The Forward Press

[Geoff]

What are the counters to this type of structure. WC used it well against us in the NAB Cup and when we tried to kick over the top they rebounded with as much pressure as what they were using to hold the ball into their 50. Anyone care to suggest what can be done to counter this tactic?

 

[Kickett Punches Read]

What are the counters to this type of structure. WC used it well against us in the NAB Cup and when we tried to kick over the top they rebounded with as much pressure as what they were using to hold the ball into their 50. Anyone care to suggest what can be done to counter this tactic?

effective use of stephen hill is the best one... get the ball to that boy, let him run and kick it long, such a great line-breaking player... but we also need to make sure that our forwards work back hard enough when they push towards defence so that we dont get the same situation as last weekend where if we break the we have nobody to kick it to

 

[Clay Davis]

1. Strong contested marks down the line (Fyfe/Pavlich)
2. Fast breaks from congestion or going over the zone (Hill/Morabito)
3. Maintaining possession via accurate chip kicks (not sure we're that good at this)
4. Batten down in defence and hold on until a hole opens up in their zone (this seems like what we were trying in game 2)

There'd be a few more, really.

 

[malpaso]

1. Move the ball fast, even if it is short kicks and don't let the pressure settle.
2. Run and support the player with the ball, really everyone needs to provide a target
3. At least 2 forwards need to get up field to prevent the big kick rebounding too quickly.

 

[SPEEDWAGON]

Long kick down the line to a contest and force over the boundary near the wing. Spreads the zone, it's not rocket science. It prevents being caught inside 50 for long periods. New rules may have prevented us doing this effectively.


Sunday night was a good example of why new tactics (fwd press) beats old tactics (flood) - what is the new tactic to beat the fwd press?

Also remember that subi is quite narrow and one of the better grounds to employ the fwd press.

 

[bfff]

It's all pretty much covered by the posts above. On a different tack, if you win the ball in the centre and convert your opportunities then the forward press loses it's power.

 

[Clay Davis]

Long kick down the line to a contest and force over the boundary near the wing. Spreads the zone, it's not rocket science. It prevents being caught inside 50 for long periods. New rules may have prevented us doing this effectively.

Yeah, the out of bounds rule in the NAB cup stops the ability to rely on the boundary line to break the opposition's structure.

Generally go wide and long to a contest and force the ball out if possible. Then you have a stoppage situation outside the forward 50 and the press won't be as constricting.

 

[Bender571]

Flying V

 

[Scham]

Long kicking and contested marking are the key.

 

[longsuffreosupp]

Maybe move the ball around like they do in soccer to bring more of their defenders out?, Then strike.

 

[Taylor]

If we play man on man and rely on our players to win the contest the zone loses it's influence.

We could also group all our players in the middle of the ground, the opposition can then either maintain their zone and we can kick it long to a pack of only dockers blocking for a mark, or they can try and play one-on-one and we can have a fast break out of the pack to mark in space.

 

[Nickos66]

Plenty of good options mentioned already, try to think of how the better teams go about breaking through presses & zones. Hawks use precision chip passing to slice their way through it. Collingwood are well versed at blocking for each other which I like the sound of. Playing the 1%ers and shepherding for each other in conjunction with fast breaks and kicking over zones.

 

[Boppo]

I liked Bluey McKennas brief tactic in the NAB cup last year. A long kick to a tall marking option (Zac Smith) whose job was to bring it to ground front and centre with accuracy where the little guys were swarming.

Worked great a couple of times then seemed to be abandoned, maybe the jig was up. Kick to Sandi or another option where the spill can be directed to a stacked ground level.

 

[Masto]

Didn't Ross Lyon invent the forward press? The Pies took it from the Saints and tweaked it, while we took Collingwoods and tweaked it. I'm sure Ross knows how to counter it.

 

[Freo88]

Flying V

Classic! Imagine running up the field in V formation

 

[FreoRicci]

Long kicks over the press tend to work to a degree, just needed a tall marking target in Pavlich or McPhee or along those lines. Also maybe try to get eagles to go one on one. We were slow with kick ins so maybe after a shot is taken quickly rebound with fast kicks, don't give them time to adapt to the press.

 

[Peanut Gallery]

Get Big Morabito and his biceps on the front of that V.

 

[Jezzitizle]

Bring back the torpedo. Stop our single kick out tactic of kick it to Sandi regardless of all other factors.

 

[refresh]

Didn't Ross Lyon invent the forward press? The Pies took it from the Saints and tweaked it, while we took Collingwoods and tweaked it. I'm sure Ross knows how to counter it.

i got the impression on Sunday Lyon was welcoming the Eagles forward press to see who stood up and absorbed the pressure.

i don't believe he was trying to break the press because
- he removed all forward targets
- left Mayne with 3 - 4 opponents ensuring WC reload
- Suban and Duffield (who we know in match simulation are the designated kickers) did not take any kick ins
- positioned Clarke beside Sandi and kicked there every time

Lyon knows how to deal with it but not in round 1 of the NAB cup.

 

[Jack_the_Ninja]

Bring back the torpedo. Stop our single kick out tactic of kick it to Sandi regardless of all other factors.

Yes, yes this is the answer to it. We have Hurn to kick over the top of any press we encounter right into the centre but I don't know who you blokes have that could match his kicking prowess.

 

[Nickos66]

Subes or Clancee can load up, but I would only go with that option as a last resort, even then if they were gonna do it i'd get them to play on first and gain 10 metres or so before dropping a more accurate but booming drop punt.

 

[strobe00]

i got the impression on Sunday Lyon was welcoming the Eagles forward press to see who stood up and absorbed the pressure.

i don't believe he was trying to break the press because
- he removed all forward targets
- left Mayne with 3 - 4 opponents ensuring WC reload
- Suban and Duffield (who we know in match simulation are the designated kickers) did not take any kick ins
- positioned Clarke beside Sandi and kicked there every time

Lyon knows how to deal with it but not in round 1 of the NAB cup.

Interesting observations.

Was watching on TV (and not paying as much attention as I probably should have either) so didn't pick up a lot of these details.

Quite a few guys on the board mentioned they thought Ross had set it up as a defensive/high-pressure test, but didn't see many clear explanations as to how he'd set it up to ensure that'd be the case.

Much appreciated.

Subes or Clancee can load up, but I would only go with that option as a last resort, even then if they were gonna do it i'd get them to play on first and gain 10 metres or so before dropping a more accurate but booming drop punt.

Suban would be the preference there I suspect. Playing on for 10 metres would be a useful tactic as a change-up, but doing it consistently would put a hell of a lot of pressure on the kicker, or on the short receiver to mark and get rid of it quickly. Having someone able to kick it 60 metres accurately from the goal square is a pretty handy fall-back position.

 

[Harry Reems]

It's basically a two kick process.

Kick 1

You need to hit up a tall target with a weaker opponent in order to enter the press deeply without losing posession of the ball. Need a Fyfe, Sandi, Clark, Griffin or Pav for this, plus you need a good "kicking in" player who can kick the ball long and consistanly hit his target.

Dare I say it, Shannon Hurn is very good at doing this.

Kick 2

You now need to get your small or mid-sized yet pacey forwards at the back of the press to break from their opponents in order to give the current player with ball an area behid the press to clear to. Players like Barlow, Crowley, Mayne and Ballantyne come to mind here.

The Saints were very good at this as they had a Kozistky, Goddard or Reiwoldt as the first target with Milne and Schneider as the 2nd target.

 

[Jack_the_Ninja]

It's basically a two kick process.

Kick 1

You need to hit up a tall target with a weaker opponent in order to enter the press deeply without losing posession of the ball. Need a Fyfe, Sandi, Clark, Griffin or Pav for this, plus you need a good "kicking in" player who can kick the ball long and consistanly hit his target.

Dare I say it, Shannon Hurn is very good at doing this.

Kick 2

You now need to get your small or mid-sized yet pacey forwards at the back of the press to break from their opponents in order to give the current player with ball an area behid the press to clear to. Players like Barlow, Crowley, Mayne and Ballantyne come to mind here.

The Saints were very good at this as they had a Kozistky, Goddard or Reiwoldt as the first target with Milne and Schneider as the 2nd target.

This you have in spades. Who is going to be the designated kicker ? I don't think you have an elite in this department yet.

 

[The Falcon Strike]

Kick 1

You need to hit up a tall target with a weaker opponent in order to enter the press deeply without losing posession of the ball. Need a Fyfe, Sandi, Clark, Griffin or Pav for this, plus you need a good "kicking in" player who can kick the ball long and consistanly hit his target.

Dare I say it, Shannon Hurn is very good at doing this.

Another option for getting through the press is going through it with drilled passes. It takes some skill - but if you can spot up a target 35-40m away with a flat pass, and they turn around and bang it long - you've now gone nigh on 90 metres and well over the press.

Watching Hurn on the weekend - when teams are zoned and you barely have 15 metres between defenders, he could hit a tit without giving the opposition a chance to spoil. Compare that with say Swift who should he try the same would simply lob it up for the easy spoil and turnover.

I see someone before mentioned the flying V in jest - but fck me if I haven't thought about that before. With a zoned defence, if you ran with 12 blokes up the guts with quality handballs - you'd be straight through.