Query about your gameplan/style?

[Dry Rot]

First up, may i say that I went for you guys all day and I'm a big fan of Chapman, Mooney and Scarlett. Sorry about the result - I honestly hoped you'd win.

Secondly, if you know me around BF club boards, I'm not a troll. This a genuine query.

Another poster on another thread about your forwardline noted the often poor delivery into it today, which is unusual for your team.

As the game progressed, and you continued your play on/handball at any cost style through the corriedor, it came under increasing pressure and undone. Because the skill of your players, you'd often win the ball back but by then the Hawks defence was waiting for you because of the delay. The ball was often then just bombed into clogged and contested space.

Sure, your forwards kicked inaccurately and could have sealed the game in the first half but certainly in the second IMO the poor delivery was a significant factor.

The Cats are a better team than the Dogs and play a different style but I wonder if both gameplans/styles don't hold up to extreme pressure that few teams can produce.

Your play on/handball at any cost style through the corriedor seemed to me come unstuck, while in contrast the Hawks went often around the boundary kicking long and picking up loose men, getting the ball in quickly so that you couldn't get men back.

Do think Thompson may have a re-think about your gameplan and style?

I hope the Dogs do about ours, because when it too is under extreme pressure it also results in just bombing into the forwardline, with poor results.

Thoughts?

 

[Barabbas]

Today was really not our gameplan or style. That was the first problem.

We didn't run and carry near enough, we let the Hawks hold their structure and just banged it in high when we went forward. That's what pressure does. We didn't put nearly enough pressure on them, especially as a pinpoint kicking zone gameplan is much more susceptible to pressure.

 

[GFC29]

It is the gameplan that Collingwood exposed, I guess.

Under extreme pressure, our decision making and precision of those in tight handballs need to be 100% on, if they aren't it's a turnover for sure.

As for the forward entry, that was some of the worst I have seem from us. Even if Roughead/Hodge weren't loose floaters the ball still would not have found targets.

Just a day where nothing much really happened or worked out for us.

 

[OldStyle2007]

They clogged the forward line. We needed an option to kick goals from 40 plus but didn't have that

Interestingly, Clarkson has a bunch of players who are booming kicks and this was decisive in the 3rd Quarter

I think our game plan is sound but we need our mids to kick some 40 plussers to get us out of situations such as today when kicking to a lead is not an option

 

[hawk for 37]

Today was the first time that the Cats had to change up their game plan for 2 years and they couldn't.

Probably because they have been so good and so successful for so long, it worked against them.

It's been so long since the Cats have been behind that the coach didn't really have the moves to change things around.

Just a thought, with the Cats killing it in the middle and Ablett in sensational form, why not give him 15 min. in the fwd line.

I'm sure the Hawks coaches would of freaked if he rested in the pocket.

Did Thompson make any moves of note?

 

[TGTOA]

It's one thing to move the ball quickly to an open forwardline, and create space for midfielders to deliver to a forwardline. That's what we typically do well. But when your opponents are pressuring and closing down space in the midfield and also have a well structured backline to deny your forwards space, rushing the ball forward can be disastrous. When your forwards are outnumbered or out of position, the last thing you want to do is to be forced into a situation where you have to kick to them, which happens if you play on and put yourself under pressure on the half forward line and can't find a good option to kick to.

 

[hoopla]

The cats created plenty of opportunities. They just blew most of them. I don't think we need to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

 

[BigBadCam]

A lot of our midfielders were unnaccountable on the rebound as well. They needed to run harder back to their lose man if we were going to be competitive. Too many times the hawks were able to go bang, bang, bang and kick an easy goal. Also, the amount of times I saw a gang of cat defenders around the forward 50 and lose Hawks men behind them was shocking.

 

[archilino]

Gameplan? Are you serious? The plan has been flawless for he better part of 18 months beacause the execution of it has been as well! If we didnt score 11 points in a row we would not be having this discussion.

You dont coah ppl to miss set shots from 2m out or running into an open goal form 20m out, thats poor execution which ultimately cost us the flag.

I for one hope we play the exact brand of football we have been for the last 18 months.

 

[Collins-Langford-Ayres]

Must say, I felt today's game showed a lack of class up forward. Your midfield has destroyed so many teams with guys running inside fifty and slamming through goals, but today we stopped them being able to move inside fifty with the ball, so they were forced to kick to guys like Varcoe, Stokes, Rooke, etc that just aren't good enough to win one out up forward and kick goals.

Anyway, another year over and you guys should start favourites again, but probably need to find another key forward or two.

 

[And_ROOS]

1.9 we kicked. Turn that into what we normally kick and its usually around the 8.2 mark and suddenly we hit halftime with a big lead the the foot on the Hawks throat.

Gameplan wasnt the issue today, terrible accuracy was.

 

[MeestaNob]

Accuracy was not the problem, the Hawks rushed a lot of balls through. Only two shots spring to mind that were sodas - Ottens running shot and (Mooney?)'s shot at the end of the third quarter (maybe the 2nd, I'm still quite drunk).

The Cats didn't play particularly badly, they were just outplayed by a more determined team. In retrospect the writing was on the wall after the Bulldogs game; the Dogs were all over the Cats after half time, and if the Hawks could maintain the same midfield pressure but with a more effective forward line to assist, Geelong would be in trouble.

The Cats play the ultimate style of helter-skelter football (the Dogs do/did this but don't have the man power when it counts), but as is (apparently) the case, it can come unstuck against a resilient opponent such as the Hawks. Geelong's forward structure was dysfunctional at best, and severely out played by the Hawks backs; I had Sewell as Norm Smith entirely for his third quarter effort.

Bad luck Catters. The Hawks played great footy. Good luck next year.

 

[street spirit]

Bad luck Catters. The Hawks played great footy. Good luck next year.

They played intelligent footy, were very defensive, were a danger on the counter-attack, don't think they played 'great' footy though.

 

[LoneStar]

I would have to agree with archilino in saying that there is nothing wrong with the Cats playing the "exact brand of football they have excelled at for the last 18 months". The style is both great to watch & successful, having produced 2 minor premierships and a flag during the past 2 seasons.
I also agree with others that the second quarter of the GF was the key to the Hawks beating the Cats. The Cats put some tremendous pressure on the Hawks in their defensive 50, producing what was probably the Hawks worst quarter of football since Round 20 against Richmond. The Hawks were bottled up & had a lot of trouble breaking out for much of the quarter. The Hawks were forced to play desparate football in defence. Uncertainty and frustration were apparent. The Cats inaccuracy gave the Hawks defence time to catch its breath and settle a bit. When the halftime siren sounded & Mooney's shot then slipped away to the left, Hawthorn looked up at the scoreboard and must have been surprised to see they had a three point lead.
I think this is the point where the Hawks actually began to believe they could beat the Cats. I'm sure they thought they could win going into the GF, but at this point I think they began to believe it. They had played desparate football and made it through to the long break. They seemed to take that same desparation into the second half and turned it into scoreboard pressure. Had the Cats kicked 4-4 (with 2 rushed behinds) instead of 1-7, the Hawks would have been down by 2 goals and who knows how the third quater would have gone. With a lead and then the first 2nd half goal, they could sniff a victory.
Of course I am biased, but I believe I would have found this to be an exciting game even if the Cats had ended up winning by 2 or 3 goals. All in all, I think the AFL could do a lot worse than seeing the same teams squaring off again this time next season.
Finally, congratulations to Geelong and its supporters for a great season, especially to those here on BF. I would truly feel bad for Geelong and its great fans had they not won the flag 12 months ago. And hats off to all the great Geelong BF posters who have been so gracious in defeat. Outside of Bay 13, you've proved yourself a class act! I would hope my fellow Hawk supporters would act with the same class if the roles were reversed!

 

[catters05]

Gameplan wasnt the issue today, terrible accuracy was.

Totally agree.

I thought the Hawks boys wanted it, our boys expected it........except Gaz.

Bad kicking is bad football.

I couldn't believe how awesome Gazza was, even when Mitchell had more striking/charging attempts then stats at some parts of the game.

Mooney's kicking for goal after that 2nd goal ripper is unforgiveable.

But oh well, good on Hawthorn. Bring on 2009.

 

[And_ROOS]

Totally agree.

I thought the Hawks boys wanted it, our boys expected it........except Gaz.

Bad kicking is bad football.

I couldn't believe how awesome Gazza was, even when Mitchell had more striking/charging attempts then stats at some parts of the game.

Mooney's kicking for goal after that 2nd goal ripper is unforgiveable.

But oh well, good on Hawthorn. Bring on 2009.

Beyond me how people think otherwise, we were all over over them, Croad was off with a broken foot, Mitchell had been utter sh*t, Franklin and Roughead had done nothing, our forwards owe our mids and defence a BIG apology. They let us down yesterday. If they had been more accurate we would have shut them out by half time. We lost this for ourselves, and id expect them to get an absolute caning over preseason. This result was unacceptable.

 

[mwt5150]

Beyond me how people think otherwise, we were all over over them, Croad was off with a broken foot, Mitchell had been utter sh*t, Franklin and Roughead had done nothing, our forwards owe our mids and defence a BIG apology. They let us down yesterday. If they had been more accurate we would have shut them out by half time. We lost this for ourselves, and id expect them to get an absolute caning over preseason. This result was unacceptable.

Spot on. Tell me at the siren Buddy and Roughy have 3 between them (I think, massive hangover), Croad hasn't played the 2nd half and Dew is among the Hawks better players and I'd assume we have won by 8 goals. We kicked ourselves out of back to back flags. Plain and simple. Chappy doesnt miss set shots inside 50, and Otto and Moons misses were total shite. All the romance aside, Tom Hawkins needs to play senior footy next year