Plan B - stopping the opposition getting a run on

[fpm84]

Now that the season's over, I think the most glaring issue I take out of it is our horrible inability to stop our opponent getting a run on.

At least a handful of times we found ourselves more than five goals down in the first quarter. It started v Freo in round 1, cost us the Swans game, ruined our chance of beating Collingwood the second time we played them and ruined our chances last night.

But it wasn't just our first quarters that were the problem. Against St Kilda, we were more than 30 points up at half time and allowed them to get within a point before we studied. After being 40+ up against the Hawks, they came back and hit the front. A good team like that is always going to come back, but giving up a seven goal lead was very disappointing albeit we won the game.

One of the biggest issues for Chris Scott to address over summer is how we can stop this from happening. When we're having a bad quarter, it seems from the stands that little is done in the coach's box to change things up. It was clear after 10 minutes last night that we needed to drop a player back in front of Pavlich and hold onto the ball once we got it. But neither of these things happened and by the time we inevitably worked our way back into the game, it was too far gone.

If we're able to find a way to prevent this from happening - whether it's flooding our defensive 50 to stop the other team scoring or just chipping the ball around for a couple of minutes to take the heat out of the game - we'll be a much better team next year.

 

[year of the cat]

I think we needed to slow the game down and just maintain possession for perhaps a 5-10 minute period. Kill their momentum. We just weren't getting our hands on the footy in the first quarter. Even if we didn't score ourselves when they were 4 goals up we needed to do something to stop their run let alone tweek the setup that we had. Having said that I think the first quarter debacle was more about a shocking mindset than a real positional setup issue.

 

[AlterRob]

These tactics are over my head but from what I see we play a very attacking brand of footy. When the opposition takes control of the match we generally continue playing in a very high risk manner, and look to the corridor almost always. It gets frustrating at times but it also has it's positives.

 

[footscore]

I think we needed to slow the game down and just maintain possession for perhaps a 5-10 minute period. Kill their momentum..

can't do that in today's footy as the Geish and his flogs have changed the game to make it like pin pong ball so there is no time to stall the game.

If a team was unfit or feeling flustered in an opening quarter, they could go the boundary line or hold it up as Sydney use to do 04-07. Even the defensive-50-chip kicks are called play on quicker than it use to be so that means your either forced to bomb it forward or risk getting pinged by the bloody umps.
Teams apply the press and players resort to kicking in desperation as we saw last night.
Chris Scott will need to try and find solutions to combat this and the best place to start is the VFL side.

Just on the umps...My god the VFL umpires are a level above the AFL ump standards.

 

[year of the cat]

can't do that in today's footy as the Geish and his flogs have changed the game to make it like pin pong ball so there is no time to stall the game.

I don't agree. You can always slow the game down and kick short to a leading teammate. Not the best way to bring the ball in quickly to give your forwards the best opportunity, but to slow a game down it can still be done. It just requires another game plan.

 

[AlterRob]

Just on the umps...My god the VFL umpires are a level above the AFL ump standards.

Couldn't agree more. Watching the VFL side today and these umps seem to understand the fact that footy is a contact sport, and don't resort to searching for frees like the AFL umps seem to.

 

[_Me_]

Couldn't agree more. Watching the VFL side today and these umps seem to understand the fact that footy is a contact sport, and don't resort to searching for frees like the AFL umps seem to.

Found the umpiring in the vfl today much better
Less rugby as well

 

[footscore]

I don't agree. You can always slow the game down and kick short to a leading teammate.

what if it's one on one footy though?
You can always play the boundary line like Collingwood 2010 but teams began finding out who their go-2 players were and played them man on man causing crucial errors.

Perhaps the flood has been such an outdated game plan for 18 months or so that once it was played such as last night, Geelong weren't use to it and subsequently folded under the pressure.

 

[footscore]

Found the umpiring in the vfl today much better
Less rugby as well

they younger guys too but they just seem to be umpiring with far less direction and it's much better.
Umpires love being seen on camera which doesn't help a few

 

[BotsMaster]

Found the umpiring in the vfl today much better
Less rugby as well

Today's VFL game was great to watch, plenty of free flowing footy with lots of long kicks inside 50 and lots of contested marking.

 

[year of the cat]

what if it's one on one footy though?
You can always play the boundary line like Collingwood 2010 but teams began finding out who their go-2 players were and played them man on man causing crucial errors.

Perhaps the flood has been such an outdated game plan for 18 months or so that once it was played such as last night, Geelong weren't use to it and subsequently folded under the pressure.

You can still do it even if your opposition plays one on one. Just create space and lead hard. You only need to do it as I say for 5-10 mins and you can hopefully kill their momentum. Go in at 1/4 time and rather than being 6 goals down you might only be 4 and still in the match. I think our group are so used to having their own way that when the tide turns they fail to respond or even know how to respond. As fpm84 has said we need to be better at combating this.

 

[witsend]

Risk and reward footy wins flags. We just don't have the skill at the moment to execute consistently. We must persevere though until our kids mature. I'd rather find out who can handle the pressure and see the benefits in 2014 than play safe and be thereabouts for 5 years.

 

[cynical]

the reason teams get a run on is because we are old and slow we have no dominant ruck and our midfield isn't what it was, our defense is very slow so teams can hit up a target fairly easily it's only when the game slows down we get back into it

 

[footscore]

the reason teams get a run on is because we are old and slow we have no dominant ruck and our midfield isn't what it was, our defense is very slow so teams can hit up a target fairly easily it's only when the game slows down we get back into it

But Motlop, Selwood, Poodle, Murdoch, Simpkin, Duncan, Christensen aren't too slow?

 

[romeoh]

But Motlop, Selwood, Poodle, Murdoch, Simpkin, Duncan, Christensen aren't too slow?

No they aren't too slow but they are young. And whilst we have a lot of upside to come, it is hard to escape the thought that we have well and truly come back to the pack for the moment, and are 'just another team'. Can't make assumptions about games and all that.
ps. where is P.O.?

 

[footscore]

where is P.O.?

sorting through the junk mail at Pods fan club office?

 

[Vdubs]

the reason teams get a run on is because we are old and slow we have no dominant ruck and our midfield isn't what it was, our defense is very slow so teams can hit up a target fairly easily it's only when the game slows down we get back into it

exactly, our midfield is so one-paced, and Corey in defence is often a recipe for disaster, in fact Corey is sadly looking like a shadow of his former glorious form.

 

[Vdubs]

No they aren't too slow but they are young. And whilst we have a lot of upside to come, it is hard to escape the thought that we have well and truly come back to the pack for the moment, and are 'just another team'. Can't make assumptions about games and all that.
ps. where is P.O.?

was also wondering that, think he's digesting all our diatribe, analysing it, and soon we'll get an excellent summation.

 

[Scottland2007]

I think Budda has a plan for this.

 

[Reg Hickey]

exactly, our midfield is so one-paced, and Corey in defence is often a recipe for disaster, in fact Corey is sadly looking like a shadow of his former glorious form.

Sadly, Corey has been a shadow of his former self for most of the year.