Strategy 2014 game plan improvements

[geelong_crazy26]

Not quite sure what you are on about.

The point of my post was to demonstrate how little those of us outside the inner sanctum understand about how game day strategies are conceived and how they are employed. And how quickly they evolve. Even coaches at the elite level comment that things change so quickly you can't afford to be out of the mix for very long before you lose touch. That's how quickly the game changes.

Many of us expressed concern about us not getting first use of the ball from stop plays last year. What the link demonstrated was that it was deliberate tactic to concentrate on the second phase of play and the statistics illustrated that tactic worked.

The point of my post was to illustrate how little those of us who are not at the coal face know of the team strategies and player management at our club. None of us outside the club can come close to the paid and informed professionals whose task it is to produce and refine our game day strategies and who know first hand and intimately the strengths and weaknesses of the playing group.

I say that as someone who has a keen interest player management. Not just in the AFL. Including following how people with proven records have gone about their craft in a variety of sports.

Couldn't agree more with this, I wasn't referring to anything you said anyway, was more a general sweeping statement from what I read all over big footy.

This is a very true post, the depth and detail the coaches put into our game plan and tactics is enormous! I have been lucky enough to be given the tour inside the club on several occasions, and they spend HOURS and HOURS every week on simply tactics... It's phenominal what they do with all the tapes and drawing boards.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Not quite sure what you are on about.

The point of my post was to demonstrate how little those of us outside the inner sanctum understand about how game day strategies are conceived and how they are employed. And how quickly they evolve. Even coaches at the elite level comment that things change so quickly you can't afford to be out of the mix for very long before you lose touch. That's how quickly the game changes.

Many of us expressed concern about us not getting first use of the ball from stop plays last year. What the link demonstrated was that it was deliberate tactic to concentrate on the second phase of play and the statistics illustrated that tactic worked.

The point of my post was to illustrate how little those of us who are not at the coal face know of the team strategies and player management at our club. None of us outside the club can come close to the paid and informed professionals whose task it is to produce and refine our game day strategies and who know first hand and intimately the strengths and weaknesses of the playing group.

I say that as someone who has a keen interest player management. Not just in the AFL. Including following how people with proven records have gone about their craft in a variety of sports.

Will also add that this is largely why I was skeptical about malt house coming back into the game after a year out, and especially Paul Roos!! Roos will be massively out of touch!

 

[you pick one]

What aspect of our game plan in particular? Happy to talk about any element of it and what I think needs to be improved

Is that you David King?

 

[Partridge]

And you could say the same thing about the last 40 seconds of the 2009 GF.
That whole passage of play was so crazy it was scary.

Probably won the GF, but geez, if you lose it doing that you are going to cop a hiding.

And then we can go way back to the 2005 semi. The lack of will to actually play on cost us the game.

True. But the big difference is in the Grand Final scores were level; in the Brisbane game this year we were in front, and had possession. Twice. But yeah they're probably so programmed now to play on all the time they just got lost in the moment.

 

[vinum coupe]

True. But the big difference is in the Grand Final scores were level; in the Brisbane game this year we were in front, and had possession. Twice. But yeah they're probably so programmed now to play on all the time they just got lost in the moment.

No we were a goal up remember. They'd just scored a behind.
But yes, they are pre programmed now it seems.

 

[Partridge]

No we were a goal up remember. They'd just scored a behind.
But yes, they are pre programmed now it seems.

Sorry I misunderstood you, I thought you meant the lead up to Chapman's goal. Yep understand what you mean.

 

[Cosmic Energy]

Generally I'd like to see an improvement in our forward setup this year. Obviously Hawkins was injured, but to my eyes we weren't as 'fierce' up there as a whole as we could have been. Stopping opposition marks inside 50, apply more pressure etc. Obviously those things are a symptom of the work further afield too.

It may be naive or traditional view but I'm not a huge fan of pushing all the forwards up the field for a lot of the game, leaving the forward line empty and then trying to work it back through with everybody running towards goals. I guess it doesn't help when we don't win the centre clearance so you're defending from the outset. It always worried me having Pods part of that press at half back for example last year, rather than staying at home and leading up at the ball. I like to have the safety of at least one big forward in the 50 metre arc to impact any kicks coming in under pressure, with the aid of a crumber or two. It's infuriating seeing the opposition marking in under very little pressure in our 50.

We've got some high quality crumbers so it'd be nice to allow them to work closer to goal at times.

Also, getting them to play with the intensity we did v Freo in rd 14 every week would be great.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

 

[geelong_crazy26]

please excuse my paint skills, i would have showed video footage but i dont have my AFL live subscription package renewed yet, so i drew a rough example with paint to get it visually across!

I think the way north melbourne set up their forward fifty is incredibly good, the way they spread out to give space to one another, emphasizing that each geelong defender is distanced apart being unable to assist the other.

it really did give us a lot of trouble the two times we played them, i assume they will do something similar again this season when we play them

thoughts?

 

[CF]

Watched the 2013 rnd 15 game against hawthorn again last night and was surprised how similar to the Prelim it was. 33 points up at one point in the last quarter and the hawks got to within a goal with ten minutes to go. We pulled of a win by ten points in the end but hawthorn would have gone away from that match feeling very positive for the finals.

We gave up winning leads too often in 2013, and I think it exposes a fundamental weakness in our game plan. When teams play one on one against us, not allowing us to spread their zones to create space, we lose our run and carry style and make more turnovers. Especially late in the game when fatigue is becoming a big factor. I also think that the boys take too many risks when it is not needed, and this causes turnovers.

 

[The rabbi]

Watched the 2013 rnd 15 game against hawthorn again last night and was surprised how similar to the Prelim it was. 33 points up at one point in the last quarter and the hawks got to within a goal with ten minutes to go. We pulled of a win by ten points in the end but hawthorn would have gone away from that match feeling very positive for the finals.

We gave up winning leads too often in 2013, and I think it exposes a fundamental weakness in our game plan. When teams play one on one against us, not allowing us to spread their zones to create space, we lose our run and carry style and make more turnovers. Especially late in the game when fatigue is becoming a big factor. I also think that the boys take too many risks when it is not needed, and this causes turnovers.

Especially the Brisbane and Crows games where the opposition could just waltz through the mid field without any resistance and kick to a number of leading forwards. It was very frustrating to watch and as CF mentioned, it exposed some fundamental weaknesses. I found it very difficult to imagine Geelong winning the Premiership from that point on.

 

[vinum coupe]

I can't quite remember the North games last year but didn't they used the corridor and beat us at our game?

Definitely not in the first game.
We blocked the corridor. It's the only game I went to and I sat in the forward pocket so was always looking up the middle.

They did kill us out of the middle though.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Watched the 2013 rnd 15 game against hawthorn again last night and was surprised how similar to the Prelim it was. 33 points up at one point in the last quarter and the hawks got to within a goal with ten minutes to go. We pulled of a win by ten points in the end but hawthorn would have gone away from that match feeling very positive for the finals.

We gave up winning leads too often in 2013, and I think it exposes a fundamental weakness in our game plan. When teams play one on one against us, not allowing us to spread their zones to create space, we lose our run and carry style and make more turnovers. Especially late in the game when fatigue is becoming a big factor. I also think that the boys take too many risks when it is not needed, and this causes turnovers.

I disagree about round 15, I remember that game quite well and hawthorn were extremely lucky to get that close, they pulled some goals out of their arse, a 50 m penalty mistake gifted them a goal. They had time to win that with all the momentum and we steadied the ship and pushed it back out to 16 points for the match winning lead, we were too good for them on the night

 

[geelong_crazy26]

I can't quite remember the North games last year but didn't they used the corridor and beat us at our game?

I watched that game heaps and I found some of the things they did very interesting. They played a style of keeping off around the ground moving the ball through the middle, I actually will do another poor quality paint image just to show it as it's simpler. They really had an emphasis on keeping the ball off us and it worked until the rain came down, they couldn't play a possession style game with the rain bringing skills down, this is why brad Scott was furious after the game about the rain at edihad, because it ruined their plan

I find analysing norths game plan interesting as it worked very well against the top sides, and they should be up there pushing hard in 14 doing a lot of the same things

 

[Whit3y]

I found it very difficult to imagine Geelong winning the Premiership from that point on.

the games against gc and gws did it for me

 

[CF]

I disagree about round 15, I remember that game quite well and hawthorn were extremely lucky to get that close, they pulled some goals out of their arse, a 50 m penalty mistake gifted them a goal. They had time to win that with all the momentum and we steadied the ship and pushed it back out to 16 points for the match winning lead, we were too good for them on the night

No we held on by the skin of teeth thanks largely to the performance of Murdoch and Stringer in the last quarter. Yes the hawks were gifted one goal through an interchange infringement wrongfully given against us. But they were out playing us well and truly at that point.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

No we held on by the skin of teeth thanks largely to the performance of Murdoch and Stringer in the last quarter. Yes the hawks were gifted one goal through an interchange infringement wrongfully given against us. But they're were out playing us well and truly at that point.

Not sure how with five minutes left on the clock being 4 points up then kicking the next two goals to seal the game is hanging on by the skin of your teeth, that's a really bizarre call, if they were outplaying us they would have rolled over the top of us like they did in the prelim, but we were good enough to steady and put the winning goals on the board when we had to. I remember how impressive it was that they had all the momentum going for them and we managed to fight back with those last two goals to put the nail in the coffin, it was all class and definitely not hanging on by your teeth

 

[ATSAM]

I have no doubt that whoever is the team responsible for selection, game plan and match day tactics spend hours working it out. But they sometimes get it wrong. Best example Qualifying final 2013. Chapman on the bench, Hawkins late withdrawal and no use of West, game plan had all our players in the opposition forward half. What happens we lose. No change all game
So yes full credit to them but they got it wrong and get it wrong and we are allowed to make a criticisms even though we are not privy to their discussions.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Chapman playing on the bench was most likely precautionary for his hamstring.
He had only played 1 full match prior to the Qualifying final.

The style of game Fremantle played, Chapman would have been tested like no other game all year he played in so I think it was the right move. He was not the issue anyway as the game was even at halftime.

I was not as upset by the qf as others here. I thought it was a game of desperation and inches in the end, a lunging tackle or a desperate spoil here and there which would have resulted in certain goals. On many occasions we were an inch away from breaking Into an open forward fifty but just got run down by the barest of margins. That game could have gone either way. The only thing I really disliked was the way we entered our forward line when we had possession across HF and wing when there were Fremantle players back

 

[geelong_crazy26]

 

[geelong_crazy26]

you think back to Ottens in the 2011 finals and some of the body work and positioning he did which we took for granted, plays a major role at the end of the games.

simpson is going to be a very good ruckman if he can stay fit, could become our most valuable player alongside selwood and taylor

 

[Vdubs]

bottom line is we have a huge improvement brewing from within. I really think Caddy is going to have a break out year, akin to Motlop this year. Varcoe looks really really good. Fit, hard and quick. Still got those skills too. Blitz will step up again. Couple that with Hawthorns decline from (a) Buddy and (b) their best onballer being another year older and some retirements that will hurt them. I see Sydney as a bigger threat than them, and Sydney generally cant beat us. **** im excited...

Lot to be excited about, but sure NM, Freo, Pies, and a host of teams are genuinely as excited with real reasons. As you say, Swans will be there, but our record v them is v good, and I suspect Haw will be our main nemesis again.

 

[geelong_crazy26]

Lot to be excited about, but sure NM, Freo, Pies, and a host of teams are genuinely as excited with real reasons. As you say, Swans will be there, but our record v them is v good, and I suspect Haw will be our main nemesis again.

i have a feeling north will be up there, they just have a lot of onballers who are quality coming up to that peak age, as well as some key position players who should begin to thrive like hansen at CHB. but i dont rate hawthorn for 14, sewel and hodge already showed a bit of slowing down to me, franklin despite what hawthorn believe, is going to be a major loss, it will be an entirely different kettle of fish to the ablett departure. like scott said at the time about it "its not like losing a key forward, you can cover a midfielder much easier", something along those lines

i think the reason we match up so well against sydney is because their main assets are that they physically impose on a lot of sides and bustle their way to wins, against us they cant do this because we are just as physical a side if not more physical than they are, their style of play doesn't work to much effect vs us

 

[geelong_crazy26]

I doubt we organize to train with another football club again.
Seemed like they had our measure from then on after that summer. Like they new some of our players strengths and weaknesses.

i just thought they played us better than any other side in 13, so i find it interesting having a look at certain things they did against us that worked well. there forward set up definitely was very effective against our strong marking defense, turning it into one on ones over leads rather than contested situations which our defense thrives on

 

[Vdubs]

I doubt we organize to train with another football club again.
Seemed like they had our measure from then on after that summer. Like they new some of our players strengths and weaknesses.

All teams know our S & W, but having the manpower to do something about it is where they have the advantage.
I went to 2 of those Fridays, and there was very little to give away from either team.