Analysis "The game has changed" - 2022 Strategy Talk

[fargothegreat]

We've heard Dimma in pressers throughout the year saying that the game has changed and that we need to adapt, but after watching Port dismantle Geelong's kick-mark keepings off style with Richmond-like forward half pressure last night, I ask you all—has it really changed that much?

Geelong's game style looks great in-season when the pressure is low, but so far hasn't stood up at all in high pressure finals. Its very difficult to play clean precise footy with your opponents constantly breathing down your neck.

Watching Port last night, they countered the stand rule and Geelong's ball movement by doing two things:

1. Playing man-on-man when Geelong was trying to move the ball through the middle of the ground
2. Relentless pressure applied to the ball carrier

Both done with the aim to force a turnover - either through a hurried kick to Port's intercepting backmen, or by executing a tackle. It was textbook Richmond.

Where we need to focus our preseason on in imo is:

• training our players to have the discipline to man up and not allow teams to get those cheap uncontested marks and slice through us in the middle of the ground
• rediscovering our hunger to again become the hunter so we don't get beaten so easily in the middle

But after watching chaos beat control in a final yet again last night, I really don't think drastic changes to our game plan are needed.

 

[4tune8]

We've heard Dimma in pressers throughout the year saying that the game has changed and that we need to adapt, but after watching Port dismantle Geelong's kick-mark keepings off style with Richmond-like forward half pressure last night, I ask you all—has it really changed that much?

Geelong's game style looks great in-season when the pressure is low, but so far hasn't stood up at all in high pressure finals. Its very difficult to play clean precise footy with your opponents constantly breathing down your neck.

Watching Port last night, they countered the stand rule and Geelong's ball movement by doing two things:

1. Playing man-on-man when Geelong was trying to move the ball through the middle of the ground
2. Relentless pressure applied to the ball carrier

Both done with the aim to force a turnover - either through a hurried kick to Port's intercepting backmen, or by executing a tackle. It was textbook Richmond.

Where we need to focus our preseason on in imo is:

• training our players to have the discipline to man up and not allow teams to get those cheap uncontested marks and slice through us in the middle of the ground
• rediscovering our hunger to again become the hunter so we don't get beaten so easily in the middle

But after watching chaos beat control in a final yet again last night, I really don't think drastic changes to our game plan are needed.

I very much agree with this and really hope that our coaches took a lot of notice about what went on.

I reckon if you swapped the Port jumper for the Tigers jumper then was no discernible difference to how we play the game.

A tall forward/s bringing the ball down to ground for the smalls to cash in.

A distinct lack of clearances with the focus on post clearance possession.

Manic pressure.

Speed of ball movement with waves of players linking through forward handballs.

Heaps of pressure on the ball carrier delivering inside 50 leading to intercept possessions.

A ruck that bulldozed at stoppages assisting those applying pressure.

 

[Thrasher97]

I watched the last quarter, but noticed port apply manic pressure, but smart kicks forward and good delivery to their forwards. I think we need to adjust slightly not change drastically

 

[_RT_]

Over the last 4 years we succeeded with a move it forward by any means necessary, hack kicks, blind long bombs, taps & knock ons, pretty much however we could move it forward we did. This year sides were happy to sit back and wait for us to do this and then pick us off knowing that once they got possession our pressure game was effectively rendered useless as we could aggressively mind the mark and take away the easy kicks that teams weren't able to take in previous years. That meant that our defensive structure was often opened up as we weren't able to hold teams up and get our set up behind the ball right. it also didn't help that we had the bulk of our back 6 missing for various parts of the season either. So we need to address our team defensive structure and it will be interesting to see how we set up with Balta Grimes Broad Vlastuin Miller Stack Rioli Short & Mansell as the core of the defensive unit.

Midfield was smashed when it came to contested possessions and clearances and that can be put down to the constant revolving door of players coming in and out of the line up with injuries a constant throughout the 2021 season. However even when we did have our gun midfielders on the park we didn't seem to have the same level of cohesion that we did in the 2020 finals where we were the team that dominated at clearances and contested possessions. Having a fit Nankervis and Soldo will go some way towards fixing the clearance issues, but I think we need to also inject some fresh enthusiasm into the mix and give the likes of RCD Ross Martyn & Dow an opportunity to establish themselves in the midfield and IMO they showed during the last game and also at VFL level that they are good enough to be played.

The other thing with our midfield/defensive units is the ball movement needs to improve in terms of being smarter and more unpredictable in how we enter F50. This year I think we all got frustrated watching us constantly bomb it long and high to the square and expect Lynch and Jack to sit on blokes heads or take big contested pack marks. We need to use the stand rule to good effect and start getting the ball into the hands of our better ball users in dangerous positions so that they can take the attacking 45 degree kick to open up the play. We need to create space inside our F50 so that we can use Jack Tom and CCJ on the lead or at the very least create separation so that they're competing 1-1 rather than in packs of 5 & 6.

If we can add some more outside class to the midfield and can continue to use the likes of Short Rioli and Stack coming out of D50 I think we can achieve better ball movement and with the return of our injured defenders our defensive structure should improve as well.

 

[tigerdan]

The stand rule ****ed us up the arse but given how shit it made the game as a whole, I would not be surprised if it's ****ed off for next year.

The main thing I saw was when we played Melbourne, when we were attacking the ball carrier, the Melbourne players would keep handballing the ball backwards and our pressuring players (often a gang of 3) would end up running past and unless they stuck a tackle, the Melbourne players just waltzed it away with no pressure.

That was the main thing I saw of our gameplan being unpicked this year.

 

[Thrasher97]

The stand rule f’ed us up the arse but given how sh*t it made the game as a whole, I would not be surprised if it's f’ed off for next year.

The main thing I saw was when we played Melbourne, when we were attacking the ball carrier, the Melbourne players would keep handballing the ball backwards and our pressuring players (often a gang of 3) would end up running past and unless they stuck a tackle, the Melbourne players just waltzed it away with no pressure.

That was the main thing I saw of our gameplan being unpicked this year.

I would hope the stand rule is pissed off, but Good ol' Gill says it's staying, the bloody dickhead.

Edit: tigerdan was calling Gill a Dickhead obvs not you. (I wrote it bad before)

 

[Bird Man]

we give away way to many free kicks and it was clear in some of the last few final games free kicks in the middle of the park are golden.

I think we lack the quality in midfield our only genuine inside mid that can win clearances is Prestia and he is injured 70% of the time. If we decided to do a full rebuild i would trade him for a top 5 pick as his reliability is something we can not rely on. If we had maybe two more A+ mids we could cover him being.
absent.

Tigers play a money ball recruitment stratagem and we need to go and lure players out of clubs that can win the football.

 

[Rifles]

Over the last 4 years we succeeded with a move it forward by any means necessary, hack kicks, blind long bombs, taps & knock ons, pretty much however we could move it forward we did. This year sides were happy to sit back and wait for us to do this and then pick us off knowing that once they got possession our pressure game was effectively rendered useless as we could aggressively mind the mark and take away the easy kicks that teams weren't able to take in previous years. That meant that our defensive structure was often opened up as we weren't able to hold teams up and get our set up behind the ball right. it also didn't help that we had the bulk of our back 6 missing for various parts of the season either. So we need to address our team defensive structure and it will be interesting to see how we set up with Balta Grimes Broad Vlastuin Miller Stack Rioli Short & Mansell as the core of the defensive unit.

Midfield was smashed when it came to contested possessions and clearances and that can be put down to the constant revolving door of players coming in and out of the line up with injuries a constant throughout the 2021 season. However even when we did have our gun midfielders on the park we didn't seem to have the same level of cohesion that we did in the 2020 finals where we were the team that dominated at clearances and contested possessions. Having a fit Nankervis and Soldo will go some way towards fixing the clearance issues, but I think we need to also inject some fresh enthusiasm into the mix and give the likes of RCD Ross Martyn & Dow an opportunity to establish themselves in the midfield and IMO they showed during the last game and also at VFL level that they are good enough to be played.

The other thing with our midfield/defensive units is the ball movement needs to improve in terms of being smarter and more unpredictable in how we enter F50. This year I think we all got frustrated watching us constantly bomb it long and high to the square and expect Lynch and Jack to sit on blokes heads or take big contested pack marks. We need to use the stand rule to good effect and start getting the ball into the hands of our better ball users in dangerous positions so that they can take the attacking 45 degree kick to open up the play. We need to create space inside our F50 so that we can use Jack Tom and CCJ on the lead or at the very least create separation so that they're competing 1-1 rather than in packs of 5 & 6.

If we can add some more outside class to the midfield and can continue to use the likes of Short Rioli and Stack coming out of D50 I think we can achieve better ball movement and with the return of our injured defenders our defensive structure should improve as well.

Go Dees gave had ridiculous numbers deep in defence. Sling shot from the goal line almost. Fwd 50 entries. Free up lynch to play as a leading fwd. Maybe there is hope for caddy yet.also think it's our wings. We need precision kickers not one on one wins with a hack fwd.

 

[tigerdan]

I would hope the stand rule is pissed off, but Good ol' Gill says it's staying, the bloody dickhead.

Edit: tigerdan was calling Gill a Dickhead obvs not you. (I wrote it bad before)

Yep no dramas mate, the angry emoji was directed at Gil!

 

[TigerImposter]

Our game plan was so evident in the Port v Cats game and I mentioned this in the Opposition Thread. You need the right cattle to execute it, unfortunately for us Age, injuries and lack of depth has caught up with us. A few good picks and some good ready made trades could help, but we still need a coaching team that can develop it into the new faces so they can work with the team ethos.

 

[smasha]

We've heard Dimma in pressers throughout the year saying that the game has changed and that we need to adapt, but after watching Port dismantle Geelong's kick-mark keepings off style with Richmond-like forward half pressure last night, I ask you all—has it really changed that much?

Geelong's game style looks great in-season when the pressure is low, but so far hasn't stood up at all in high pressure finals. Its very difficult to play clean precise footy with your opponents constantly breathing down your neck.

Watching Port last night, they countered the stand rule and Geelong's ball movement by doing two things:

1. Playing man-on-man when Geelong was trying to move the ball through the middle of the ground
2. Relentless pressure applied to the ball carrier

Both done with the aim to force a turnover - either through a hurried kick to Port's intercepting backmen, or by executing a tackle. It was textbook Richmond.

Where we need to focus our preseason on in imo is:

• training our players to have the discipline to man up and not allow teams to get those cheap uncontested marks and slice through us in the middle of the ground
• rediscovering our hunger to again become the hunter so we don't get beaten so easily in the middle

But after watching chaos beat control in a final yet again last night, I really don't think drastic changes to our game plan are needed.

Port a full list.
Hocking stopped us with the rules but we were dealt a severe blow with multiple injuries to crucial players on a weekly basis.
As soon as we get one player back,another two or three would go down.
Soldo and Balta are critical losses.
On the bright side,we have fast tracked some players like RCD,CCJ,Dow,Mansell,Martyn,Ross,Miller,Rioli Jr.

Stack looks great again.

Oppo clubs have went through our club like a carcass.
When you are winning,everyone comes for you.
Hawks suffered the same fate but getting back on track but they also lost Clarko which must hurt quite a few Hawks fans.

 

[Barry_Badrinath]

I thought the same thing watching Port. Their use of the forward handball was eerily similar. It was like watching us again

 

[69vintage]

We only conceded 3 more uncontested marks this year per game than 2019 so not a big change .Our injuries and lack of confidence is what hurt us this year .

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[69vintage]

I thought the same thing watching Port. Their use of the forward handball was eerily similar. It was like watching us again

Shows Hinkley has looked at his sides strength in the amount of small quick players they have and he knows first hand that game style stacks up .

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[Vauclose]

its not our style of play that hurt us this year. It was our inability to consistently execute it. We got crucified by the umpires. Caroline Wilson was right, the AFL didn’t want us in the finals. She also mentioned how Gale was consigned to the naughty corner at a meeting of AFL executives and club CEO’s held at Werribee mansion. Maybe it was our call for an independent review into the governance of the AFL last year that kicked things off. Plus the push for Gale to replace Gil when he steps aside. Something Gil isn’t enamoured with. Don’t upset the boys club. With this in mind, think back to the first time we played Brisbane at the Gabba. I’ve never seen umpiring like. Then we had that muppet Brayshaw commentating the game, pretending that the free kick differential was due to how we played the game. Our line coaches haven‘t been suited to their allocated roles. We haven’t replaced like with like - Leppitsch, Rutten and McRae. We desperately miss Caracella. Plus we’ve had a lot of injuries to key personnel. The media talks about Geelong missing Tom Stewart and how it’s destabilised their back 6. Think of the players we’ve missed.

 

[dderpppp]

Hope we take a look at how Sydney attack as well. I like the way they change angles aggressively with their kicks when they stream towards goal.

 

[sante]

We can’t copy a 2021 game style. We need to look at what beats the 2021 game and go with that. If we copy 2021, we’ll fall behind again in 2022

 

[tigerdan]

We were in the hunt until the Eagles game.

Lost three games (including that one) on the back of diabolical and unforgivable umpiring.

Then as others have said, a sequences of back to back injuries that ****ed with our structure week after week.

I didn't like Dimmas weird 2016 gameplan that he tried for a few weeks, it was ****ing shit.

In 1993 the drug cheats won with the baby bombers but they still had a core of experienced guys from the 80s. That's what I want to see us aim for, and I think we can.

This year's finalists are so shit that it's just Melbourne and port and everyone else wasting their time. With a fit team, even with the shit rules I reckon we'll would have at least made the prelim.

Just need to draft we'll this year and I'll be confident of more success and only minor tweaks to the game plan required.

 

[DoItForCaptBlood]

My post in the dynasty thread would be better here I see now. But after watching the Port game, some of us are not only enjoyed the Cats capitulation, but a possible 'up yours' to those who thought the stand rule would improve scoring.

Or perhaps it will when teams further adopt the overlap handball as the best way to take advantage of it, rather than the chip possession.

 

[JAKLAUGHING]

My post in the dynasty thread would be better here I see now. But after watching the Port game, some of us are not only enjoyed the Cats capitulation, but a possible 'up yours' to those who thought the stand rule would improve scoring.

Or perhaps it will when teams further adopt the overlap handball as the best way to take advantage of it, rather than the chip possession.

Very good point...reckon it's why the big massive forward handball and disguised/undisguised 'throw' is the weapon of choice to help circumnavigate the stand rule...and keep momentum in play happening without stop/starting from smaller and smaller kick/mark meters trying to break up/control play...15 reduced to 12 then the nonsense on stilts 10 meters that cost us the WCE game..
Won't be long before we see more and more handball used and then the game will be a weird hybrid of NRL/Netball...where we only stop to kick for goal/scoring

 

[RunningBounce]

I'm yet to be convinced the game's changed all that much. Little bit, maybe, like it changes every year.

Average marks per game:

• 2017 - 93
• 2018 - 90
• 2019 - 91
• 2020 (adjusted for different quarter lengths) - 87
• 2021 - 93

If anything, the game changed in 2020. (For those who care, none of those means are significantly different at 95% confidence.)

I am certain the way oppo play against us has changed.

Average mark differential in our wins in 2021 was +7. In our losses, it's -27. When Hardwick says "we're seeing a lot of uncontested marks", I don't think the "we're" means the entire AFL competition. He means Richmond, specifically, IMO.

Certain teams came at us with chippy-chippy ball movement and a flooded backline. And it worked.

I don't want us to just start again. I reckon that's throwing the baby out with the bathwater. Gotta try to keep the elements of our way of playing that suit our strengths. Difficult to say too much about what's working and what's not when I've only seen maybe 3 games live this season. Just can't see the bigger picture when you're watching on telly.

No doubt, I'll spend the summer kidding myself that I can figure it out watching replays and analysing stats. I'll check back in with more half-arsed floggery, as I make it up.

 

[Dr Tigris]

The big changes are 1) that the stand rule has taken away half of our potential to apply pressure, and 2) that our ability to grind teams down has been broken. The stand rule means that our in your face pressure can be nullified by teams simply doing the chip stuff. So we have to work out how to stop that easy forward chip - see what the successful finals teams do.

But to me the bigger thing is that our ability to grind down teams is limited. The game has been slowed down. How do we keep that pressure on so that teams are forced to do the risky stuff?

Of course the rule changes mean our preferred attacking mode is less successful. So we need to adapt to 1) more kicking to hard leads in holes, and/or 2) more attacking overlapping running into a set defence. In 2021 we found ourselves running into teams with their defences set deeper, so we couldn't open up our forward line. We need to alter our angles of attack, and who we target to break teams open.

This is all really about tinkering with our style so that we can get our mojo back.

I reckon in 2021 we didn't adjust much at all until 1/3 or 1/2 way through the season. By then it was too late.

We trained to play a certain way without thought. That way was 1/2 disabled by SHocking. So what we ned to do is change it up to adjust to the new world and reintroduce the tiger way Mark II.

 

[Dont_Argue]

We need to play man on man and not zone defense - feel like I said that every week this season. We also need to be smarter kicking inside 50 and not hoisting it up and hoping jack/lunch can do something. Also need more intensity when attacking the ball carrier like Port did to Geelong the other night

 

[BKM78]

Not going to repeat all that has been said, which i totally agree with.
Something to mention with the Port game and their ability to pressure:
It was a final, there was a crowd.

 

[A Tiger 4 lyf]

2021s performance has More to do with changes to the gameplan rather than changes to the game


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