Analysis Stoppages vs Spillages

[PintofPale]

I've been watching our past few games intently to see where we're going well and where we're not. I've become concerned that while we're a great stoppages/clearance side, sides are setting up for that and just taking the ball off us when we blaze away forward.

More troublingly, we suck at spillages from marking contests. Perhaps as a result of having so many 190cm+ mids, a lot get sucked to the aerial contest, and when the ball spills the opposition not only have the pllayer that takes the first touch, but the players in support to usefully take the ball forward from the contest.

IMO our best 'spillage' players are Neale, Balla, and Walters. Walters mentioned last because he's just as likely to go the big grab.

It's particularly harrowing in our F50.

Thoughts? Are "spillages" even a stat that anyone measures?

 

[Belnakor]

I think they call them hard ball / loose ball gets.

But it is because we have half the team flying at contests. Nobody other than Walters seems to wait down. and even Walters flys alot of the time.

It means when we don't take a big pack mark the ball gets rebounded out really quickly.

 

[Inquizitor]

Been talking about this with family members the last few weeks. It happens all over the field not just up forward.

Instead of 1-2 going up for a contest it's 2-4 against 1-2 opponents. Even spoiling or splitting the mark with that many in the air leaves several spare opposition players loose for the quick rebound or at the other end a quick shot on goal.

I think I started noticing it against the Doggies when Dickson scored 7. He either wasn't being manned up on or his defender kept getting drawn into the contest - then bang over the back and goal.

There was one instance more than others yesterday that had me shouting at the TV - Mayne and I think PearceD both overcommitted to a tackle that was dodged by the North player on our half forward flank. If one of them had eased up and not gone in so hard they could have laid the tackle on or forced a direction change after the first weave. Instead 2 of our players are eliminated and they just waltz it out.

 

[PintofPale]

Been talking about this with family members the last few weeks. It happens all over the field not just up forward.

Instead of 1-2 going up for a contest it's 2-4 against 1-2 opponents. Even spoiling or splitting the mark with that many in the air leaves several spare opposition players loose for the quick rebound or at the other end a quick shot on goal.

I agree, it's most noticable for me as we kick to contest down the wing.

 

[Grandstan]

Yes, too many up seems like a real confidence problem.
Thought there was also an issue going forward, where North's defence was consistently able to bring the ball over the back of the contest to goalside, where the the defence will always have numbers, and can easily spread and clear. When this is happening you need to make more use of the flanks, where the boundary makes this harder, but we didn't have anyone spreading.
It also seemed like we were kicking it too often to Walters on the hard lead, which meant our best ground ball winner up forward was out of the contest for the loose ball.

 

[GilG]

Is it just me, or over the last few weeks has our tackling been REALLY poor? Just seems as if every time we're close to getting an opponent pinged for holding the ball, he gets a handpass or kick away, or they shrug or break tackles?