Kicking back 30 metres in the back half

[vinum coupe]

Something grabbed me today.

We do kick backwards a lot at KP. A lot. And I mean 30 metre passes.
It would no doubt happen an equal amount of times at the G.

But for some reason it sticks out at Skilled.
You'd think that kicking backwards at Skilled is far more dangerous.

It's a long, skinny ground. The deeper you put it, the less angles you have to work with.

At the G you can kick it back and have plenty of angle up the thin side, up the middle, or to the fat side.

But kicking out wide is a bit like a sideways trade at the G.
You slow the team down, allow the opponent to spread back, and limit quick ball movement. And very often a kick to a one on one target.

Is it possible this 'luxury' of moving it back could be an achilles in a big game?
Is it a game style we need to rid?
Do our players lead too wide running down the wing at the G?

Probably a thread that needs to be bumped in 5 days. But I think there is substance behind the thought.

 

[Vdubs]

Something grabbed me today.

We do kick backwards a lot at KP. A lot. And I mean 30 metre passes.
It would no doubt happen an equal amount of times at the G.

But for some reason it sticks out at Skilled.
You'd think that kicking backwards at Skilled is far more dangerous.

It's a long, skinny ground. The deeper you put it, the less angles you have to work with.

At the G you can kick it back and have plenty of angle up the thin side, up the middle, or to the fat side.

But kicking out wide is a bit like a sideways trade at the G.
You slow the team down, allow the opponent to spread back, and limit quick ball movement. And very often a kick to a one on one target.

Is it possible this 'luxury' of moving it back could be an achilles in a big game?
Is it a game style we need to rid?
Do our players lead too wide running down the wing at the G?

Probably a thread that needs to be bumped in 5 days. But I think there is substance behind the thought.

Surely deserves one post!
I have always thought that any backwards kick should be play on, FWIW.

 

[Silverado]

Surely deserves one post!
I have always thought that any backwards kick should be play on, FWIW.

VD -I tend to agree, with the AFL's emphasis on speeding the game up I thought it would have been implemented by now, maybe just a nightmare to adjudicate given the amount of time the ball is kicked square and umpires are out of position to make an accurate call.

VC -I hadn't noticed for any particular groundTBH but i'm sure as hell going to be looking for it now. I have noticede that we are looking to switch play a bit more this year across the whole ground and not just into the middle, but I think that has been wll documented as a part of th 'tweaking' the Chris Scott has done

One thing I had noticed though about our back line in recent times is that opposition seem to run around the guys sheparding/protecting the ball carrier with relative ease at times.
Now, I'm not sinking the slipper in as our back line has done a great job this year in not conceding goals, I just wonder if it might be one thing we could do better so we can make better/easier decisions coming fom the back line. To me it seems that we ALL look to run off for the recieve instead of looking to help the ball carrier. with teams really imporving with tackling we have been caught a few times in a tackle that was laid by someone who simply zipped past one of our players who is waiting for the handball

Maybe I'm just noticing it more and we have always done it?

 

[Sarah2Donohue]

I've had no issues with this "tactic" this year, because it has more often than not created a good passage of play (inc. Sat'day, barring Jimma's absolute shocker in the last qtr).
We have found a way in previous years to turn the ball over in defence doing this, but they're seemed to very confident & precise with their execution this year. It can certainly created a chain of loose players when everything goes to plan.

Every team does it, some just better than others. I noticed at one point in yesterday's game Nth vs Adel, Nth were under sustained pressure on the wing and found a defender at mid CHB-FB with a long backward pass. This created a loose man and approx 30 secs later they scored a goal with seamless possession.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Surely deserves one post!
I have always thought that any backwards kick should be play on, FWIW.

In the defensive half only. Improving the angle in the forward 50, by centreing to a teammate, is good play, for example.

Even then, I'm not sold on the idea, as it would make teams more reluctant to switch play, which opens the field up and generates more run. If the AFL made it play on by kicking backwards, teams would be less inclined to switch and they'd just chip the ball around, which would strangle the play even more.

 

[Berserker26]

I would have thought we do it less at the G as there is more room to move and get free, skilled stadium being long and skinny means its more congested and we're forced to chip it around to get the right option?

 

[vinum coupe]

I would have thought we do it less at the G as there is more room to move and get free, skilled stadium being long and skinny means its more congested and we're forced to chip it around to get the right option?

That's my question I guess.
I'll bump this on Friday. Maybe a few of us can take a look.

Maybe we don't notice it at the G because of the room.

I feel it's a bit like when you earn 50k you watch the pennies a bit more than you do when you earn 100k.
I.e. you get a bit wasteful.

Well something like that.....