Preview R1 - Port Adelaide @ Melbourne

[El_Scorcho]

Can't possibly make a prediction given we're rolling the gameplan dice again and we'll have a very different side structurally.

 

[WHOME]

Not sure where all this optimism comes from, surely not a JLT win over a disinterested opponent who registered something like 20 tackles in 3 quarters. Surely not from the Crows game where they treated us like witches hats for large parts of the game. For those using JLT form as a guide just remember this time last year Jack Watts kicked 6 and resembled Bernie Quinlan. Hinkley is clueless and stumbling from one disastrous game plan to another. He's a dead man walking and we're going nowhere with him in charge. Demons by plenty.

On HTC Desire 650 using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[ROBBBO]

Tank

 

[Turiyasangitananda]

Just realised my niece’s 1st birthday shindig coincides with this one. Family. Honestly.

She won't remember later in life if you don't go.

 

[AFC AFeederClub]

Not sure where all this optimism comes from, surely not a JLT win over a disinterested opponent who registered something like 20 tackles in 3 quarters. Surely not from the Crows game where they treated us like witches hats for large parts of the game. For those using JLT form as a guide just remember this time last year Jack Watts kicked 6 and resembled Bernie Quinlan. Hinkley is clueless and stumbling from one disastrous game plan to another. He's a dead man walking and we're going nowhere with him in charge. Demons by plenty.

On HTC Desire 650 using BigFooty.com mobile app

i agree with this bloke, too many here with rose coloured glasses, i still do believe we can beat Melbourne though but as soon as team work us out we will go to water as usual. Time will tell but the sooner we get rid of hinkley the better

 

[GremioPower]

Not sure where all this optimism comes from, surely not a JLT win over a disinterested opponent who registered something like 20 tackles in 3 quarters. Surely not from the Crows game where they treated us like witches hats for large parts of the game. For those using JLT form as a guide just remember this time last year Jack Watts kicked 6 and resembled Bernie Quinlan. Hinkley is clueless and stumbling from one disastrous game plan to another. He's a dead man walking and we're going nowhere with him in charge. Demons by plenty.

On HTC Desire 650 using BigFooty.com mobile app

i agree with this bloke, too many here with rose coloured glasses, i still do believe we can beat Melbourne though but as soon as team work us out we will go to water as usual. Time will tell but the sooner we get rid of hinkley the better

It is the beginning of the season. It is time for unreasonable optimism.

We adjust expectations later on. Now, it is: "We are going to be a 25-0 Premiers!"

 

[DaTBird187]

Not sure where all this optimism comes from, surely not a JLT win over a disinterested opponent who registered something like 20 tackles in 3 quarters. Surely not from the Crows game where they treated us like witches hats for large parts of the game. For those using JLT form as a guide just remember this time last year Jack Watts kicked 6 and resembled Bernie Quinlan. Hinkley is clueless and stumbling from one disastrous game plan to another. He's a dead man walking and we're going nowhere with him in charge. Demons by plenty.

On HTC Desire 650 using BigFooty.com mobile app

So when we beat an opponent comfortably playing our 23 against their 26 with unlimited rotations, they are disinterested and we're s**t? Don't pay attention to JLT.

When we lose to one playing 28 players in 43c heat by a few goals. Look how s**t we are in JLT. Pay attention to our form.

Just checking.

 

[shewho]

She won't remember later in life if you don't go.

She won't remember the day after if you don't go.

 

[Duck Farmer]

Just realised my niece’s 1st birthday shindig coincides with this one. Family. Honestly.

Now I bet you're pissed you're not an anti-vaxxer.

 

[tribey]

Now I bet you're pissed you're not an anti-vaxxer.

*begins watching My Kitchen Rules*

 

[Tibbs]

So when we beat an opponent comfortably playing our 23 against their 26 with unlimited rotations, they are disinterested and we're s**t? Don't pay attention to JLT.

When we lose to one playing 28 players in 43c heat by a few goals. Look how s**t we are in JLT. Pay attention to our form.

Just checking.

Lol ... Hypocrisy exposed!

Post of the day!

 

[Marmozet]

Just realised my niece’s 1st birthday shindig coincides with this one. Family. Honestly.

I thought they have to consult the footy fixture before organising those things?

 

[ploppy]

ive already backed us for premiers 26 to 1. We will improve on last year. all the players seem fitter and more hungry plus a few new kids to play surprisingly good and hartlett and brodbent back. The new rules will make the game more free flowing which will help us and disadvantage a few of the lock down teams. lock down footy is dead we are going to kick 120 points every week.

 

[Spadge]

Now I bet you're pissed you're not an anti-vaxxer.

Pete Evans likes this

 

[Port85]

From the limited exposure of JLT I feel optimistic that the current game style is better suited to our players strengths than last year.

Beating Melbourne Rd 1 on their home turf while playing maybe 6 players who've not played for us before might be a bridge too far.

Being optimistic doesn't also mean I'm pro Hinkley, I'm just trying to put that to one side so I can enjoy the footy each week.

 

[OneGreatClub]

i agree with this bloke, too many here with rose coloured glasses, i still do believe we can beat Melbourne though but as soon as team work us out we will go to water as usual. Time will tell but the sooner we get rid of hinkley the better

I feel there is just the opposite on big footy most of the time, all doom and gloom. I am holding out hope at this stage.

 

[Chewy316]

It's hard not to be excited about this game. After the crap that we saw last year, there has been a significant overhaul of the on-field "stuff." This incorporates both personnel and gameplan. It's clearly evident that we are making a concerted effort to play a more aggressive and attacking style of play, whilst we are trying to accelerate a rebuild by blooding a lot of young players. What was apparent last year was that the club had become stale on field. The team looked bereft of flair and any attacking intent was immediately curtailed.

I'm excited to see the gameplan in a meaningful game, but I'm more intrigued by the personnel coming into the side. Butters, Rozee, Duursma, Lycett, etc are going to add something to the team. Then there's a rejuvenated Boak and Rockliff who seem to be near their brilliant best going on the JLT series.

Sometimes a clean out of the club as with what happened this past off-season is necessary to breathe life back into the organisation. We saw that at the end of 2003 a number of very good players left including Paxman, Cockatoo-Collins and Nick the dick Stevens. We injected some life into the team and got over the hump.

By no means am I saying that this is going to be similar, but the importance of roster turnover and providing a spark in the on-field aspect of the team can be paramount to bringing out the best in everyone. Whatever happens in week 1, I have no doubt it's going to be at the very least, intriguing.

 

[Kingfish73]

From the limited exposure of JLT I feel optimistic that the current game style is better suited to our players strengths than last year.

Beating Melbourne Rd 1 on their home turf while playing maybe 6 players who've not played for us before might be a bridge too far.

Being optimistic doesn't also mean I'm pro Hinkley, I'm just trying to put that to one side so I can enjoy the footy each week.

That is my demon. Hinkley still head coach. But we have some exciting new talent. But Hinkley still head coach. Schoey and Monts can turn around our game deficiencies and provide strategies to extract the most from our list. But Hinkley still head coach. Etc etc.

 

[Magus]

I'm sick of this idea that we have been and we will be "worked out"

Football really isn't that complicated. As long as we have a game plan that isn't completely negative and ultra defensive like 2018's, there's no need to worry. We could have persisted with the 2017 playing style but we decided to reinvent the wheel instead.

 

[Bring-Back-Powell]

I’m a diehard Melbourne supporter and watch every second of every Demon match.

Our JLT/pre season preparation has been an epic disgrace and honestly believe that a hungry Ports will roll an under done Melbourne footy club.
You guys will be hungry, rejuvenated by your high draft pick debutants and Melbourne will be under prepared, unfit and complacent.

Port by 11 in a thriller.

 

[GremioPower]

I’m a diehard Melbourne supporter and watch every second of every Demon match.

Our JLT/pre season preparation has been an epic disgrace and honestly believe that a hungry Ports will roll an under done Melbourne footy club.
You guys will be hungry, rejuvenated by your high draft pick debutants and Melbourne will be under prepared, unfit and complacent.

Port by 11 in a thriller.

How dare you come here and raise our hopes like that?! That's not an appropriate behavior. Shame on you!

 

[ROBBBO]

Reverse psychology

 

[Janus]

Let's take a look at a detailed analysis of one piece of play so I can put paid to this idea that the only reason North Melbourne registered a low tackle count was because they were 'going through the motions'. You might get a better understanding of why I'm so confident we'll smoke the s**t out of Melbourne on a wide ground like the MCG.

This is part two of my preview.

Phase 1-3: Defence to Defensive Midfield Transition

Phase 1

This was directly after North Melbourne had won a centre clearance in the first quarter. The things to take note of in this clip are Boak, Powell-Pepper, Motlop, Lycett and Robbie Gray getting back into defence to help out. People bitch about how we will struggle against a centre clearance team like Melbourne because we can't defend one on one. We don't have to. All we need to do is put enough pressure on the kicker so that instead of being able to get the ball deep inside 50, the forwards have to lead up to outside 50. I can almost guarantee that Melbourne isn't going to work hard enough to get back and defend like this after watching them in the JLT.

Yes, this does mean that the forward line is emptied out as per usual. But you'll understand why it works in this instance and why slowing the play down occasionally when you get the ball back is a good thing.

Phase 2

Because of 6-6-6, it means not only is there one on ones in defence, but there are one on ones all over the ground. It now becomes about work rate and the ability to get up and down the ground. You might focus on Willem Drew taking the intercept mark in this instance, but Scott Lycett was right there as well, which is why Drew could take the mark uncontested. Also take note of Justin Westhoff positioning himself just outside the 50m arc, forming a triangle with the man on the mark in Lienert and Robbie Gray. All of whom are the attacking side of the three North players who are caught in no-mans land.

Also notice the fact that Lycett is breaking off of his man deep in defence to get to a position where he will be able to assist if Drew isn't able to take the mark. Because Lycett has now created separation from his opponent, one of the North players who had their own player to worry about is forced to track Lycett instead.

Phase 3

Because both Lycett and Westhoff are on the side of the ground that Drew is, North is forced to move their zone across to compensate for it. This leaves wide open space on the other side of the ground, and Drew moves the ball on quickly to Darcy Byrne-Jones, who kicks to Lienert. It's at this point that Lycett, Motlop and Westhoff begin to push up the ground because they know the ball isn't coming across to their wing. The three North players who were patrolling the 50m arc just in front of Gray, Westhoff and Lienert when the ball was delivered into North's forward 50 are now left stranded with their dicks waving in the air as Lienert launches a 50m kick to Rocky on the wing.

This is one of the main reasons why we'll be replacing Lienert with Broadbent or McKenzie IMO - you need as many players with a long, accurate leg as you can get in the side with these new rules. Especially on a ground like the MCG. There's nothing any team can do about a kick like that unless they are willing to give up trying to press the ball inside their 50m area...and if they do that, this is where players like Bonner and Burton come into play, because they can simply run the ball out in the space created.

 

[Janus]

Phases 4-6: Defensive Midfield to Attacking Midfield Transition

Phase 4

Rocky takes the mark on the wing...but look at the players streaming past in front of the camera - Motlop, Powell-Pepper, Boak, Butters and...Houston? Isn't he a defender? Not with this game style he's not, he's now a midfielder because Drew was in defence taking the intercept mark. Butters presents an option to Rocky in the corridor, which is the extra kick that allows the players to set up the forward line. He could have went over the top to Houston who was running past into space, but then Houston would have had no one to kick to.

Unfortunately, Rocky's kick isn't as executed as well as he would like, and a North player gets a hand to it, creating what would normally be a turnover if you were playing a zone system...

Phase 5

Only, Darcy Byrne-Jones is there to mop up the error with a perfectly executed 'gegenpress' through the middle of the ground...not allowing the North players time to transition out of their defensive phase by attacking the contest at speed. If Byrne-Jones isn't there, that tipped pass becomes an interception that results in North scoring the other way. So instead of becoming a turnover, it becomes a continuation of the attack.

Note how the North players are scrambling around like blue bottle flies trying to pressure the players. Also note how Byrne-Jones handballs to Boak who has his back toward goal because he had been presenting as an option for Rockliff, and how instead of trying to wheel around or handball to one of the guys running past him with North players hanging off them Boak simply handballs back to Rocky who now has heaps of space to execute a kick to everybody's favourite motorboating son-of-a-bitch Jack Watts leading up the wing.

Also, note Lycett running down the centre of the ground at the front of the screen...remember, he was in the back line before. He's going to pop up in the most unlikely of spots for someone who was helping out in defensive 50 just a moment ago...

Phase 6

2019 All Australian wingman Watts delivers to Ryder leading up to the 50m arc, who brings the ball to ground in front of him. Note that Motlop is front and centre waiting for the crumb, so it wasn't like this was a broken play - it was set up that either Ryder marks the ball or brings it to ground for Motlop - and if the worst case scenario happened and Ryder got beaten to the ball, Motlop was there to lock the ball in. It's interesting that at least 5 North players found themselves near the fall of the ball in this scenario, yet not one of them put anything remotely close to pressure on Motlop because he had an outlet in the open that he was able to use to get out of trouble.

Notice too, how Ebert is moving towards the contest that Motlop was in and only breaks away into the forward line when he is sure that Motlop is going to win the ball.

Remember...Motlop was one of the players that had tracked back into defence at the start of this phase. And we find him now in the forward line. Never underestimate the benefit of fitness. I wonder if we'll see Boak, Butters and Powell-Pepper at some point in this forward area?

Oh...and note at the bottom of the screen...there's Lycett, still trundling forward...

 

[Janus]

Phase 7 and 8: Attacking Midfield to Attack Transition

Phase 7

Oh look, there's Butters, who has pushed up the ground to help out Motlop. And Rockliff, who has continued up the field to be that open outlet who can deliver the ball well to a teammate. And who does he hit on the tit? None other than Travis Boak, who has combined with Rocky for 5 disposals in this phase of play alone.

Adelaide would do this backwards handball in transition quite a bit against us over the past two years. It encourages opposition players to run at you because they feel it's the only opportunity they have to make an impact on the game. It also creates the illusion of urgency within the playing group, especially in a zone system, so opposition players who are normally disciplined in their zoning become drawn into situations that they have zero impact on.

Phase 8

Boak wheels around and delivers the ball inside 50 to Robbie Gray one out from the goal square. The same Robbie Gray who less than a minute ago was parked inside defensive 50. But if Boak had taken a little bit more time, he would have seen our old mate Scott Lycett, who was helping out with Willem Drew in defence 45 seconds earlier, running in open space to get on the end of an easy mark. I wouldn't exactly call it a poor decision by Boak, because Robbie is a pretty good mark one on one...but come on man, Lycett was right there.

Now, this attack didn't end up as a goal directly (the subsequent pressure locking the ball inside 50 took care of that), but it demonstrates the fluid movement from one end of the ground to the other, and more importantly, the work rate of the players to get up and down the ground. When you've got a ruck who is willing to help out in defence and then in the same attacking play get up into the forward line...that's something you can utilise effectively. You won't be seeing Dixon until he can do exactly what Lycett or Gray is doing. There is absolutely no excuse if those two can do it.