Blues players vote on Mick Malthouse's game plan

[Blue Pulse]

Bell is that big body mid who should be creating room for Murphy, McLean and Judd

There was a heap of room beside him the other night for the first 3 qtrs

 

[Blue Pulse]

Can't play the game plan because:
1. Lack of talls to kick long to.
2. Players need have good skills because they are playing in a more closed environment. We have poor foot skills and poor ball handling skills in our midfield group.
3. Players who can both run and handle contested footy. Too many of our blokes can only either do one or the other. Big and slow or quick and no good at the contest . Again like with point 2 this comes down to severely poor midfield quality.
4. Lack of midfield class, too many midfielders with weaknesses who are really just good VFL players, depth players or filler players.

To put it simply, we lack quality, especially in the area where the game is controlled, the midfield.


Changing the game plan to say, a more possession brand of footy where we go more up the middle and use the ball a lot more. How do guys like Curnow, Bell and Robinson factor in on this? Hardly anyone in our team is considered a really good kick. Yarran on the run is less than 50/50 and he's often on the run, Ellard is just ok, Carrazzo is just ok, Walker isn't kicking well at the moment, Kicking is not Simpson's strong point, Judd can sometimes kick poorly, Lucas is a poor kick, Mclean is a good kick unless he has to kick long, . Everitt, Thomas, Gibbs, Murphy, Watson , Tuohy, Jamison and Henderson are the only ones who are very good kicks. Possession footy may work but it may get ugly too.

Changing the game plan to a more possession game plan means the poor kicks really have to be eliminated more so than ever. Personally I'd welcome a clean out of the poorly skilled players for young players.

End of the day our list/team isn't good enough no matter what the game plan.

Midfield is full of too many one dimensional types who either have poor skills (kicking/ball handling) or can't run or can't handle the physicality; midfield doesn't get enough of the footy; not enough players over 30 possessions; has no big game winning guns; Too many players with big glaring weaknesses.

To be good, all your midfielders need to have good skills skill, most of ours don't. The rest need to have pace or be exceptionally good ball winners and you can't have too many poor runners, we have lots of poor runners.

Game plan might change may help but it's not going to solve the problem.

My concern is that usually you draft for for your style of footy, Mick still has Ratten's team, hope our drafting doesn't lose direction, it shouldn't but you never know.

Game plan's generally mean stuff all. The team with the best players wins.

Do you think kicking is part of our training agenda? For a team of so called professionals, this is an area where we are so hot or cold, this season it is more cold. Even if you can't hit your target due to him being under pressure, shouldn't you know his strength and weaknesses so that you can kick it to his advantage ie: instead of putting it up on Garletts head would it not be better to put it into space so that it becomes a foot race? It used to amaze me how often we would kick to Eddie as if he was as tall as Warnock

 

[Magruder]

There's a gif doing the rounds at the moment maybe 3 seconds of play from the first quarter of sundays game it demonstrates how bereft of confidence we are.

Murphy takes possession the ball on the wing and is closed down by 2 bummers. The only option is Ellard streaming past however it would require pinpoint split second disposal by hand, it comes off and Ellard is away in around 10-15 metres of space by the time his Bomber opponent can wheel off Murphy and back on to him. Murph hesitates, largely because the handball option is probably 50/50 to come off, looses his feet as the Essendon players close in and trys to handball back over his head to Walker who is well covered anyway.

The ball goes over the boundary, which in the circumstances was a win. pfft.

I have no issue playing boundary line when the opposition has the momentum as it forces plenty of stoppages. We should howver play transitional footy with switches and run and carry when we are up and about.

 

[slashin_velvet]

Yeah, I have no idea what's going on here anymore..

Thats what our players were saying, right?

 

[BlueJet]

Thats what our players were saying, right?

Haha quite possibly.

 

[Beer n Skittles]

Other teams now use large bodies around the stoppage to either sit their opponents on their arse or push them off the ball. Need size to at least hold your ground, or preferably push back (which Carlton don't).

Big bodies with skill is what you mean. No point having a bunch of blokes who can't kick.

I just meant you need size to find the footy in the first place. The big bodied guys don't need to kick well, as long as they can get first possession and release teammates with a handball. IMO it comes down to awareness - knowing where everyone is. Before he even gets the ball, Judd knows how long he'll have to spend it and where his teammates are.

 

[Tony Lynn 15]

I managed to get a photo from an insider who was at the meeting when the players voted on Mick's game plan....sadly it was not good news for Mick!!

 

[Jabba73]

Not to be pedantic, but is the thread title really accurate? I haven't seen anything written that suggests the players "voted on the game plan". They were asked if they supported it. Grammatically minor, but important difference.

Think it is a typo, should read Blues players veto Mick Malthouse's game plan ....

 

[Magruder]

Ok this may sound silly but why isn't goal kicking a bigger part of the training routine?

The club would know where particular players get most of their set shots.
Let's say that Knockers tends to get his 30-40 metres out slight angle. I know you can't replicate match conditions but you can force him to get his heart rate up to around match levels, ie run 30 to 40 metres in various directions culminating in taking an uncontested mark in that 30-40m out spot. Then go back and slot the kick.

Do it 5 times, 3 times a week. You would have to think it wouldn't take more than 20-30 mins a pop.

90 minutes a week for a professional player executing a core skill. Doesn't seem like a big ask to me. Hopefully it allows players to develop a routine thety are accustomed to with highish heart rates that basically approximate the physiological circumstances in a match.


I mention it largely because our first 2 games we had 30+ shots but only managed to kick 80 odd points. A better than 60% conversion rate would have easily won those two games for us. Game plan wouldn't seem an issue.

 

[NumberEight]

Ok this may sound silly but why isn't goal kicking a bigger part of the training routine?

The club would know where particular players get most of their set shots.
Let's say that Knockers tends to get his 30-40 metres out slight angle. I know you can't replicate match conditions but you can force him to get his heart rate up to around match levels, ie run 30 to 40 metres in various directions culminating in taking an uncontested mark in that 30-40m out spot. Then go back and slot the kick.

Do it 5 times, 3 times a week. You would have to think it wouldn't take more than 20-30 mins a pop.

90 minutes a week for a professional player executing a core skill. Doesn't seem like a big ask to me. Hopefully it allows players to develop a routine thety are accustomed to with highish heart rates that basically approximate the physiological circumstances in a match.


I mention it largely because our first 2 games we had 30+ shots but only managed to kick 80 odd points. A better than 60% conversion rate would have easily won those two games for us. Game plan wouldn't seem an issue.

They all know how to kick.

You dont think they slot them through 80% of the time at training??

Its mental, its a mental disease that we have had for a long, long time.

 

[Just Kreuzing]

Ok this may sound silly but why isn't goal kicking a bigger part of the training routine?
Do it 5 times, 3 times a week. You would have to think it wouldn't take more than 20-30 mins a pop.

90 minutes a week for a professional player executing a core skill. Doesn't seem like a big ask to me. Hopefully it allows players to develop a routine thety are accustomed to with highish heart rates that basically approximate the physiological circumstances in a match.


I mention it largely because our first 2 games we had 30+ shots but only managed to kick 80 odd points. A better than 60% conversion rate would have easily won those two games for us. Game plan wouldn't seem an issue.

I agree with this Magruder, cant understand why more time is not devoted to such an important area of the game, can be done outside of the main team sessions even.

Have to think that we spend too much time on gameplans, strategy and opposition etc and not enough on skill development or match specific rehearsal.

Maybe we are suffering a bit from the old Paralysis by Analysis Syndrome....

 

[Tony Lynn 15]

I agree with this Magruder, cant understand why more time is not devoted to such an important area of the game, can be done outside of the main team sessions even.

Have to think that we spend too much time on gameplans, strategy and opposition etc and not enough on skill development or match specific rehearsal.

Maybe we are suffering a bit from the old Paralysis by Analysis Syndrome....

I know for a fact the Blues BF Board is......bounce the ****ing ball!!!!!

 

[slashin_velvet]

If we're serious about it, Doris needs to be promoted into sales from reception. Sales is more fast paced, and she needs to learn to think on her feet. You can only learn so much in reception....throw her in the deep end....sink or swim. She would have laid out Goddard last week, even if it meant copping a few week suspension.

 

[Tony Lynn 15]

If we're serious about it, Doris needs to be promoted into sales from reception. Sales is more fast paced, and she needs to learn to think on her feet. You can only learn so much in reception....throw her in the deep end....sink or swim. She would have laid out Goddard last week, even if it meant copping a few week suspension.

Doris also had carry over points from photocopying her arse at the Christmas Party!!

 

[Windhover]

My concern is that usually you draft for for your style of footy, Mick still has Ratten's team

Oh, right. So is Ratts still coach or what? (and Daisy says Hi).

Game plan's generally mean stuff all. The team with the best players wins.

How does this make sense when poor ole Mick still has Ratts team and needs to draft for his "style of footy"?

Answer: It doesn't make sense except as a pathetic apology even MM wouldn't try to hide behind.

PS: Wayne Schimmelbusch, Timmy (Bambi) Watson and Terry Wallace all say Hi.

 

[blueboy25]

I agree with this Magruder, cant understand why more time is not devoted to such an important area of the game, can be done outside of the main team sessions even..

It's the sports science guys who control how long a player trains for and what they can and can't do. I can't remember if it was Trav Cloke or Jack Reiwoldt mentioned that they were only allowed to have a cetain amount of time on the track actually kicking the football.

Apparently Dunstall would have at least 100 shots on goal after training and would only leave after he had kicked 10 straight.

 

[Magruder]

They all know how to kick.

You dont think they slot them through 80% of the time at training??

Its mental, its a mental disease that we have had for a long, long time.

Maybe they do slot 80% at training. Maybe the volume and conditions under which they practice this needs to change?
To say that Bell or Warnock's set shots don't need work is just wrong headed.

Let's use a cricket analogy. 30 years ago lower order batsmen used to see themselves simply as bowlers with batsmen there to make runs. Now most take a lot of pride in their batting with nos 8 and 9 often contributing valuable runs.

These days teams must take their opportunities in front of goal, often this means a variety of goal scorers. Lifting say 3 players like Warnock from a shit kick to reliable from 35-40 metres out could well mean an extra 30 goals a year scored and maybe 5-10 less conceeded from giving up possession.

Paraphrasing Stig O'Hara : It's a simple game, get 30 shots, kick 18-12 rather than 12-18 and you're a decent show.

 

[Gavstar]

It's the sports science guys who control how long a player trains for and what they can and can't do. I can't remember if it was Trav Cloke or Jack Reiwoldt mentioned that they were only allowed to have a cetain amount of time on the track actually kicking the football.

Apparently Dunstall would have at least 100 shots on goal after training and would only leave after he had kicked 10 straight.

I think Cloke negotiated to have more kicking practice included in his training this year. Imagine having to negotiate practising that skill'

 

[jonoman89]

The players should play to the plan they're given.

It's all well and easy for the players to say 'nah, it doesn't work' when they've made nowhere near enough effort to adopt it and embrace it. Organisational resistance is massive in any workplace.

Thankfully the players seem to realise that they can't keep going about things as they're used to. Whether they have the work ethic and intelligence to change their ways is another matter.

Mick's game plan, in its various forms, has proven to be very effective.

 

[blueboy25]

I think Cloke negotiated to have more kicking practice included in his training this year. Imagine having to negotiate practising that skill'

He also negotiated that 5 year channel 9 deal that Eddie had nothing to do with.

 

[Franc de Borges]

Jamo said on the podcast last week that the way we played in the second half against Richmond was the original game plan.

Oh, I see. The 'get the ball' game plan. I like that one.

 

[Azul]

They all know how to kick.

You dont think they slot them through 80% of the time at training??

Simulated match-day conditions...

Have a wear new boots that pinch their toes, a ghetto blaster of canned crowd noise, the office staff as cheersquad chanting obscenities, schedule training with a howling wind during a rainstorm, with 3 players on the mark doing cartwheels.

Let's see them keep up that 80%!

 

[Just Kreuzing]

80% return is not good enough from the range that some of our guys miss them from, looking at you Jeffrey...

 

[SBYM]

I wonder if anyone donkey voted...

 

[gbatman]

Big bodies with skill is what you mean. No point having a bunch of blokes who can't kick.

Or run and get involved when we have the footy, too many types who are out of it when we gain possession.