Opinion Our Attack Strategy

[Rumple Foreskin]

Something I personally picked up from yesterdays game was lack of a functioning attack plan from our forward group.

I think the effort was there yesterday (even if it was in patches), but when the ball went inside forward 50, our front 6 were often chasing or 'running with' the flight of the ball towards goal.

This meant that with every ball going in, nobody was leading up. We're always trying to flood backwards towards goal.

This type of strategy I think worked when we were slingshotting out of defence, with the inside 50 ball going over the last line of defenders. But it seems like we do this even when we're not rushing inside 50?

I feel like the current poor form of Mckernan, Fantasia, AMT and even Brown can be attributed to this style that doesn't suit our forward group, particularly with its current patch of form.

When McKernan and Fantasia are flying, they're often taking lead up marks inside 50.

When these run-with balls go inside 50, your quick players can capitalise if you put it in the right place and give them a chance to run on with it, but your tall forwards will never be quick enough for this! You can see this when balls are flying inside 50 to AMT who ends up in a marking contest with a defender who beats him every time.

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The result is all the hard work of our defenders and mids getting the ball back in the forward 50 only for it to slingshot back out again and us getting caught out.

I think even Garry Lyons picked up on this, he was crying for someone to play deep inside 50.

TL;DR: Why are we not playing forwards deep inside 50? Why are our forwards not leading up and instead playing further up and trying to rush back with the flight of the inside 50 ball?

My 2 cents.

 

[JayJ20]

Our attacking strategy is to kick it to Walla surrounded by two or three tall defenders

 

[Bunk Moreland]

Major thing I noticed is there is absolutely zero movement by the forwards. None. We have the ball off half back or the wing and you look forward and they’re all just standing there not moving.

It really comes down to the fact that we have very, very few natural forwards in the side. McKernan smashes a pack and Fantasia knows what he’s doing, but that’s it, really.

Stringer is playing higher (and is actually an asset at stoppages). Tippa isn’t a target option, he comes into the game when it hits the deck. Brown isn’t a forward.

We need to fix the midfield thing. Somebody who can hit the contest. Maybe Laverde is worth a shot. We can play Stringer forward more then. Langford is a forward option, as is Stewart. And Daniher if / when he gets back.

 

[ant555]

Our attacking strategy is to kick it to Walla surrounded by two or three tall defenders

The Alwyn theory

 

[blitzer]

Its hard to imagine that the way the ball is going into our forward 50 is anything resembling our game plan. Nobody would come up with a game plan that's so stupid. Right now it almost feels impossible for our ball carriers to have an opportunity to spot up a leading target. I'd definitely like us to play someone deep that only leads up at the right time. Stringer seems the obvious choice. He can run around a bit at stoppages and then later can rest in the goal square where he's a tough player to match up on one on one. Plus anyone could tell you that will create more space for our other forwards if we aren't all congested together in the midfield.

I don't even want to get started on the kick it on top of Tippa's head technique that we've been demonstrating these past 2 games. I don't see other teams picking out their smallest forward and pretending like they are Max Gawn resting in the forward line.

 

[ant555]

Major thing I noticed is there is absolutely zero movement by the forwards. None. We have the ball off half back or the wing and you look forward and they’re all just standing there not moving.

It really comes down to the fact that we have very, very few natural forwards in the side. McKernan smashes a pack and Fantasia knows what he’s doing, but that’s it, really.

Stringer is playing higher (and is actually an asset at stoppages). Tippa isn’t a target option, he comes into the game when it hits the deck. Brown isn’t a forward.

We need to fix the midfield thing. Somebody who can hit the contest. Maybe Laverde is worth a shot. We can play Stringer forward more then. Langford is a forward option, as is Stewart. And Daniher if / when he gets back.

Or any movement from anyone in front of the ball carrier for that matter.

One issue is the continual theme over our past 3 coaches in having our extra man at the contest allowing the opposition to always have at least a two on one contest with our forward target. Meanwhile we leave our defenders exposed one on one. To top it off the extra at the contest usually ends up being useless at winning the ball or providing spread away from the contest.

 

[cAsEy_18]

I said this when we were going bad the first half of last year, and I’ve said it again the first few games of this year - people (mainly non-Essendon fans) are tipping us because they look at our best 22 on paper and think “Geez that still looks pretty good, surely they’ll come good.”

We literally cannot score playing the style that we play.

Our deliberate slow ball movement in an era where 17 other teams are trying to break forward at all costs.
Our inability to try and look for someone going forward when we actually do go down there, and our complete lack of interest in any forward leading.

No, we’re trying to kick a winning score by relying solely on McKenna/Saad breaking from the back a few times a game. Maybe a free kick or 2 (optimistic I know). And maybe a moment of magic from stringer to try and get us up to a magical 7-8 goals a game. And I suppose - hold the opposition to under 50?

You could add Dangerfield, buddy and Jeremy Cameron to our team and it would barely matter. Our style is atrocious.