Team Strategy Questions

Davo23

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Thread starter #1
A couple of strategies we used this year have fascinated me. I'm not sure I know how they work, but they sure have worked brilliantly this year.

1. Fast Scoring: in several games, we have racked up 5, 6, up to 10 consecutive goals against opposition teams. Nearly every time, we turned the game on its head and went on to notch easy wins. The obvious ones were against Geelong and the Swans, but even against Collingwood and Carlton, we just blew them out of the water.

Are these planned?
Why does it happen in the third quarter?
Do the coaches say, it's time, let's turn it on?
Or is it that the other teams can't handle our relentless pressure and cave in?

2. Hodge & Burgoyne playing various positions: these 2 players pop up in every position around the ground. Hodge regularly scores goals, e.g. in the Grand Final, yet next minute he's spoiling Buddy in the last line. Burgoyne is the same, he just turns up everywhere the ball is there to be won.

Are these planned by the coaches?
Or do Hodgey & Burgs just decide when to go?
Is it a coaching strategy to confuse the opposition?

I suspect it may be a combination of all of the above.
 

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#2
I don't think you plan to kick multiple goals quickly, it's an outcome of how well you are playing.

I generally think we have big run ons in the second half because:

a) the coaches have had time at half time to make a few changes to free us up a bit and negate what has been thrown at us in the first half

b) as our opponents tire the game opens up a bit and our elite footskills, outside runners and great decision makers, enable us to move the ball very quickly into dangerous positions, hence we score a lot
 

Tayl0r

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Clarkson leaves the 1st choice team in position for ten minutes longer, running them out a bit but putting a gap on the scoreboard.
 

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Maybe Clarko has had a chance to really look at the setups of the other teams by half-time, then changes/tweaks positions accordingly. Maybe a matter of not changing a lot, but a little in order to account for the differences in playing styles/players from team to team, match to match etc.
 
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From here in I think we will restrict the number of games a player can play. For example, make it so that nobody plays more than 18 games in the regular season, giving us a chance to rest the oldies and develop the young ones. It's the most obvious next evolution of the game and we were almost forced into it in 2014.

Key position forward is just about the only one where we don't have a ready made replacement. Even so we do have Schoenmakers and Tim O'B who can come in and play.

The ideal outcome is to play the grand final and have Mitchell hodge and Burgoyne fit and fresh enough to play midfield for most of the game.
 

tommyk72

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From here in I think we will restrict the number of games a player can play. For example, make it so that nobody plays more than 18 games in the regular season, giving us a chance to rest the oldies and develop the young ones. It's the most obvious next evolution of the game and we were almost forced into it in 2014.

Key position forward is just about the only one where we don't have a ready made replacement. Even so we do have Schoenmakers and Tim O'B who can come in and play.

The ideal outcome is to play the grand final and have Mitchell hodge and Burgoyne fit and fresh enough to play midfield for most of the game.
Agree. Though it will be interesting to see how they manage the form. I'm assuming it will involve training blocks, not box hill. But then they will need to consider touch, and also not pushing EXTRA hard so the players end up doing a fatigue injury!
 

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#11
A couple of strategies we used this year have fascinated me. I'm not sure I know how they work, but they sure have worked brilliantly this year.

1. Fast Scoring: in several games, we have racked up 5, 6, up to 10 consecutive goals against opposition teams. Nearly every time, we turned the game on its head and went on to notch easy wins. The obvious ones were against Geelong and the Swans, but even against Collingwood and Carlton, we just blew them out of the water.
I have no idea quite how we are able to do this, although consistently winning the clearance after we've goaled and scoring another one straight after has certainly played a a part.

What interests me is the other thing that we do which is the mirror image of this.

Basically many, many times this year when the opposition is dominating us and sometimes really quite heavily we manage to stop it being reflected on the scoreboard.

I seem to remember a number of first quarters especially where this happened and the commentators are saying so and so should really be more ahead here, the score doesn't reflect the game so far and I'd be thinking f**ing aye it doesn't.

You can't really put a price on how valuable these 2 things are, manage to cause havoc the scoreboard to utterly maximise your own periods of dominance and then somehow speed up time to make it so the opposition gets nowhere near value for their own.


I know that almost everyone says that the game is won in the middle but I disagree with that to some degree, I think dominance is created in the middle but it's won at both ends and I think these 2 trends are examples of that.


Oh and accurate kicking for goal must play a part, stops those runs of behinds that used to be so frustrating.
 

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#12
Why does it happen in the third quarter?
On the 3rd quarter thing, I don't think that there's any doubt that a mixture of our massive amount of rotating through the middle and the fact that we de-bulked a lot of our list a few years back has given us a huge running edge as the game wears on(which was done when they reduced the interchange...so great forward thinking there from Russell.......Realhawk!), it's the 3rd quarter not the 4th quarter because usually we break the game apart in the 3rd and can sit back in the 4th.

You almost feel at times that we're happy to be close at half time, with even fairly average teams, knowing that we'll run over them.

Geelong QF is a great example, I think they were the worst performed second half side in comparison to the first, after the game they interviewed Hill, and being no respecter of politically correct faux respect to the opposition, he gave out the most magnificent troll by saying 'We knew if we were close with them at half time then we'd run over them in the second half'.

Obviously that is what had been said behind closed doors in the lead up to the game but you'd have thought someone would have told the cheeky young blighter that we don't say that kind of thing in public, we say 'Oh we knew that Geelong would give us a tough contest for the whole of the match'. Play the game son, we can't have grinning little mavericks like you telling it how it is.
 

Davo23

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Thread starter #13
On the 3rd quarter thing, I don't think that there's any doubt that a mixture of our massive amount of rotating through the middle and the fact that we de-bulked a lot of our list a few years back has given us a huge running edge as the game wears on(which was done when they reduced the interchange...so great forward thinking there from Russell.......Realhawk!), it's the 3rd quarter not the 4th quarter because usually we break the game apart in the 3rd and can sit back in the 4th.

You almost feel at times that we're happy to be close at half time, with even fairly average teams, knowing that we'll run over them.

Geelong QF is a great example, I think they were the worst performed second half side in comparison to the first, after the game they interviewed Hill, and being no respecter of politically correct faux respect to the opposition, he gave out the most magnificent troll by saying 'We knew if we were close with them at half time then we'd run over them in the second half'.

Obviously that is what had been said behind closed doors in the lead up to the game but you'd have thought someone would have told the cheeky young blighter that we don't say that kind of thing in public, we say 'Oh we knew that Geelong would give us a tough contest for the whole of the match'. Play the game son, we can't have grinning little mavericks like you telling it how it is.

I also felt we were confident that, when we had to, we could turn on the power and get away from any team, and it was interesting that many different players were involved, not just the Holy Trinity "Hodge Mitchell Burgoyne".

What I also like is that the consecutive goals after came in different ways; we didn't just kick goals from centre bounces, but many were turnovers in midfield, or coast-to-coast goals from defence.

I just watched the 3rd quarter of the Round 18 game vs Sydney and 3 goals came from the last line of defence, including that brilliant Suckling-Birchall-Breust goal.

I reckon that goal broke Sydney's confidence.
 

B&GBlood

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#14
We definitely have a "boss" mode where when we get the chance we seem to up the ante around the ball especially in the forward half. I think we can do this because we are able to conserve energy with our style of possession play.
I have referred to this, as have others, as Rope-a-dope. Take the oppositions sting, minimise their scoring and strike after they have spent their tickets.

Clarko has a game style to match any team now and the boys have the ability to play hard contested footy and collectively have superior foot skills to all others. We have the smarts, the skills, the fitness but most of all the desire to win.
 
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#15
I also felt we were confident that, when we had to, we could turn on the power and get away from any team, and it was interesting that many different players were involved, not just the Holy Trinity "Hodge Mitchell Burgoyne".

What I also like is that the consecutive goals after came in different ways; we didn't just kick goals from centre bounces, but many were turnovers in midfield, or coast-to-coast goals from defence.

I just watched the 3rd quarter of the Round 18 game vs Sydney and 3 goals came from the last line of defence, including that brilliant Suckling-Birchall-Breust goal.

I reckon that goal broke Sydney's confidence.
Was the one when Breust took that ridiculous look-away grab on Nick Smith?
 

Easy Slips Catch

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#16
Will be a big test for Clarko. He pretty much set up a game plan that exploited the plus one down back. I think he will stick with attack first so we'll still kick 100 points more often than not.
 

Davo23

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Thread starter #17
Was the one when Breust took that ridiculous look-away grab on Nick Smith?

Yes, that was one of the goals of the year, straight down the middle of the ground, Breust outjumps Smith and takes a great mark.

I've replayed that incident many times for inspiration!
 

dcutter

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#18
The rope a dope theory is an interesting one. I wouldn't say its a strategy as such but we do seem to have an innate ability to crucify teams as soon as their concentration wanes.

Our counter punch is extremely swift and brutal.

The 2nd geelong game springs to mind as does the rd 18 sydney game. Theres a host of other things that aid this - clarkos pro active nature in the coaches box, the phenomenal versatility we have.

Would love to know if clarko does actually educate the guys on this rope a dope strategy - knowing when the opposing team is tiring, relaxing a little etc.
Also you gotta wonder how much clarkos teaching degree brings to his coaching, seems have such a grasp on the a players psychology.

Bring on the clarko biography, will make for some serious reading
 
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#20
The use of the word strategy here is key....I think it comes back to our coaching panel & game day data analysis, whereby we are able to identify the set-ups, patterns & strengths & weaknesses of the opposition to half time....We are then able to adapt our game-day strategies to these after half-time in order to maximize taking advantage of them via positional formatting & key match-up criteria!

It also helps that we are blessed with the most flexible side in the comp where we can rotate so many blokes thu the middle, forward & back of centre....This strategy inevitably throws the oppositions coaches box into confusion in attempting to 'keep up' with it....Seldom does an opposition have the necessary game-day artillery, to counter these maneuvers!

It is the use of such strategies that has finally enabled us to get the upper hand on the Cats to break their heretofore strangle hold over us!
 

TheFourPillars

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#21
The use of the word strategy here is key....I think it comes back to our coaching panel & game day data analysis, whereby we are able to identify the set-ups, patterns & strengths & weaknesses of the opposition to half time....We are then able to adapt our game-day strategies to these after half-time in order to maximize taking advantage of them via positional formatting & key match-up criteria!

It also helps that we are blessed with the most flexible side in the comp where we can rotate so many blokes thu the middle, forward & back of centre....This strategy inevitably throws the oppositions coaches box into confusion in attempting to 'keep up' with it....Seldom does an opposition have the necessary game-day artillery, to counter these maneuvers!

It is the use of such strategies that has finally enabled us to get the upper hand on the Cats to break their heretofore strangle hold over us!
This didn't happen by accident
 

threesixpio

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The use of the word strategy here is key....I think it comes back to our coaching panel & game day data analysis, whereby we are able to identify the set-ups, patterns & strengths & weaknesses of the opposition to half time....We are then able to adapt our game-day strategies to these after half-time in order to maximize taking advantage of them via positional formatting & key match-up criteria!

It also helps that we are blessed with the most flexible side in the comp where we can rotate so many blokes thu the middle, forward & back of centre....This strategy inevitably throws the oppositions coaches box into confusion in attempting to 'keep up' with it....Seldom does an opposition have the necessary game-day artillery, to counter these maneuvers!

It is the use of such strategies that has finally enabled us to get the upper hand on the Cats to break their heretofore strangle hold over us!
That second Geelong game is a great example. Head was in hands for most of second half. Nek minit fist pumping Langers lead changing goal.
 
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#23
That second Geelong game is a great example. Head was in hands for most of second half. Nek minit fist pumping Langers lead changing goal.
Langford replacing Sewell in our midfield has changed the dynamic in there entirely & teams like Geelong were taken aback by it & have yet to adapt accordingly....His inclusion was to me the game changer in snapping the Cats hold, as both games against them, he proved to be the difference IMO!
 

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#25
Having two of the best elite runners in the competition side by side in Smith and Hill has certainly helped us in a lot of games over the last two years. We finish off games strongly. The stats show that every time Bradley Hill gets the ball, it usually leads to a scoring chain. Ever since he came into our team in Round 1 last year, we look so much better on the outside.
 
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