You Want the Truth! The cluster is DEAD!

[Jarman03]

Clarko Clarko Clarko, when will you realise the cluster is dead, we are being picked apart by all the good teams now. If our men are not good enough to play one on one contested football then show them the door. The cluster was merely an element of surprise for the first qtr of the season, every knows how to penetrate it now.

I for one am disappointed with clarkos coaching and continue to be, I dont believe he is a great matchday tactician, yes he can galvanise the group and unite them to play team football, but I see him time andt ime again get out coached by sides who play the same way, CONTESTED FOOTBALL, otherwise known as FINALS FOOTBALL. THe use of buddy, sewelly, changa and browny tonight was disgraceful. When will we realise browny is not a key position back. We had momentum at half time and clarko moves changed that. OUR ladder position flatters us, we are not that good YET!

 

[Link_Wray]

worked well last week

 

[MikeBios]

It's a zone defense, stop calling it a cluster!

A zone defense is fine and has worked well for us, we just need to have more than one option...

 

[TheWiseOne]

When we get pumped out of the middle it does not matter about the "Cluster"

 

[Hawks2009]

worked well last week

If you actually sore the game you would have noticed that for most of the game we actually went 1 on 1. What we should do now is go 1 on 1 for the rest of the season, and then bring the cluster back for the finals. Then it will surprise the opposition and can work again

 

[Big Ronnie]

Clarko Clarko Clarko, when will you realise the cluster is dead, we are being picked apart by all the good teams now. If our men are not good enough to play one on one contested football then show them the door. The cluster was merely an element of surprise for the first qtr of the season, every knows how to penetrate it now.

I for one am disappointed with clarkos coaching and continue to be, I dont believe he is a great matchday tactician, yes he can galvanise the group and unite them to play team football, but I see him time andt ime again get out coached by sides who play the same way, CONTESTED FOOTBALL, otherwise known as FINALS FOOTBALL. THe use of buddy, sewelly, changa and browny tonight was disgraceful. When will we realise browny is not a key position back. We had momentum at half time and clarko moves changed that. OUR ladder position flatters us, we are not that good YET!

WHat ever it is, it's worked well 13 times this year??

 

[Roughie]

It doesnt help when you cant stop a big marking target like Riewoldt. There is nothing wrong with the zone we play, we got smashed in the guts for the whole third quarter and we let that hack Blake kick three on us! That is F***ing disgusting! I am more mad about letting Blake tear us up then the loss, does anyone realise how bad of a player he is seriously? And he punked Simon Taylor for 10 minutes straight! Terrible

 

[Simon_Nesbit]

That 10 minute Blake burst - Taylor won every tap. We didn't get hands to a single ball, and three went to opposition players uncontested running to the back of pack. Blake simply ran forward from every stoppage - smart, but won't work in the long run.

Miscommunication? Taylor rucking it too far (clearing our players, who were subsequently shepparded out of the play?), or a symptom of having too many inexperienced players in together?

 

[wallyt99]

Anyone noticed that we often get the taps and not the clearance.


Opposition teams have worked us out and rather than play the ball in the centre, they play the man (3 on 1 on the first possesion getter)


That is how we are getting beaten in the the centre.

 

[Roughie]

That 10 minute Blake burst - Taylor won every tap. We didn't get hands to a single ball, and three went to opposition players uncontested running to the back of pack. Blake simply ran forward from every stoppage - smart, but won't work in the long run.

Miscommunication? Taylor rucking it too far (clearing our players, who were subsequently shepparded out of the play?), or a symptom of having too many inexperienced players in together?

He actually lost one, jumped to late both blokes hit it, went to the saints. He got sharked, you would think after the first time Blake bolted off Taylor would have got the jist that, thats what he was going to do. Hell I even knew thats the plan.

Saints are experts at sharking taps since when Blake was their number 1 ruck. The fact is Taylor needed to add more pressure, as did the sweeping midfielder who stays out the back.

 

[fugu]

When we get pumped out of the middle it does not matter about the "Cluster"

True to your name. Wasn't the zone, wasn't the defence, wasn't the forwards. We got smashed in the clearances. Game over.

 

[thatswhatimtalkinabout]

Take a breath people.

Annoying that so many lessons became untaught tonight.

Frustrating that many kids made poor decisions at crucial times.

Poor that we made terrible disposal errors under no pressure.

Whinging about it isn't going to change anything. and I can hardly imagine Clarko logging in to get our advice - so suck it up.

The zone, or cluster as you may want to call it is a work in progress.

It may be the kickup the arse we need for next week - not that it matters all that much.

 

[Pessimistic]

I thought the saints used whats called the cluster well in the 2nd half

 

[Zvim]

I think the problem was the contested football, there weren't a lot of tackles laid in the second half, far too many loose players in the middle. Nothing wrong with a zone defense but if there is someone in your zone then you have to put pressure on them. They did in the first half, didn't in the second.

We did the same thing against the Saint, were up by around 5 goals in the first half and they just pushed ridiculous numbers in the middle and in our forward 50 and we had no room and their forward line was open. I think we both got sucked in because they let us play the way we wanted to play and just put on the mega midfield flood to congest any run and I don't think either of our clubs responded well to it.

 

[Leather Poisoning]

Despite the OP this is a great thread.

A lot of people recognise that it's not the cluster that was our downfall last night.

 

[tinnman]

the zone defence is good when it is working but as soon as a team gets on top of it clarko needs a plan B or C,its a bit like when he played zac he was to stubborn to admit the boy was not up to senior footy yet, instead of dropping him early he has most likely ruined his career. i love the way clarko goes about his stuff ,but i feel he can out coach himself by not having more tricks up his sleeve.

 

[go hawks!!!]

don't know abt the cluster, but we are getting beaten in the midfield and it does not help when 3 of them: lewis sewell and bateman were not match fit,

lewis is the guy who should be criticised he is a nightmare

the zone relies on us winning the ball and 100% efficiency in skills which we donot have

i think lewis has to go, and for once i am an advocate for tim clarke inclusion, lewis is done

 

[lethalselbow]

don't know abt the cluster, but we are getting beaten in the midfield and it does not help when 3 of them: lewis sewell and bateman were not match fit,

lewis is the guy who should be criticised he is a nightmare

the zone relies on us winning the ball and 100% efficiency in skills which we donot have

i think lewis has to go, and for once i am an advocate for tim clarke inclusion, lewis is done

You're right about Lewis, he was off his game last night. I do like him on the park though, but think he hasn't played as well as he is capable, this year.

Tim Clarke needs to be in the team. Can't just have a team of front runners.

 

[thatswhatimtalkinabout]

You're right about Lewis, he was off his game last night. I do like him on the park though, but think he hasn't played as well as he is capable, this year.

Tim Clarke needs to be in the team. Can't just have a team of front runners.

I don't know whether by agreeing with this idea will make me the most reviled man on BF lethal, but seeing as how you've just made a thread about it, that should make me the second.

Big difference in seniors and VFL standards, but he was really good yesterday.

If we are to use Sewelly as purely an attacking option next week, which we must, Clarke into tag Bartel seems a really good option to me.

Certainly would have been handy last night to run with Del Santo.

 

[Mitchell Madness]

when we hit the front the umpires changed. StKilda are a Confidence side, when they get 1 or two goals they lift. When they get a run on, noone can stop them.

Anyone that said that 3rd quarter by the umpires didnt influence the final result didnt watch the match.

It is a regular occurance, and the players got frustrated for the first time. When the umps turned, they stopped running and started bombing it long out of frustration

 

[Normza]

The only reason the cluster works is becasue we kick a shit load of behinds. And the opponent have trouble getting it out of defense and they dont take risks. As soon it comes of the defense they start to play on and take more risks and break up the cluster cos if they make a mistake it wont certainly result in a goal unlike if it is still in their 50. We should use the cluster when the oponent is kicking out and just go man on man for the rest of the game.

 

[buddylove_23]

True to your name. Wasn't the zone, wasn't the defence, wasn't the forwards. We got smashed in the clearances. Game over.

Too True... did we even get a centre break after half time?

 

[Hawk Dork]

We got smashed because at Half Time we thought that games was won.
Next week the Cats.

 

[noosa hawk mad]

the zone defence is good when it is working but as soon as a team gets on top of it clarko needs a plan B or C,its a bit like when he played zac he was to stubborn to admit the boy was not up to senior footy yet, instead of dropping him early he has most likely ruined his career. i love the way clarko goes about his stuff ,but i feel he can out coach himself by not having more tricks up his sleeve.

used plan B against the Swans played man on man footy why it wasn't used last night i have no idea probably because we were playing great footy before half time!Buddy was put on the ball late against the Saints so Clarko was trying something probably a bit late they kicked some freakish goals & we couldn't win a clearance witch was what killed us on to next week bring on the Cats!