Stoppages structures - Handball

[toomuchsparetime]

I have been frustrated for many years by Carlton's inability to flick around quick handballs at stoppages to eventually open up space for our outside runners. When you watch the best AFL teams they they generally have players positioned behind the pack so that they can retreat safely via a chain of handballs. Why is it that we are no good at this key aspect of the game?

I have noticed that we are reluctant to tie more than one or two handballs together before some player just throws it on the boot and crosses his fingers.

Last pre-season I went to a few training sessions and noticed that Mick was drilling the players with looped kicks so that the next player could run into space to mark it. This is a key skill in rebound/slingshot tactics and was one I felt was implemented to generally good success throughout the season.

What are your thoughts on our handball tactics? Am I missing something, are we trying to play a different gamestyle from what the top 4 teams are doing?

Those of you who are able to attend pre-season training sessions could you keep an eye out for handball training drills? What are the coaches trying to instill in the players at stoppages.

 

[LanceRomance]

sydney monstered us in this area.

 

[Sharks On A Plane]

Good OP. The players seem terrified to handball because they have been told to kick long wherever possible. That shouldn't mean, however, that they can't set up with handball before kicking long, which would greatly improve the overall effectiveness of the long kicking game plan.

I agree it is very frustrating. Judd is pretty good with his handballs and Gibbs often looks to sidestep out of the congestion and identify a teammate in a better position, but most of our other mids just smash it on the boot without a second thought. We become cannon fodder for well-drilled defences when delivering the ball in this fashion.

 

[Quazza]

the best teams have mastered the in close throw

 

[Claypigeon]

Its more the one in one/rest out and blocking after handballing that I think the top teams do well. .. Its no good flicking out the quick handball if one player can harrass or draw three. ..

 

[AB_Blue]

Defiant game plan issue. Uncontested possession count of SFA would also indicate lack of indication to handball from the coaches box.

In the clenches we get it and throw it in a boot to get a clearance. Personally I'd like to see us flip it around a bit more and lower the eyes once we get a clearance.

Walker and Simmo are really the only guys in our side that will look to be an option by handball after a short kick.
Need more run and we will get more handball

 

[Jock]

Good topic, I think it's got more to do with the amount of skilled mids we have or more don't have. When your extended midfield unit is not as polished at the bottom end like ours I think it's better to just get it forward more often than not as one of those quick throw handbills backwards is more likely to go astray.

 

[Diesel Power]

We also need to practice what has now become the art of dropping or spilling the ball to advantage.

Also tapping the ball on to team mates rather than taking possession. In one exchange during the hawks v cats games I think there were 4-5 taps in a row at one stage before a hawks player actually took possession of the footy.

 

[ShanDog]

I would guess that there are several reasons we seem to throw the ball onto the boot quickly. Number one is the concept that getting the ball forward quickly creates problems for opposition defenders; they are reactive and can't peel off from their man to help out a team mate by being 3rd man up etc. Kicking quickly out of a centre square ball-up is an effective tactic.

The fact that we have forwards who are very good at contested marking such as Casboult, Waite and Kreuzer when resting means this is playing to our strengths. Unfortunately, none of those three have been consistently playing games and Kreuzer has been ordinary up forward. I reckon Mick had us going into the season with this as our tactic, expecting to reap reward from it when circumstance has meant it didn't occur. Carrazzo being missing for much of the season didn't help either - he was showing last year that he was brilliant at crumbing the ruckman and getting kicks away.

Having said all that, I completely agree with the OP - there is a time and a place for a blind kick forward and it certainly isn't across the half back line on the boundary, or deep in defence. The best teams in the comp have shown that linking up with handballs to create a free player who can pass with accuracy or simply running it out of defence is doable and effective.

 

[LanceRomance]

We also need to practice what has now become the art of dropping or spilling the ball to advantage.

Also tapping the ball on to team mates rather than taking possession. In one exchange during the hawks v cats games I think there were 4-5 taps in a row at one stage before a hawks player actually took possession of the footy.

We also need to learn how to throw the ball and not get pinged.

Hawks, Swans, and Cats have been doing it for ages.

 

[T2B_]

the best teams have mastered the in close throw

We also need to learn how to throw the ball and not get pinged.

Hawks, Swans, and Cats have been doing it for ages.

Amazes me that more isn't made of this (or noticed..?)

I reckon I could count 30 throws in those games easily.

 

[gbatman]

just not the quality and depth in the midfield.

 

[Blue since 72]

Great op.

We certainly don't get value for our possessions out of the stoppage because, as already mentioned, there is far too much throwing it on the boot as the first option and I certainly think this type of play is the result of the people we have playing in the middle.

Watching Freo on Saturday was a case in point. At stoppages players didn't get sucked into the contest, there was usually one guy at the drop of the ball with options waiting on the outside for the handball.

Their effective use of handball as the first option to a guy on the outside who was able to run away and/or deliver with precision down field (because he had that extra bit of time to deliver properly) was fantastic.

Think there is a case to make for a number of their main mids being bigger bodies in the 6 2/3 range too (a lot harder to move/tackle/bring to ground at a stoppage).

Would much rather use Freo's stoppage model than our throw it on the boot and hope one and this is exactly where clearance stats in isolation are misleading. Sure we won more clearances than not this year but what sort of value did we get out of it. The opposition ended up with our clearance far more than they should have.

Have really missed Carrots ball winning and quick hands in close this year and I hope next year with Ed stepping up that Carrots gets to play in the middle and is given free rein to attack at stoppages.

Gibbs should play there full time and I'd rather see Murph playing more outside where he can use his run and carry and scoring ability.

If we could snag a couple of quality, stoppage mids (bigger, solid ones would be even better) this off season I'd be a happy man.

Addressing our lack of quality around the ball is an absolute priority if you look at who we currently have and will also change the way we play at stoppages:

Yes to: Gibbs, Maclean, Carrots and Ed

Rotating: Judd, Murph

No to: Robbo (provides great bash and crash but we also need polish in tight), Army (doesn't have the skill set/footballing nouse to play in the middle; best spot is defensive forward), Ellard (just too small)

Question marks: Bell (just not sure, love the big frame, the intent is great and is very good below the knees but bumps when he should tackle, disposal by foot unless going for goal is average and appears to be a slow thinker), Cachia (similar to Bell re size although has better skills; undecided TBH), Graham (Maclean like; shouldn't have two of them there at the same time), Menzel (could certainly see him in there with some additional muscle and fitness but who knows what Mick wants to do with him)

Currently we just don't have the quality we need playing through the middle.

 

[T2B_]

Watching Freo on Saturday was a case in point. At stoppages players didn't get sucked into the contest, there was usually one guy at the drop of the ball with options waiting on the outside for the handball.

If we did that, we'd be labelled bruise-free front-runners

 

[Blue since 72]

If we did that, we'd be labelled bruise-free front-runners

That would only happen if we lost the game.

 

[thebluelagoon]

maybe we win more stoppages because we put more blokes closer to the drop of the ball and less on the outer to receive that hanball/throw. then we throw in on the boot cause that is the only option...

seems to be easy to throw the loose man back and and pick off that quick kick forward. seems a bit too predictable.

 

[Blue since 72]

maybe we win more stoppages because we put more blokes closer to the drop of the ball and less on the outer to receive that hanball/throw. then we throw in on the boot cause that is the only option...

seems to be easy to throw the loose man back and and pick off that quick kick forward. seems a bit too predictable.

Certainly right about that. Far too easy for teams like geelong who play a loose man back to cut off our forward thrusts and set up their attack.

In fact it would be a simple tactic for all teams against us because we send it blindly forward from stoppages far too often.

 

[thylacine60]

Defiant game plan issue. Uncontested possession count of SFA would also indicate lack of indication to handball from the coaches box.

In the clenches we get it and throw it in a boot to get a clearance. Personally I'd like to see us flip it around a bit more and lower the eyes once we get a clearance.

Walker and Simmo are really the only guys in our side that will look to be an option by handball after a short kick.
Need more run and we will get more handball

This. We all see it in the rooms and during the warm up but we don't take what I call the million hands maneuver into the game. The Swans cut us to ribbons with it in the final.

 

[forwardflanker]

Get used to it, MM hates the handball. Always has.

 

[Blue since 72]

Get used to it, MM hates the handball. Always has.

Your midfield was pretty good in close, at least when he was there. Far as I'm concerned the bigger part of our problem is the lack of quality around the ball rather than any particular stoppage philosophy.

We don't have any run for one thing, Murphy's more damaging on the outside and was hampered with leg issues all season, Gibbs was in and out of the middle all season, Carrazzo played bugger all games, Judd's body is shot and is probably more value to us nowadays on a HFF.

Curnow's been a positive and stepped up as a quality tagger but guys like Robbo, Armfield, Bell and Cachia are second stringers and have deficiencies (Bell and Cachia may make it) but Armfield isn't suited to the middle.

Obviously why we're going after Thomas but we need more quality, young mids who provide hardness at the contest and run both ways.

 

[95blues]

That and our inability to do the 25 metre chip kick over the man on the mark drive me insane.

One leaves us kicking the ball straight to the opposition after winning a clearance and the other leaves us stranded in the HBF and bombing long even when we have the overlap.

 

[Korn]

Our players can't even pick up the ball off the ground properly.