Strategy Stagnant Ball Movement

[TheVarcoenator]

This thread is spot on. If the game plan isnt working and the team is 5 goals down, how hard is it for the coachings staff to say "get back to basics, lead into space when in posession, man up and tackle hard when defending, attack the ball and harden the fk up". If the players cant take on something so bloody simple, the have no confidence in the coaching staff hence sack the entire coaching panel if this is the same story in 5 rounds. Has to be done.

 

[TW Sherrin]

Would really like us to move Crisp and Sidebottom to half back with Reid taking the kick outs, think this could help a fair bit.

Sidey as a defensive winger.

 

[TW Sherrin]

Sidey as a defensive winger.

But i still reckon hes the best crumbing goal sneak we've got.

 

[4#Didak#4]

Had the same view after the match and like you I sit on the 4th level. It's a different issue to a lack of run and carry or pace.

• Nobody leads when we get the ball, they just stand and wait.
• The kicker takes too long moving behind the mark and goes miles back
• It happens all over the ground, but is especially prevalent on kick ins and inside forward 50
• Sometimes we kick to the short contest instead of the long contest

Even when there's a 2 on 2 or 3 on 3 we're not leading, we simply stand still and wait. The kicker doesn't go to this small pack, they go back behind the mark slowly and wait. No leads come and more players get back increasing the size of the pack. Still no leads come. The kicker has no choice but to place the footy on the heads of our players in a pack, amazingly sometimes they take the short contested option instead of a longer one and bomb the footy there.

Leading draws an opponent away from the contest and also creates space behind for another player to move into. This is especially true when there's only a small group of players, where the game or our forward 50 would be opened right up. We're not doing it and it's no wonder our goal kicking, kick ins and uncontested footy are down.

If it's a planned thing then the kicker needs to just kick the footy to the furthest contest on the first insistence, delaying only allows the opposition to get more numbers back and increase congestion. Personally I'd go back to leading up at the footy though.

I actually think it is a fear of failure that is preventing brave ball movement. There is no doubt what you are saying is correct we seize up when we have ball control and become indecisive.

There is no movement, but to have movement there needs to be purpose to it. No one is sure what the ball user is doing with it and the skill errors makes it very hard for a defender to be brave and run and create. They usually get burnt, so they remain conservative and makes it easy for opposition to plug up field holes. Those players up field become unsure where to run to as they have no idea what their teammate is going to do - will he be brave and move it quick thru the middle or will he hesitate. This means the whole team hesitates.

What I am seeing from other teams and hearing from coaches is to be brave and take the game on, it doesn't matter if you make a mistake. This attitude gives everyone confidence and they all know what the other is wanting and trying to do. This makes them move like a well oiled machine. Our poor kicking means we get burnt more than most and that proactive run dries up.

We displayed we can do it in pre-season, but we are now feeling the scoreboard pressure when we muck up and that pressure builds week to week.

 

[Somebody]

..........................I know this is simplistic, and I know there are a heap of factors you can look into and discuss about why the effort is not there, and I know it is a lot easier said than done. But if we were showing the same level of effort as the first half of last year, we would have a completely different result over the last 2 weeks.

I guess it might at least mean that we are not burnt out in hte 2nd half of the season like the last 2 years - except it will probaly be too late by then anyway as we go 3-8 instead of 8-3.

 

[TheWoodsOf72]

We displayed we can do it in pre-season, but we are now feeling the scoreboard pressure when we muck up and that pressure builds week to week.

Pre-season just like last years form, means nothing.
I do not understand why designated players to not have a pre-conceived plan when we seize up. This all comes down to coaching and giving players confidence.

 

[comradegrumpy]

Yeah SURPRISE!!!.... this'll happen when you recruit and methodically develop an entire backline incapable of consistently hitting targets by foot (Reid excepted).

Not particularly surprising, when you consider that (other than Reid and Browny) the backline against Melbourne was more-or-less our third string blokes. Oxley also disposes of the footy pretty well. Also, when I talk about "defensive half turnovers", I don't just mean "turnovers by our backmen". Langdon's howler notwithstanding, a heck of a lot of our defensive half turnovers actually came from a terrifyingly underperforming midfield. It's a bloody difficult life for a backman when, when you finally do manage to clear the footy, your midfield cough it back up again without giving you any respite or time to reset.

 

[doodles98]

Not particularly surprising, when you consider that (other than Reid and Browny) the backline against Melbourne was more-or-less our third string blokes. Oxley also disposes of the footy pretty well. Also, when I talk about "defensive half turnovers", I don't just mean "turnovers by our backmen". Langdon's howler notwithstanding, a heck of a lot of our defensive half turnovers actually came from a terrifyingly underperforming midfield. It's a bloody difficult life for a backman when, when you finally do manage to clear the footy, your midfield cough it back up again without giving you any respite or time to reset.

If ball ball movement coming from our backline was not such a huge issue we most likely would not have played our best midfielder back there for the majority of the time? ... specifically to improve the ball movement, kicking and decision making from defense. Don't you think this is suggestive of where the real problem lies??? Taking your best mid from the midfield to bolster the backline does not suggest the main issue is in the midfield in the eyes of our coaching staff.... just a thought for you. And who are the great ball using defenders and decision makers we have in reserve then? Frost?, Williams? Sinclair? Maynard?.. these guys are our first string defensive ball users are they?

 

[jmac70]

Stagnant balls is a nasty condition.

 

[speedytiger]

This thread is spot on, if i video taped myself watching us play the most common thing said would be, go go go, move it quicker. We need to free up the players minds, they are too scared to muff up at the moment

 

[2ipe]

Buckley over complicates things football is simple you play man on man and quick direct footbal and if your good enough you win if not you make changes at the trading table and bring in players that are good enough . Go back to basics Buckley please ..

 

[TradeDraft]

Makes a Huge Difference when you move it Fast

 

[Mateyman]

We looked so much better when we were playing on and taking on the game

 

[Scodog10]

We looked so much better when we were playing on and taking on the game

That match was played at VFL intensity with about 5 blokes playing with AFL skill and fortunately they all wore black and white bar maybe Fantasia.

You are 100% correct though that we do look better when we do that and it's good to highlight it, but that was a clear outrider in terms of the opposition we'll face this year and how they approach the contest.

 

[TradeDraft]

That match was played at VFL intensity with about 5 blokes playing with AFL skill and fortunately they all wore black and white bar maybe Fantasia.

You are 100% correct though that we do look better when we do that and it's good to highlight it, but that was a clear outrider in terms of the opposition we'll face this year and how they approach the contest.

Maybe we did not let Essendon play with higher Intensity

 

[Dundalis]

Even in a big win, it's apparent that we simply have an overabundance of low IQ footballers. We played a team that have us beat in that regard, but that obviously hasn't happened much this season. There are just so many players who make poor decisions under no pressure. It's one thing to make a poor decision under pressure, when you do it consistently under none, there's either a footy intelligence issue, or the player is just scared, both of which are issues. I think it plays it's part in relation to the lack of spread, combined with the lack of tactical gameplan.

We'll see if we can carry this renewed confidence and aggression into the next few weeks, but the win doesn't mask the issues at all.

 

[The Royal Sampler]

Partly it's low footy IQ, but most of it is the players not having played together enough. When you know where your teammates will be ahead of time, you can make your decisions much faster too.

 

[comradegrumpy]

Taking your best mid from the midfield to bolster the backline does not suggest the main issue is in the midfield in the eyes of our coaching staff.... just a thought for you. And who are the great ball using defenders and decision makers we have in reserve then? Frost?, Williams? Sinclair? Maynard?.. these guys are our first string defensive ball users are they?

No, they're not. However, I think that a backline that looks something like this:

B: Williams Brown (Toovey/Sinclair)

HB: Oxley Reid Sharenberg

Has a pretty good mix of run, intercept skills and accurate disposal. I'm fully cognisant of the kicking deficiencies of Frost and Maynard, and I think that Sinclair is well down on form, but arguably we drafted Shaz precisely to fill a gap for a medium-tall defender with good decision-making and disposal. He was a high draft pick for a reason, and while you may be able to pillory the club's injury record, I don't think you can have a crack at them for failing to identify the problem and subsequently draft to fix it. Also, given that Pendles was back where he belongs in the centre today, I think we may be able to assume he *was* carrying the ribs that all the media speculated he was carrying. We're currently scrambling to cover Williams, who isn't a great kick, with reserve players who are worse kicks and provide less run, and the hole that was supposed to be filled with Sharenberg is being filled by players with less ability but more knees.

 

[Kappa]

We looked so much better when we were playing on and taking on the game

The real test will be can we do it against decent opposition? It's all well and good to take the game on against rubbish opposition, but it doesn't mean much if it falls apart when you play some quality.

 

[MLG23]

West Coast move the ball so well and on their big ground our slow play could be quite a sorry site. Take some time watching Gaff use the pill. Absolute pleasure to watch.

 

[Scodog10]

Maybe we did not let Essendon play with higher Intensity

Pardon? Intensity is controllable it has nothing to do with the opposition.

 

[doodles98]

No, they're not. However, I think that a backline that looks something like this:

B: Williams Brown (Toovey/Sinclair)

HB: Oxley Reid Sharenberg

Has a pretty good mix of run, intercept skills and accurate disposal. I'm fully cognisant of the kicking deficiencies of Frost and Maynard, and I think that Sinclair is well down on form, but arguably we drafted Shaz precisely to fill a gap for a medium-tall defender with good decision-making and disposal. He was a high draft pick for a reason, and while you may be able to pillory the club's injury record, I don't think you can have a crack at them for failing to identify the problem and subsequently draft to fix it. Also, given that Pendles was back where he belongs in the centre today, I think we may be able to assume he *was* carrying the ribs that all the media speculated he was carrying. We're currently scrambling to cover Williams, who isn't a great kick, with reserve players who are worse kicks and provide less run, and the hole that was supposed to be filled with Sharenberg is being filled by players with less ability but more knees.

We tried Pendles at half back last year as well remember... for the reasons I stated.
That half backline is a very slow one.. not going to be any line breaking going on there. I'd play Williams on a flank because he's the one who has the pace and can break lines. Sinclair and Toovey will need to be replaced imo. I am a pessimist with Sharenberg now too. I think after 2 acls it's a long shot that he'll become a regular part of the team unfortunately. I like Oxley a lot but his defensive side is not great and I am starting to wonder if he'd be more of a weapon further up the field with his marking and kicking ability. I could see him being a handy third tall or winger.