Style

[brysie]

Watching yesterday's game next to two work colleagues, one a Richmond fan, the other a Hawks fan, wasn't the most pleasant way to spend a Saturday afternoon, although thankfully we haven't had many days like yesterday this year.

One thing that stood out to us all was the predictability of our play. Too many times we were content to move the ball down the wings, allowing Richmond to set up behind the ball too easily.

I just read a post on the main forum where someone predicted that Thompson will be coaching us next. Personally I don't see it happening, but it reminded me of a comment I made yesterday to my colleagues the effect that I would prefer that we play a less structured game and a little more like Geelong, just not the same blind willingness to go through the middle.

For me, two passages of play stood out like the proverbial yesterday.

1. Cloke gained possession of the ball on the back of the centre square and instead of transferring to the wing, looked inside and managed to hit one of our players through the middle on the other side of the square, thereby opening up the full forward 50.

2. There was a passage of play in our forward 50 (which lasted maybe a minute) where both sides were really cracking in and Richmond were struggling to get outside our forward half. There were a few moments where the umpires should've but didn't award a free kick to either side (Varcoe dragging a Richmond player down springs to mind), however aside from that it was two sides having an absolute red hot crack with Richmond looking to, and eventually, winning the ball from the stoppage and transitioning out of forward 50.

Moment number 2 is significant as for me it is the absolute bare minimum standard which our players should be producing in relation to intensity and defensive pressure. That was sorely lacking yesterday.

Moment number 1 is a style which requires the team to execute Moment 2-like pressure to be effective, however, in my opinion, it's much more effective than our current approach. When on song, our current approach is effective, however I think that if we're even 2% off (not like yesterday, but think maybe North first half or Geelong first half) we won't put teams to the sword using that system, as opposed to capitalising quickly and effectively on opposition errors, even if we're a little off throughout games.

Do you have a preferred style of football, or any concerns over our current set up, or is it simply growing pains?

For me the answer is to recruit some pace into our midfield, strengthen our half back line / wings and begin to cull players like Blair (if he's not seriously looked at by the coaching staff after yesterday, there's something wrong).

 

[loki04]

Bulldogs play a good brand of footy.

Lions 01 -04 plus Port 01 - 04 played excellent brands of footy dome of the best ive seen.

Geelongs was good but didn't have the other 2 aboves hardness and white line fever.
Some will argue Ports hardness over failing to make GFs but imo they were unlucky to meet bogey teams onbtheir side of the draw namely us 2 years running. All teams have them even Geelong and now Hawks.

 

[Baltimore Jack]

For me, I have always been an admirer of the Sydney " sling shot" style of play, but of course a team needs the players and a lot of time to develop something like that

Styles (game plans) change throughout the year, but Sydney tend to stick with theirs even when they are getting a thumping.
I also like the way West Coast have taken Clarkeson's 'style' and have a zone defence that they maintain no matter what else is happening.

 

[brysie]

I think we have a reasonably versatile side to play a number of styles, and would like to see us play a more direct style.

Players like Motlop, Treloar and Aish for me would be very good pick-ups over the off-season. I'd like another KPF, but the options are limited this year and Darcy deserves first crack at establishing himself as our next big thing

 

[loki04]

Can draft a kpf and have him serve a 2 year apprenticeship in the vfl hell Hogan basically did 3 years in VFL with some sporadic AFL games thrown in.

Takes 4 years for most KPF to play consistant AFL footy by which time Cloke will be ready to be replaced.

In 4 years time Moore can't be a lone hand up there and you can't rely on FA to source them as majority of clubs will only let Lynch and White types go. Unless you offer a salary cap buster deal which would screw them anywaym

 

[Robroy22]

you've got to have the players to play the style

which comes first? the players or the style?

 

[brysie]

I think the style comes first, although modified.

The players we have I think are adaptable enough to play a more direct style, however this can be refined with recruiting and drafting, with players like Blair and Fasolo replaced if they can't adapt or aren't suited.

Fasolo was deservedly subbed yesterday, which is disappointing as he can offer so much more than what we're getting from him at the moment

 

[Buena]

I agree about the predictable play down the wing, and high loping kick inside 50. It's slow, gives defenders all the time in the world to defend, and can't produce a winning score. More to the point, it's awful to watch. Richmond tore us apart through the middle yesterday, I know we were mentally switched off, but we don't seem willing to attack the corridor at all anymore

 

[Palmer Stoat]

Our poor ball use means that any 'style' we're attempting to play -- and I actually find it hard to identify any unifying theme in how we move the ball -- is DOA. Buckley could be playing 11-dimensional chess in the coaches' box, but it wouldn't matter. We aren't skillful enough by foot or, depressingly, even by hand to routinely retain or transfer the football in a way that allows us to execute a 'style' consistently under pressure.

Too little attention has been paid to kicking skills for too long. And now it's biting us in the arse.

In the second half of the season, when the brave, high-energy, labour-intensive style starts to flag, what do we have to fall back on? Not a lot from what I can see. We don't score enough easy goals. We slog. If we had better skill and the structures to capitalise on them, we'd be able to sustain our run better, for longer.

While I think we will probably improve next year, and a finals berth wouldn't surprise me, I hope that doesn't paper over the cracks. We need to review the type of players we're recruiting, the teams we're putting out on the field, and how we're asking them to play.

 

[Quicky]

Bulldogs play a good brand of footy.

Lions 01 -04 plus Port 01 - 04 played excellent brands of footy dome of the best ive seen.

Geelongs was good but didn't have the other 2 aboves hardness and white line fever.
Some will argue Ports hardness over failing to make GFs but imo they were unlucky to meet bogey teams onbtheir side of the draw namely us 2 years running. All teams have them even Geelong and now Hawks.

You really can't compare the Lions and Port teams of that era to today's football. It just doesn't translate. The use of the interchange was so different then, lucky to have 20-30 in a game. This meant that you still had to play your traditional positions because it was too taxing to run forward and back. When interchanges began to occur in greater numbers it allowed more sophisticated zoning from the back half, middle and forward and eventually into this rolling maul we see nowadays. If you want to see that sort of footy again you would need to cap interchanges to something like 30 or 40 a game. You could regulate that into the game if you wanted, and you would get a more traditional 80's style of footy again.

With the modern game, I would be looking at the Hawthorn blue print for attractive football.

 

[frizzle]

I admire the way the doggies play & enjoy watching them. Same with the Eagles.
Fast, run & carry & heavy scoring. We are as exciting as watching grass grow at the moment.
Wins & losses affect crowds for sure, but our style is not going to get bums on seats either. Frustrating style to watch.

 

[Hagla]

I think we hold it up too much, every time we take a mark we seem to stop prop and wait for an option. During that hold up more numbers flood back behind play and by the time we get within range of going inside 50 or forward line has almost everyone else on the field in it. Part of the reason we need to hold it up though is because we kick at our player rather than kicking to the space he's running into.

 

[HFF]

This sums it up for me....

Our game is based on manic pressure and then pressing up into our Forward half.

Clearly doesn't work, and if you look at the best side they dont press as high as us.

Instead they kill teams on transition.

We need to introduce more speed and better users of the ball to go with the top sides who are more geared to offence.

We are more geared to defence and manic pressure, which you can't sustain for an entire season, as we have now seen twice.

We also have a back six who cannot hit 15-20m moving targets or are afraid to do so. That's big problem when you try and zig/zag the footy to create space and hit targets. The fact that nobody in our back six is willing to do or is incapable means that out presenting forwards/mids will never get easy uncontested ball meaning we cannot transition the ball and cut through teams' defences with ball movement/skill and speed.

 

[brysie]

This sums it up for me....



We also have a back six who cannot hit 15-20m moving targets or are afraid to do so. That's big problem when you try and zig/zag the footy to create space and hit targets. The fact that nobody in our back six is willing to do or is incapable means that out presenting forwards/mids will never get easy uncontested ball meaning we cannot transition the ball and cut through teams' defences with ball movement/skill and speed.

This is a big issue, the lack of polish in our backline. Toovey has been very good for the club, but doesn't run and carry much, and your heart is in your mouth when he's required to dispose of the ball.

Williams is a little the same; has had a stellar season but needs to improve his kicking to move to the next level. Frost and Brown similarly don't set a lot up, but it's not too much their role