So what's actually changed?

[Blue and Blue]

The curse has been lifted.................

 

[Pinnell]

We have a TOUGH, HARD NOSED (dare I say it, Mongrel) Midfield for the first time since 1995 when Diesel, Fraser Brown, Ratten etc were at the coal face. No more gettting pushed around by stronger, more aggressive midfields (ala the Hawks). This is what you need to win a flag, and we've finally got it.

 

[CJMB]

Dow is the perfect example of why there’s no point pumping games into players just because. He should’ve been a full time mid in the twos.
Setters on a wing is surprisingly still a thing and SPS is never going to make it as anything other then a defender imo simply because he doesn’t have the work rate.

Hopefully Dow can continue to string together 30+1g games in the twos.

He’ll want to improve some of his defensive work & tackling, and tidy up a few of those stray kicks he’s known for. Credit where credit’s due, that running goal of his yesterday from 48-ish out was great.

Probably helps giving him a shot as the big dog in the middle for the twos, he can go to town and focus on his own game with a little less heat.

That’s what he’ll need to do to try and force his way into the team, or be ready to step in if one of the big mids in the 22 misses a game.

Also, that’s the benchmark the senior mids have set …

 

[Stamos]

1. Durdin, Owies setting up around Charlie/Harry at the balldrop within forward 50, relying on the two of them to bring the ball down in front of them and setting up to either gather it themselves or be position to pressure the exit

You're ignoring of course when we switch it up, with Owies flying against 2, to bring it down for Charlie to crum and snap the goal.

 

[ESKIE]

Everything has changed

 

[Blue and Blue]

1. Durdin, Owies setting up around Charlie/Harry at the balldrop within forward 50, relying on the two of them to bring the ball down in front of them and setting up to either gather it themselves or be position to pressure the exit. This puts tackling when and where it's needed, as opposed to near meaningless tackles around a stoppage that result in a ballup, and gets defenses feeling that referred pressure that leads to turnovers.

2. Whenever there is a stoppage in the back half, we have layers of defenders sitting between the stoppage and the goal at 10, 25 and 40m further afield. Sometimes they have a man and sometimes not, but it's pretty reliable; the first two sit both down the line and corridor side, with the 40m sitting directly between the stoppage and the goal. When the ball is in the back 50, we have a loose player both in the goalsquare and about 15m out directly in front whilst matching their players at the stoppage. This means that there are no cheapies that dribble through or just get over the line, and that if our opponents win a stoppage they can't kick and the ball stays nearby the mids for them to tackle, which suits us as our mids aren't lightning and we need the indecision to give us a moment to get behind the ball or catch the ballcarrier.

3. Improved leading patterns between the key forwards and marking targets ahead of the ball. With the exception of the final quarter last night when our system broke down out of sheer panic, you don't generally see Harry, Jack, Charlie, Martin etc flying for the same ball. If you see more than one of them in a pack, it's pretty clear there's a designated marker and another bloke flies to hold the space behind him. Durdin also has a hell of a leap on him which lets him compete aerially to bring the ball to ground. This means more marks and - more importantly - more balls hitting the deck in dangerous positions up forward.

4. Instead of more running, smarter running. Instead of bolting for the back half, hold your shape and move sideways across the ground or directly backwards 15-20m. Instead of sprinting end to end over and over or gunning it forward when your teammate wins the ball, your talls held their position down the line and further along and you wait for the right moment to run past him. Less running means better endurance, and I can't help but wonder if that's connected to our goalkicking efficiency this year. It's easier to kick at goal when you're not exhausted.

You just described our teams of the 1978-1985 period pretty much, just change the names

 

[HavUEvaSeenTheRain]

Hopefully Dow can continue to string together 30+1g games in the twos.

He’ll want to improve some of his defensive work & tackling, and tidy up a few of those stray kicks he’s known for. Credit where credit’s due, that running goal of his yesterday from 48-ish out was great.

Probably helps giving him a shot as the big dog in the middle for the twos, he can go to town and focus on his own game with a little less heat.

That’s what he’ll need to do to try and force his way into the team, or be ready to step in if one of the big mids in the 22 misses a game.

Also, that’s the benchmark the senior mids have set …

Dow has something all of out midfield lack, genuine pace. There is a spot there for him if he is good enough.

Just back to playing players out of position. If Dow does force his way into the side then some other mid is going to be played out of position more often. Philp and Stocker were both drafted as inside mids. Hard to play them there. Fish was a mid, not going to make it there. Voss is going to do the exact same thing as Teague and all coaches do and try and find new positions for players

 

[JustaBattler]

So far in 2022 it's noticeable in just 3 games that quite a lot has changed in the way we play compared to last year. I thought it would be good to start a thread to see what people had noticed was different about the way we play and to celebrate the positive changes we've made to our game plan and style of play. It's very clear the players understand the game plan, expectations of them and are now able to execute in a really organised and effective way. Big well done to Vossy and the coaches on being able to achieve this so quickly!

For me there's a few things that i've seen...

1. The first and most obvious one is our desire to clear a stoppage using handball. There are a lot more quick short handballs to move the ball around the stoppage and congestion to someone who can kick with less pressure or who is able to run towards goal uninhibited. This has replaced the Ed Curnow and Mitch Robinson style of hack kick out of congestion that always went to the opposition team. This has allowed us to keep more possession of the ball and not be scored against as easily as we aren't giving the ball back to them all the time.

2. Our centre bounce setup structure has been extremely effective - we usually move into positions (once the ball goes up) so that we have one player out the back and one out the front. We've seen a number of times where the person out the front has received the handball and had a clean run towards 50 which has worked quite well. Ruckman are hitting in down to the defensive side where they can. Equally we are seeing the use of handball to get the clearance and find an outside runner for the kick where it's possible.

3. Outside run off the back of the square from the HB's and anytime we have a mark or possession has been quite noticeable. We have great kicks from the backline and between Williams, Saad, Doc and Newman, we have used these players to get kicks in deeper by running past looking for the handball. In line with the run is also what looks like a general mandate of not standing on the mark and backing off. This seems to be working quite well in that the player who would otherwise stand the mark now gets to be part of the zone rather than someone to run around.

4. In general play our transition to i50 is much more methodical than last year which was an absolute mess. We are able to maintain possession down the wing with a tall being the outlet as we move the ball forward. We leave space open so that we can lead back into it and take the mark. Rinse and repeat until we get to the kick inside 50 which tends to be more central than in previous year. This has also allowed us to play tempo footy and slow things down and hold possession really well when we've needed to kill opposition momentum.

5. Our forwards are structured up well so they can try the mark or bring it to ground where our smalls are setup perfectly. This is far more organised than last year where the opposition intercept defender would own us every week of last year. Equally a lot more of our entries are from central positions due to the HB runners and centre clearances giving us greater variety as to where we kick inside 50. The 3rd tall up forward is also helping to great more forward stoppages where our tackling has been first class.

6. Our pressure game has ramped up significantly although it almost appears like there is a focus on getting speed at the opposition ball carrier rather than necessarily tackling. The workrate is up which is pleasing and equally the defensive and offensive running is noticeably better. They showed on Fox last night the mids transitioning into the forward line to put pressure on the fall of the ball and to lock it in. Last year i saw plenty of front running but not in an organised and deliberate way which often meant we got caught out when it rebounded.

7. The wingers are being used properly this year! They are being given the ball and are often the outlet when the ball is switched from the other side. Even we switch we have been much better are luring the opposition players in first to create more space on the opposite wing. Clearly as part of the team defense the wingers are required to drop into the backline regularly to help. LOB was on the last line a couple of times as evidence of this. Happy to also rotate others into the wings at times too with JSOS, Fogarty and Fish all being used there over the past couple of weeks for rotations.

8. Players playing positions they are used to playing in. Doc backline. Williams HB. Fisher rotating on-ball and HFF. Kennedy mid.

9. Cripps injury free, enough said!


What have others seen that is different?

These are all expressions and outcomes of proper game plan and structure - coaching.

Luke Sayers has been a been forgotten in a lot of the good that has come over the past 6 months despite being essentially the architect in mid 2021.

Even prior to Teague commencing as senior coach there's was clearly some disconnect within the club and the priorities following Bolton's appointment. Lots of emphasis on ringing in memberships and updating our social media profile, assistance coaches seemingly never assessed through industry standards, a shockingly underfunded footy program which saw plenty of talented guys never reach their potential and some never got the opportunity at senior level at all.

It was a ballsy decision to call a club-wide review. So many in the media lashed the review and undermined the process and thought it was just a poxy attempt to undercut Teague. The final outcome, aside from confirming Teague wasn't the man to take the club forward, was a number of poorly performed assistants were turfed, our CEO was sacked, a thorough review took place to hire a new senior coach which had never been done in the club's history.

The club was again attacked for doing their due diligence in asking Clarkson if he was interested in applying for the role, and again when Lyons withdrew his interest. We then hired the best fit for the role: a young, hungry assistant coach with senior coaching experience, and were lashed for that.

We then replaced half the board and finally brought some entrepreneurial spirit into the club, bringing in career development coaches and analytics guys - both sorely lacking as other clubs started investing heavily in these areas.

Voss is going to get a decent amount of credit if the Blues can make the 8 this year, but senior coaches mainly control the bigger picture. Ensure relationships between players and coaches are working, ensure relationships between assistant coaches are working. Reinforce the non-negotiables on field. I strongly suspect, having heard him speak a couple of times, someone like Hansen is having as much an influence in properly aligning the gameplan and creating a tactical structure for the players.

There are some parallels with 2012 - knocking off the Tigers week 1, knocking off the runners up week 2, but things do feel a bit different this time around. Finally sense we're operating as a competitive unit and have the right people in the right positions of influence. Just so nice to watch the footy and actually resemble a tough, committed lineup.

A significant focus shift from money as core KPI to on-field performance

#1. Voss summarises his focus as 'heat on the ball' other people call it mongrel or competitiveness this is THE key enabler for all things to happen
#2. Voss has made it clear that the notion of best 22 is irrelevant to team-based systems and processes - his focus is. on best execution of team roles - this makes managing player expectations and issues of equity , fairness transparent
# 3. All well and good to have #1 & #2 above - but ultimately all things being equal (ie every good team does this stuff or tries to) having players who can execute under pressure and make decisions in the heat of the moment more right than wrong requires quality selections and access to required levels of competency - Cerra/Hewett/Kennedy/Walsh and a fit Cripps - deliver a size and smarts capability between the arcs that Carlton hasn't had previously.

It is all about playing to the system and having a modicum of injury luck going forward to build a sustainable and repeatable level - this will take time and other teams have their own strengths which they will employ - eg Doggies had a better ability to go for longer, Richmond had a better ability to defend against our talls...every game is different and Carlton has relative weakness in KPD and flanks compared to other contending Clubs - this will need to be fixed.

 

[The Return of the Paf]

For me.

Cripps is back to being a top 5 midfielder not top ~40 and moving much more freely
Kennedy playing A grade football.
Actually having a third tall intercepting defender.
Being able to link up through handballs from stoppages. We are setting up much better in there and having better players also helps.
Full buy in from the players with the game plan and pressure has been so much better.

The list has also changed. We lost Jones but that’s it and the rest are a year older and we are better for that.
If I was told tomorrow that Cripps would break his back and be back to last years form, We would only get another two games out of Charlie, another 16 full games out of Harry, 8 more games from Fish, About a dozen more games out of Martin, Williams, Doc and Pitto, 3 more games out of Gov and Hewett and Cerra wouldn’t play for the rest of the season then I think we might have a difficult season. That’s what we had to contend with last season. Fingers crossed we stay healthy. This week we will be pretty much full strength which is pretty amazing and exciting.

It's funny how in the past he and Jack were basically competing for the one spot. 'What to do with JSOS' became 'what to do with McGovern' and then the epiphany happened.

 

[HavUEvaSeenTheRain]

It's funny how in the past he and Jack were basically competing for the one spot. 'What to do with JSOS' became 'what to do with McGovern' and then the epiphany happened.

I think Gov only played 5 games last year and we had no Curnow so I can understand it to a point. What will be interesting now is Kemp. He is now looking like he is competing with those two at either end. Do we push him to a wing?

 

[F_therest]

So far in 2022 it's noticeable in just 3 games that quite a lot has changed in the way we play compared to last year. I thought it would be good to start a thread to see what people had noticed was different about the way we play and to celebrate the positive changes we've made to our game plan and style of play. It's very clear the players understand the game plan, expectations of them and are now able to execute in a really organised and effective way. Big well done to Vossy and the coaches on being able to achieve this so quickly!

For me there's a few things that i've seen...

1. The first and most obvious one is our desire to clear a stoppage using handball. There are a lot more quick short handballs to move the ball around the stoppage and congestion to someone who can kick with less pressure or who is able to run towards goal uninhibited. This has replaced the Ed Curnow and Mitch Robinson style of hack kick out of congestion that always went to the opposition team. This has allowed us to keep more possession of the ball and not be scored against as easily as we aren't giving the ball back to them all the time.

2. Our centre bounce setup structure has been extremely effective - we usually move into positions (once the ball goes up) so that we have one player out the back and one out the front. We've seen a number of times where the person out the front has received the handball and had a clean run towards 50 which has worked quite well. Ruckman are hitting in down to the defensive side where they can. Equally we are seeing the use of handball to get the clearance and find an outside runner for the kick where it's possible.

3. Outside run off the back of the square from the HB's and anytime we have a mark or possession has been quite noticeable. We have great kicks from the backline and between Williams, Saad, Doc and Newman, we have used these players to get kicks in deeper by running past looking for the handball. In line with the run is also what looks like a general mandate of not standing on the mark and backing off. This seems to be working quite well in that the player who would otherwise stand the mark now gets to be part of the zone rather than someone to run around.

4. In general play our transition to i50 is much more methodical than last year which was an absolute mess. We are able to maintain possession down the wing with a tall being the outlet as we move the ball forward. We leave space open so that we can lead back into it and take the mark. Rinse and repeat until we get to the kick inside 50 which tends to be more central than in previous year. This has also allowed us to play tempo footy and slow things down and hold possession really well when we've needed to kill opposition momentum.

5. Our forwards are structured up well so they can try the mark or bring it to ground where our smalls are setup perfectly. This is far more organised than last year where the opposition intercept defender would own us every week of last year. Equally a lot more of our entries are from central positions due to the HB runners and centre clearances giving us greater variety as to where we kick inside 50. The 3rd tall up forward is also helping to great more forward stoppages where our tackling has been first class.

6. Our pressure game has ramped up significantly although it almost appears like there is a focus on getting speed at the opposition ball carrier rather than necessarily tackling. The workrate is up which is pleasing and equally the defensive and offensive running is noticeably better. They showed on Fox last night the mids transitioning into the forward line to put pressure on the fall of the ball and to lock it in. Last year i saw plenty of front running but not in an organised and deliberate way which often meant we got caught out when it rebounded.

7. The wingers are being used properly this year! They are being given the ball and are often the outlet when the ball is switched from the other side. Even we switch we have been much better are luring the opposition players in first to create more space on the opposite wing. Clearly as part of the team defense the wingers are required to drop into the backline regularly to help. LOB was on the last line a couple of times as evidence of this. Happy to also rotate others into the wings at times too with JSOS, Fogarty and Fish all being used there over the past couple of weeks for rotations.

8. Players playing positions they are used to playing in. Doc backline. Williams HB. Fisher rotating on-ball and HFF. Kennedy mid.

9. Cripps injury free, enough said!


What have others seen that is different?

Nice observations. A few other tactical things I think are worth mentioning:

10. Our defensive structure is so much better. Our team now defends as a grid which blocks space as a unit, making it harder for the opposition to move the ball. Whereas last year it was more man-on-man, which essentially meant they could dictate the positioning and space knowing their opponent would just follow them...now we have players filling dangerous areas so we are dictating to them, forcing them to move the ball through areas they don't want to or kick the ball to where we have set up.

To help achieve this our whole team rolls back in layers to compress the ground. We're seeing our small forwards folding back to the wing and sometimes even half back, and mids rolling to half back.

11. Related to our grid defence above, it allows us to be better at scoring off turnovers. When we turn the ball over, we already have guys in pretty good positions with separation from their opponents to transition the ball into F50. As a man-on-man defence last year, when we turn the ball over their opponents are already standing right next to them.

12. Our players are better structured arounds contests in terms of when to go and when to cover the outside. Last year was disorganised and you often saw too many players drawn into the contest, then the opposition flick the ball out to a guy standing by himself outside for a clean takeaway. Now, it's noticeable that guys sometimes intentionally hang back wide for the receive when it looks like we'll win the ball or cover an opposition player when they have it.

 

[no. 4]

One thing that I have noticed that has changed is our midfield structure. There is no doubt we are harder around the ball but what caught my eye was that in the centre we play a contested ball bull to first win the ball (ie. Cripps and Kennedy), one player forward of the centre contest to receive the outside ball to then provide clean delivery into the forward line (ie. Walsh and Cerra) and one player behind the centre contest to block the runs of the opposition if they win the first ball (ie. Hewett).

 

[thylacine60]

finally, finally, finally WE ARE THE TEAM with someone standing off the pack to receive the clearance and go - it started from the first bounce thursday night, cripps over the top to walsh and away...........

 

[Stig O'Hara]

Maintain possession, keep the ball live.

Outscoring the opposition seems a priority too.

 

[thylacine60]

I said pre-season we had 3 things to achieve if we wanted to succeed in 2022.

1. Stop the run-ons.

2. Hold a lead and endeavour to increase it.

3. Believe.

Long way to go but we have had a positive start to all 3.

 

[Elmer_Hauser]

I first started to believe when I watched that dynamic first half against Melbourne in the practice matches. That had the imprint of Vossy and those great Lions Three-peat team all over it.

I thought to myself, is this real life? Is this just fantasy ?
Dees caught in a Blues Landslide
This is now our reality
Looked up to the skies and see
I'm just a Blues fan who no longer needs sympathy
Cause we are easy come, easy go
UNDER VOSSY

 

[thylacine60]

ok

 

[Elmer_Hauser]

I think LOB being encouraged/given real positive reinforcement and trust by the coaching group has been fantastic (something I think now in hindsight he didn't get enough of in the previous regime)
Still has a way to go in terms of improvement and development, but his first two games (and pre season form) has been one of the most pleasing elements to the start of the season.

Some players take longer to mature than others, and I think it's clear now Teague didn't manage him very well at all (looking back in hindsight)

Some of us here were way too harsh on LOB and wrote him off prematurely (and I will put up my hand and admit I was one of them)

 

[Doro]

Quite a bit in answer to the O.P. The independent review of last year wasn't really revealed to the public, but new head coach and most of the assistants, new CEO and new prez. There seemed to be a largely unhappy playing group last year, and we have the opposite of that now. On field, the structure, set ups at stoppages and defense first mentality along with 2 beast midfield recruits and the improvement of another has given the side a completely different look.

 

[teknodeejay]

Don’t underestimate the ability of plain old communication. These are the same players bar 2 or 3 from last year. Voss and Hansen and their ability to effectively communicate instruction, structure, instinct and situational awareness in order to improve is probably the biggest turning point at the club.

Teague couldn’t get it done and it showed out there each week. Bolton did okay to begin with but as the group matured and transitioned he didn’t elevate beyond primary school himself and it fell apart.

The best thing Voss did was to learn the communication caper which was his undoing at Brisbane. Hansen has learned this too, clearly, and it’s distributed throughout the entire ranks.

Given Luke’s prominence in big 4 consulting, he would have known communication is key and I wouldn’t go past his knowledge of that fact influencing at the club. I mean, you just have to see the social media improvements to see it has gone up a level.

 

[thylacine60]

fogerty drops a pumpkin

 

[GordonBlue]

Also what's changed? All other team's opinion on Carlton.

Was reading the Dees Non-Dees related thread on their board and they are glad they're not playing Carlton until Round 22.

They are seeing parallels and whilst they are not scared... they will be keeping an eye.

 

[The Return of the Paf]

I think Gov only played 5 games last year and we had no Curnow so I can understand it to a point. What will be interesting now is Kemp. He is now looking like he is competing with those two at either end. Do we push him to a wing?

Yes but I'm thinking Jones going out had more of an influence, rather than Charlie coming in. As for Kemp: it's probably his best chance. I'm beginning to have some doubts about him, I hope he proves me wrong.

 

[SBYM]

A better gameplan more suited to the strengths of a team that is relatively injury free and one year further down the development highway.

Simples.

 

[jj1978]

• Teague, Barker => Out
• Coaching group with standards and no bias
• Fit Cripps
• Growing bodies.. our recruiting from SOS era are now physically mature enough
• Good experienced recruiting last 2 years, Saad, Williams, Cerra, Hewett
• Board level seems stable and assured.