Our Forward Pressure?

[Jimmy Yamazaki]

Just watching Weagles vs Bombers and the Eagles are making it hard for the Bombers to get it out half back..

Today Crows seemed to rebound with ease and I think it's been that way for our whole season..Plus no pressure...

Looks like we have abandoned the press all together 2012 and we are getting killed (among other things) in rebounds.. Even Melbourne it wasn't so hard for them to go coast to coast

It's been the way Pies have covered loses the last 2 years and Eagles still look good with there outs.

Last Year CS talked about out defensive game, now it looks like it's nowhere to be found...

Anyone else find this or is it just me?

 

[Connoisseur]

Nowadays our players (seniors in particular) seem to pick and choose when to be fully switched on.

It's hard to maintain the rage for six seasons straight and they're not getting any younger...

How they respond against collingwood should provide an accurate gauge of how the rest of the year will pan out.

 

[The Casey Cat]

Dead right. Has perhaps been an even bigger problem than our clearance/contested possession issue. Ball just streaming out of our attack all year with no pressure and it's not anywhere near good enough.

Forward pressure is mainly effort and hunger and we just aren't showing it

 

[Jimmy Yamazaki]

Dead right. Has perhaps been an even bigger problem than our clearance/contested possession issue. Ball just streaming out of our attack all year with no pressure and it's not anywhere near good enough.

Forward pressure is mainly effort and hunger and we just aren't showing it

Agree.. It seems to me at the moment, we beat the press last year so all of the sudden it's useless.. But Eagles and Bombers are 1 and 2 for keeping it in the forward 50 and it shows too on the ladder...(Of course there is more too it then that but it's a big part.)

 

[manboob]

Agreed, but it's hard for Hawkins and Pods to be super "pressure" players due to their size. I wouldn't mind motlop playing as a defensive forward given his pace. Don't know if he has the size to lay the big tackles though... It's a tough one I think we are one of the clubs that rely a lot on team balance and who is in and who is out. We haven't had our midfield all playing once this year I think. Kels, Bartel and Selwood have all missed.

 

[Jimmy Yamazaki]

Agreed, but it's hard for Hawkins and Pods to be super "pressure" players due to their size. I wouldn't mind motlop playing as a defensive forward given his pace. Don't know if he has the size to lay the big tackles though... It's a tough one I think we are one of the clubs that rely a lot on team balance and who is in and who is out. We haven't had our midfield all playing once this year I think. Kels, Bartel and Selwood have all missed.

All true dat.. but also I think our midfield hasn't been pushing up and making it hard for the ball to get back past our forward 50..Dunno if that's because as you said we havn't had them all on park as much or just the experience in our younger brigade isn't doing it I don't know..

 

[Catsace]

Said it before, but not having either Varcoe or Wojac just reduces the speed our side has on the transistion. Kelly, Bartel, Selwood and Corey and co i think are just not equipped to be now able to swarm back and forth with the speed that younger sides now do. Indeed we are having a hard time getting the ball first and the hard ball gets. Menzel is also a talented out whose absence is exacerbated by the others out.

A good point was made that our structure is unbalanced with these speedy players out, our outside presence is having to be substituted by 'inside' players. And we've gone from Ottens to the inexperienced and physically smaller West and of course Orren in just his couple of games. Ergo, domination at the clearances are just not what they were.

So, i think our players just are finding it physically very difficult to employ a press like last year, and our strengths against the press being our big forwards is compromised if we are being beaten to the ball and having rushed or spasmodic supply up forward. We'll be better when we get some of these important parts of our side back, but natural attrition is seeing the class of '99 and '01 starting to feel the pinch, and the younger replacements are simply not at that level yet. Transition period is certainly something we are looking at now.

 

[manboob]

A good point was made that our structure is unbalanced with these speedy players out, our outside presence is having to be substituted by 'inside' players. And we've gone from Ottens to the inexperienced and physically smaller West and of course Orren in just his couple of games. Ergo, domination at the clearances are just not what they were.

Correct and it stems not from just having first use, but the physicality that ottens was able to offer bumping and tackling and just being a huge unit. Trent and Orren don't have it. I think that's why today we really missed Bartel. Others have said it and I'm starting to agree might not be a bad idea to get Josh hunt working at some of the clearances...

 

[Vdubs]

The answer is Blake, we are missing his pinpoint hit outs giving our mids the arm-chair ride they've been accustomed to??!

And we are too one-paced. Varcoe/ Wojo / are sad missing links in this team.

And the combination of ageing/sore slowish mids, and inexperienced/ smallish new bodies is not working, yet.

Comes down to expectations. What we see now is highly predictable, and a touch of reality. Not happy about it, but I have peace of mind about it.

If and when we get our injured ones fit and firing, we may see an improvement. Our team without Varcoe and Wojo is certainly uglier, and also less potent. And Wojo is not going to be a long term fixture either.

 

[manboob]

And Wojo is not going to be a long term fixture either.

Yeah but we are a unique - year by year team - I think, for the next few years.
We aren't dropping off a cliff like Brisbane and we aren't "rebuilding".
We are somewhere in the middle.
But it's not a "lets aim to make the finals every year even if it's 8th-ness of the Swans".

The club is aiming for a flag in 2015/6 yet thanks to the amazing talent of evenness or the comp or something, is still a decent shot at it this year (like the last).

I don't think I've seen any club aggressively pursue what we are doing now. It could end glory (for me that would be a flag in 2012 or 2015 (I'd prefer both)) or in flames and I think its far too early to tell.

 

[Cosmic Energy]

Whenever the ball hit the deck in the forward line today we didn't seem to have anybody swooping in to crumb or apply pressure with any regularity, & we've been a bit patchy all year in that area. As other posters mentioned I think we are missing Varcoe, for his pace, forward pressure, & kicking skills, and also his ability to go further upfield occasionally & allow Steve Johnson & Chappy to spend a bit more time deep forward.

 

[fpm84]

Whenever the ball hit the deck in the forward line today we didn't seem to have anybody swooping in to crumb or apply pressure with any regularity, & we've been a bit patchy all year in that area. As other posters mentioned I think we are missing Varcoe, for his pace, forward pressure, & kicking skills, and also his ability to go further upfield occasionally & allow Steve Johnson & Chappy to spend a bit more time deep forward.

Stokes has been injured and/or underwhelming so far too. He doesn't has the defensive pressure of a Rioli, Davey or Garlett but he at least buzzes around the ball and create opportunities from nothing. With Motlop up the ground and Byrnes out of form today, we had no small forward that looked like kicking a goal or putting pressure on Adelaide's defenders.

 

[David the Cat]

Got to disagree with my friend manboob. We are rebuilding and it started last year...snagging a flag in 2011 was a real bonus.

Scott said from day 1 that while he would look for present day success he was focused on looking to 2014/15 and making Geelong a power team for the future. I don't think he has wavered from that objective.

That's his business plan...thats what he sold to Geelong when he got the job...and that's what he's doing.

We need to be patient....it might be a bumpy ride in the short term...

 

[manboob]

Yeah I see your point. I guess we are different from most teams that have undergone rebuilding due to the talent we still have on our list. I think the competitiveness that offers us belies the fact we are in the middle of heavy rebuild. That and Im a hopeless romantic and want a 4th flag this year.