The Zone Game

[TheHonestyPolicy]

Here is an excerpt from Bomber after the Port match.

"The zone game is really hard. We practise it at training. It's just like you don't see anything, and that's why the boys were turning the ball over. It's going to take a bit of getting used to, but it's like many things in football — it will probably hang around for a while and then we will work a way of getting through it easy."
"It's certainly going to be challenging football.
"Like Hawthorn last year — they had an ability to keep sides (from) having entries (inside 50), but once a team got through that cluster, then Hawthorn had a lot of goals kicked against them. That's what happened today; once we got through the flood, then we kicked it to an open forward line. We had a remarkably low entry count, and I think the competition has. There is a high rate of turnovers … it has been difficult."

There was a fair bit of debate regarding turnovers and some of our players last week and I happened to mention with the style of footy coming in it was something we needed to get used to. I thought this was a very frank admission from Thompson and something which might need to be taken on board with regards to assessing how various guys are going this season.

 

[catempire]

I thought the jumper clash didn't help matters in this regard yesterday. Particularly watching on TV, it was quite hard to tell the teams apart.

FWIW, I think we are the best placed team to bust the zone apart. You saw on a couple of occasions that once we hit a chain of handballs through the middle of the ground (which we are very good at), the space in the forward line really opened up and the opposition looked exposed. I thought that this was the case on quite a few occasions in the Round 17 clash last year.

 

[catswhiskers]

Excuse me while I indulge myself here!!!

I sat in the Wade stand last year when geelong played the bullies and for the first time live saw how this zoning works. When the ball was deep in our forward line or being kicked in we left 4 forwards deep in attack and pushed our last defender up to the back of the centre square. The bulldogs then had to get at least on very clean possession in the zone and then one very long kick to get to their forwards over the zone. They couldn't do it.

Yesterday Selwood in the last quarter showed what can happen when he got clean possession just before the centre and then punched a very long kick to our forwards who outnumbered the defence 2:1...... Goal.
This is where the need for quality runners who can kick over the lines comes in . They don't take the after the ball has reached the back of the square the run to accept possession and then kick long to break the lines. Often to a one on one or better. gablett will run past a player with the free or mark every time.

If this is not done quickly the zone pushes back and you have forwards outnumbered. We see this often when other teams try to play the old possession game. There is the need now for the in close composed players with vision who can take possession in close or even draw a tackle and still get the ball off to advantage. Bringing players in to a tackle frees up space. Selwood, Bartel, Ablett Corey excel at this. Any lack of composure and the handball goes astray and the turnover must hurt. Hence the need for quality mids with a brain, if a zone is to be punctured.

Not being able to force a behind and quickly get the ball to a good possession at half back ready for the running half back will make zones more reliable this year I think.

How do you help a zone? Geelong have the players for this, our recruiting has been designed for it. Small fast forwards to make sure the possession that should go long and accurate from the back of the centre is pressured. Varcoe and Burns especially do more of this than anything else. Tackling should wrap up the player and not allow handball- Geelong and other teams with mature players can do this

How do you beat a zone. Who knows but.....Use fast movement= run at the zone (West coast did this first and saved us from all that crap possession footy where the ball was rarely released and no chances were taken and the flood was used when possession was lost). Use handball and penetrating kicks. There is no place for half backs or mids who can't kick long. A strong fit CHF would help too if there must be a contest outside the 50m. A big contest, pack breaking, that gets the ball to the ground with the smalls and mids arriving.

The one thing we don't have is the pack breaker. Hawkins? Simpson is big enough. Even Rooke yesterday did the job in the third quarter when we were able to clear the zone to a one on one.

Obviously I am a frustrated footy theorist, but the game keeps changing and I think this year could be one of the best ever. We should see sides attacking and risking and forwards again getting the benefit of one on ones as some sides consistently chop up the opposition zone.

 

[TheHonestyPolicy]

I thought the jumper clash didn't help matters in this regard yesterday. Particularly watching on TV, it was quite hard to tell the teams apart.

FWIW, I think we are the best placed team to bust the zone apart. You saw on a couple of occasions that once we hit a chain of handballs through the middle of the ground (which we are very good at), the space in the forward line really opened up and the opposition looked exposed. I thought that this was the case on quite a few occasions in the Round 17 clash last year.

Fair point about the jumpers yesterday.

I recall round 17 when Hawthorn actually tried to go toe to toe with us they broke to an early lead but from memory the first quarter ended with us 6 goals to their 3. In the GF Hawthorn took their chances better than we did but we still created more opportunities, we all know the story. IF our best is still better than theirs the likelihood is getting to play them more than once in the season can only really see a side like Geelong improve to overtake them.

 

[TheHonestyPolicy]

Excuse me while I indulge myself here!!!

I sat in the Wade stand last year when geelong played the bullies and for the first time live saw how this zoning works. When the ball was deep in our forward line or being kicked in we left 4 forwards deep in attack and pushed our last defender up to the back of the centre square. The bulldogs then had to get at least on very clean possession in the zone and then one very long kick to get to their forwards over the zone. They couldn't do it.

Yesterday Selwood in the last quarter showed what can happen when he got clean possession just before the centre and then punched a very long kick to our forwards who outnumbered the defence 2:1...... Goal.
This is where the need for quality runners who can kick over the lines comes in . They don't take the after the ball has reached the back of the square the run to accept possession and then kick long to break the lines. Often to a one on one or better. gablett will run past a player with the free or mark every time.

If this is not done quickly the zone pushes back and you have forwards outnumbered. We see this often when other teams try to play the old possession game. There is the need now for the in close composed players with vision who can take possession in close or even draw a tackle and still get the ball off to advantage. Bringing players in to a tackle frees up space. Selwood, Bartel, Ablett Corey excel at this. Any lack of composure and the handball goes astray and the turnover must hurt. Hence the need for quality mids with a brain, if a zone is to be punctured.

Not being able to force a behind and quickly get the ball to a good possession at half back ready for the running half back will make zones more reliable this year I think.

How do you help a zone? Geelong have the players for this, our recruiting has been designed for it. Small fast forwards to make sure the possession that should go long and accurate from the back of the centre is pressured. Varcoe and Burns especially do more of this than anything else. Tackling should wrap up the player and not allow handball- Geelong and other teams with mature players can do this

How do you beat a zone. Who knows but.....Use fast movement= run at the zone (West coast did this first and saved us from all that crap possession footy where the ball was rarely released and no chances were taken and the flood was used when possession was lost). Use handball and penetrating kicks. There is no place for half backs or mids who can't kick long. A strong fit CHF would help too if there must be a contest outside the 50m. A big contest, pack breaking, that gets the ball to the ground with the smalls and mids arriving.

The one thing we don't have is the pack breaker. Hawkins? Simpson is big enough. Even Rooke yesterday did the job in the third quarter when we were able to clear the zone to a one on one.

Obviously I am a frustrated footy theorist, but the game keeps changing and I think this year could be one of the best ever. We should see sides attacking and risking and forwards again getting the benefit of one on ones as some sides consistently chop up the opposition zone.

You make some good points here. Once the zone is in place it is very tough to break the cluster. Someone able to break the lines and kick over it is one way as you mention but from what we know so far this doesnt happen often enough (although I still would have liked Wojo in the GF)

Geelong broke the flood I think in the same basic way we will need to break the cluster. Clean quick possessions. The difference will largely be that breaking the flood meant quick clean direct footy straight down the corridor. The zone is pretty much specifically designed to stop this style of footy and whilst some have bemoaned players turning the football over in the corridor already this campaign the zone is largely the reason why.

I have to agree and think largely one strong forward (ie Nath) could have made a big difference in the GF and there should be great hopes at Geelong that Hawkins can do the same as even if we are somewhat impeded by the zone guys like that make life very difficult for wrong footed defenders and this happened in the GF but we couldnt capitalise fully.

Breaking the moving zone defense I think will get down to picking your best place to pierce the wall. It will require alot of sophistication but I will equate it to looking for the slower clumsier fielders in cricket and hitting as many balls as you can their way. For instance Hawthorn dont have 10 Hodges no matter how good their support cast might be and Geelong must take the modern game to a new level by finding those preferred options.

Improving enough so we regularly win games against these tactics against sides like Hawthorn is the key. Keep doing that and the pressure mounts on the opposition to change their tactics.

 

[Gaz_Brownlow]

You make some good points here. Once the zone is in place it is very tough to break the cluster. Someone able to break the lines and kick over it is one way as you mention but from what we know so far this doesnt happen often enough (although I still would have liked Wojo in the GF)

Geelong broke the flood I think in the same basic way we will need to break the cluster. Clean quick possessions. The difference will largely be that breaking the flood meant quick clean direct footy straight down the corridor. The zone is pretty much specifically designed to stop this style of footy and whilst some have bemoaned players turning the football over in the corridor already this campaign the zone is largely the reason why.

I have to agree and think largely one strong forward (ie Nath) could have made a big difference in the GF and there should be great hopes at Geelong that Hawkins can do the same as even if we are somewhat impeded by the zone guys like that make life very difficult for wrong footed defenders and this happened in the GF but we couldnt capitalise fully.

Breaking the moving zone defense I think will get down to picking your best place to pierce the wall. It will require alot of sophistication but I will equate it to looking for the slower clumsier fielders in cricket and hitting as many balls as you can their way. For instance Hawthorn dont have 10 Hodges no matter how good their support cast might be and Geelong must take the modern game to a new level by finding those preferred options.

Improving enough so we regularly win games against these tactics against sides like Hawthorn is the key. Keep doing that and the pressure mounts on the opposition to change their tactics.

There are ways to break the zone without being too complicated about it. We don't play soccer - so there is no offside rule to counter, and it sure hasn't progressed into netball (just yet!)... I have seen a few tactics, obviously tidy possession and fast movement work to a tee and fortunately Geelong have the players to make this happen. However one tactic i think that is being ignored is going man on man with the zone - isolating the weak contest and then breaking off the zone when the ball is in dispute. Geelong have the players to make this happen....i.e on a kick in, man up their zone, isolate the weak contest - i.e a Brent Guerra type player, kick within his vicinty (and i mean kick long to the contest) and get front and square immediately. Its not too difficult to employ, and by tagging their space you can stop their rebounding abilities and back yourself in contested football.

TO me good football sides at the moment are defined by the ability of all players to zone off/man up as soon as the ball is lost, and to break free into space as soon as in possession - its not rocket science, and with line breakers like Wojo, Ablett, Chapman and contested possession winners like Selwood, Bartel and Corey, we stand a fair chance of busting up this ugly footy!

 

[TheHonestyPolicy]

There are ways to break the zone without being too complicated about it. We don't play soccer - so there is no offside rule to counter, and it sure hasn't progressed into netball (just yet!)... I have seen a few tactics, obviously tidy possession and fast movement work to a tee and fortunately Geelong have the players to make this happen. However one tactic i think that is being ignored is going man on man with the zone - isolating the weak contest and then breaking off the zone when the ball is in dispute. Geelong have the players to make this happen....i.e on a kick in, man up their zone, isolate the weak contest - i.e a Brent Guerra type player, kick within his vicinty (and i mean kick long to the contest) and get front and square immediately. Its not too difficult to employ, and by tagging their space you can stop their rebounding abilities and back yourself in contested football.

TO me good football sides at the moment are defined by the ability of all players to zone off/man up as soon as the ball is lost, and to break free into space as soon as in possession - its not rocket science, and with line breakers like Wojo, Ablett, Chapman and contested possession winners like Selwood, Bartel and Corey, we stand a fair chance of busting up this ugly footy!

I agree with trying to isolate the weaker contests I just dont think its that simple to do with the way the zone is set up. Man on man will bring alot of players around every contest again and in some ways this would be reverting to a style of footy we played prior to 07 but you never know it may work to some degree even for short periods of a game to break it up. Not that there is a shortage of players around stoppages these days anyway so it can be hard to tell.

I think your second paragraph is why the zone is so hard to break when a really good side is doing it well. The zone sets up and wherever the ball goes players zone off their own man to chase the contest and rebound the ball back when they find their own space to do so. Interesting I am watching a bit of the hawks at the dome now and with a less experienced side in they are struggling against some of their own tactics at times. Carlton when they have possession are trying to take the hawks wide with some effect but they wont be able to do this at the G.

 

[catempire]

Also, just watching a couple of the games this weekend, the zone requires great discipline and fitness and late in the game teams employing it seem to get tired and fall away.

Consequently, only the very fittest teams are going to be able to keep it up for a whole match and the teams with a fitness advantage are going to be hard to hold out. The teams who are able to keep their skill level up late in the game and keep running to position will break the zone down and run over the less fit sides.

 

[Gaz_Brownlow]

Also, just watching a couple of the games this weekend, the zone requires great discipline and fitness and late in the game teams employing it seem to get tired and fall away.

Consequently, only the very fittest teams are going to be able to keep it up for a whole match and the teams with a fitness advantage are going to be hard to hold out. The teams who are able to keep their skill level up late in the game and keep running to position will break the zone down and run over the less fit sides.

I think the key is in being dynamic. Thats were we went wrong in the GF. As has been mentioned, zone structures require a great deal of team discipline and won't always come off, and i think trying to play it out for the entire game is not going to be an effective tactic this year. We have the ability to bring different players into the game with different setups - for instance if we play a zone, then we have great users like Ling, Enright, Milburn and Mackie who can set play up with constructive ball movement - but then we can revert to the old corridor play and use quick movement and line breakers like Wojo, Ablett and hopefully Varcoe.

Defensively our zone would enable third up specialist's Milburn and Harley to float across, but if we are winning contests in the back half anyway (as Taylor will do this year), then we may wish to play a more competitive man on man tactic and create space further up the ground - where waiting in the goal square will be one beheamouth of a man in T. Hawkins!!!

I think Hawthorn will struggle a little this year - they don't have the class of player in Geelong and require enormous discipline to pull off their major game plan (although it does help with L.Franklin in your side). If a team can successfully implement a few setups and execute these at the right times (looking at you Bomber), then they will go a lot further this year.

 

[catswhiskers]

Consequently, only the very fittest teams are going to be able to keep it up for a whole match and the teams with a fitness advantage are going to be hard to hold out. The teams who are able to keep their skill level up late in the game and keep running to position will break the zone down and run over the less fit sides.

Yes, zones require extreme fitness. Zones will fall down in the second half if one side has a fitness edge. It only takes a couple of players to fail to run to the right places and the hole appears. Hawthorn tonight could not maintain their structure (not a word I like) and Carlton gradually got on top.

I just thought also another way to beat a cluster is to win centre breaks. This has occurred less often recently with clean possession rare. We can do it this year with Ottens and his band of smalls - all the forwards have to do is kick straight.

 

[TheHonestyPolicy]

I expect similar to us last year for Hawthorn to come under a fair bit more physical scrutiny for being the premiers. Hard to assess but I expect this was partially responsible for us flattening out a little in the finals. I agree with the comments above so if you are running a game plan that requires such discipline and fitness that type of scrutiny could well hurt Hawthorn in particular later on in the season but any side really also trying to implement the zone style.

 

[Gold Member]

Be sure to let Bomber know the horse has bolted.

 

[witsend]

We cracked the zone/cluster comfortably in 2008 GF.
60+ I50s....just a lacklustre performance by our forwards and an inability to convert opportunities in 2nd Q cost us a flag.
We are perfectly able and placed to crack rolling zones...couldn't give a monkey's about the other games/teams...

 

[TheHonestyPolicy]

Be sure to let Bomber know the horse has bolted.

Happened to notice the Hawks up by 5 early in the second and get rolled by 4. Thats some turn around even with the guys you had missing. I guess thats why you'd be wanting to live in the afterglow of a lucky 08 and not the present!

 

[winty]

Be sure to let Bomber know the horse has bolted.

Judging by the effort last night, the horse was surrounded by a hessian screen.

 

[TheOutsider]

I personally think Zone football will help Geelong’s chances, they didn’t lose last years GF because of the zone they just didn’t take their chances. The other thing that has been over looked is Hawthorn has a lot more going for them then just Zone football, they have a very potent forward line. The Zone is going to cause teams with bad skills a lot of problems but Geelong will expose the zone very quickly against average teams that cant keep possession. Like the last two years Geelong will punish teams that give them the footy because they rarely give it back.

 

[Belisarius]

It sounds a bit like the tactics employed by Rugby sides. The first few plays brings opposition players into middle to tackle the ball carrier - and then having accomplished this, the attacking side generally goes wide, where they hope they have engineered an over lap or a free player.

As the offensive team does not get the ball back after the ball is held in as in Rugby, you need a dominant tap ruckman and good close in players when the inevitable extra ball ups that will occur with such a tactic employed (when your runner gets collared).

I think we have better ruckmen in this skill than Hawthorn at present - and although Hawthorn have very good inside players, notably Sewell and Mitchell, we would still, I think, back our mid-field talent, depth and rotations over a whole game against theirs. So maybe it is worthy of some consideration as a legitimate tactic on occasions.

As pointed out by others - if you have a 197 cm strong bodied forward one out - and if they have the ability to take a contested mark - then the zone is vulnerable to a good long kick over the top of the zone. That is why we either need Lonergan or Hawkins to have a good year - and things should work out well for Geelong.

 

[SJT76]

I think you have what is required to beat "the zone" - 70m players with skill. Either those who can kick it long and accurately, or those who can beat one or two tacklers then deliver accurately.

However, the better teams won't simply employ one zone tactic. We didn't in the GF - we played different tempos and tactics at different times in the game. You'll need to adjust to that as appropriate. Clarkson's main acheivement to me is to teach our players how to play each plan and then drill them in it to get the required level of discipline.

I think the most interesting thing for me watching Geelong will be to see if you stick with Plan A, or try to develop a Plan B. FWIW, I think you need some form of plan B, but don't know if it's worth your time really training a zone.

 

[TheHonestyPolicy]

I think you have what is required to beat "the zone" - 70m players with skill. Either those who can kick it long and accurately, or those who can beat one or two tacklers then deliver accurately.

However, the better teams won't simply employ one zone tactic. We didn't in the GF - we played different tempos and tactics at different times in the game. You'll need to adjust to that as appropriate. Clarkson's main acheivement to me is to teach our players how to play each plan and then drill them in it to get the required level of discipline.

I think the most interesting thing for me watching Geelong will be to see if you stick with Plan A, or try to develop a Plan B. FWIW, I think you need some form of plan B, but don't know if it's worth your time really training a zone.

Interesting to read it from the opposing perspective. I agree it would require a sophisticated method of play to compete directly with what is a rolling and from what you are saying a rotating defensive zone.

Improvement will naturally come from us being far more exposed to the tactic this season to last. A guy like Hawkins should provide more of an opportunity to kick longer hopefully over the zone in some instances. I would like to see a guy like Wojcinski included in the side to try break the lines and clear the zone also. Old fashioned attrition will play a part also if we can find ways to chip away at the zone better than last season and apply more physical pressure.

In the GF where we still made enough opportunities to win the match but werent good enough to take them, any further improvement on these zone tactics could well see the balance shift back our way this season.