart.

We don't have the personnel to beat the best at contested ball. Nowhere near it.

If you can't win CP head to head you have to degrade the opposition's CP

That means tag

 

[feenix67]

If you can't win CP head to head you have to degrade the opposition's CP

That means tag

Or crowd. We gave them far too much space around the contest. No pressure whatsoever, which exacerbates losing CP. Our outside mids have to apply pressure when they have it.

 

[Shaz2012]

Watching that game on Friday, it was pretty annoying watching Geelong players taking mark after mark with our players taking **** all. It's been years since I've seen a Crows side that's good or even okay in the air.

To top it off, McGovern is odds-on to leave the club. Now if he takes a Barry-esque mark and dobs the winning goal in a grand final this year, I won't give a s*** if he goes

He wont be playing in a grand final this year.

 

[davos44]

I kinda get the feeling sometimes that we are really lucky to play the way we do.

Considering our list, our draft sanctions, the defenders that left (meaning we had to replace them rather than recruit pick 10-20 midfielders).
Personally, I feel our game plan is excellent. It can just be dismantled by teams playing hard and tough football which is incredibly difficult to do for most teams. Don Pyke is a smart coach and probably knows he needs more "tough nuts" to kind of shore up that plan, but who are they?

Thompson is Old and slow, Knight is injury prone and cant get enough ball, Wigg is a Defender mainly, Galucci and Poholke are too young. Brad Crouch is probably the man who can step up immediately but regaining confidence in his rubbish body will take a while.

The positive is that we actually match up and play GWS very very well. Which can be a big bonus come finals time if we finally get the right rub of the green!

Remember, it only takes a bad quarter from the opposition for us to score heavily and win a game of footy, not many other teams have that luxury.