Really would have liked to see more play through the corridor, a lot of our blokes had serious cases of tunnel vision and slowed the play up through the second half because of it.

That said we used the ball better than our opponents, and that wins you games.

Really happy with the 3/4 field tactic employed early, and how we manipulated the midfield set up in combination with this to improve our delivery into the forward 50. It also opened up the 50 and simplified its structure for what is still a developing midfield unit and forward line.

Pagan will probably be sitting there looking at Essendon*, Freo and now us operating a more holistic variation of his paddock, thinking "shit, I could have done that."

The positives of this are that it dumbs down the part of the ground where we are the least experienced, while protecting a defence that while talented, does give up a few kilos and cms against the better opposition units. Over time, we can operate through more of the ground as the younger players develop their understanding and vision for the forward structures. The more competent they become, the better our forward 50 entries will be with heavier traffic through there.

The negatives are the emphasis placed on quicker or precise ball movement in the back half to take advantage of the space offered up forward. Austin & Browne help with this, but Jamison, Russell, Bower and Thornton need to compensate their skill level by foot by continuing to shorten the time they take to execute. A lot of kicks to leads defensive side of the centre were sprayed quite wide, and those will be turnovers against better teams.

Finally, my biggest concern with the 3/4 field is the same as any other form of flooding or low-brow zone tactic: how sustainable is it over the 22 rounds? Will we be running out of steam come round 18, possibly at 9-9?

Discuss


Special thanks to Wojee for a good thread initiative.

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.

Maybe we got a 5 goal lead and went into "Crows" mode.

We seemed to spend a lot of time defending a 10 goal lead.

Maybe it was a game plan practice session.

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end of message

It's a lot harder to armchair coach after a comfortable win but there's always room for improvement.


I think with Fev being blanketed by Presti I'd have pushed him further out from goal for short periods, even starting him on the wing for centre bounces. Presti is a dour defender who does his best work close to goal. That said, Fev still attracted a crowd (which is a big part of the reason he didn't trouble the scorers) leaving the other forwards free.

The biggest problem with the game was getting bogged down and playing the game on Collingwood's terms for long periods. I'd have asked the players to be a little more daring and to take more risks bringing the ball forward.

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"One of my favorite philosophical tenets is that people will agree with you only if they already agree with you. You do not change people's minds." - Frank Zappa

I think we know what we can do and yesterday we practiced a lot of things that we can't.
I saw Fev lead into good space a few times an the lead was ignored...no doubt a practice of the decoy forward role. Also a couple of times we did the "Kick over the zone" ..worked a couple of times, didn't others. I think in close games these things would never happen.

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“Every single element of the Club has to be the best in the league, meticulously and methodically, and only by doing this will we be elite and challenge for number 17.”
Greg Lee

More pace thru the corridor needed. I hate to say it .. but Essendon* are really developing that style and looking very good ... unfortunately.

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I am as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!!!

..the bumbers have leg speed, granted.. ..but quick kicking is faster still..

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..if you can't be good, be good at it..

Judd was on the radio post game, and reflected thatin the 2nd although in defence we were switching, we then didn't take off, but rather switched back. Basically we played too slow and allowed the Pies flood to be effective. We needed to switch and be more daring.

Adelaide will be a good test, as they have gone back to their old zone (Viney brought in a version of the Hawks zone) and we will struggle to get through if we slow it down too much.

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Have I run too far to get home?

Thats true ... but carrying the ball with foot speed and accurate handball tends to break the defence up a bit more .... that is .. it causes defenders to come to the ball therefore creating more space. I hope we can get a bit of pace into the game .. and leave the forward line a lot more open. Fev is not getting enough space to run into.

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I am as mad as hell and I'm not going to take it any more!!!

I believe we are on the right track in continuing to develop our kids as well introducing players with some genuine leg speed. I am sure as this happens we will move the ball quicker through the corridor.

I am sure that Ratten realises this at the moment and is working hard on our defensive side and contolling the ball when we have it. Hopefully at some stage through the year we will start to take the game on a bit more.

Guys like Fisher, Wiggins, Houlihan, Cloke, Bentick, Bentley are the past and we should concentrate on getting games into players such as Yarran, Garlett, Browne, Hampson, Robinson, Austin, Anderson, Garlett, Ellard, Armfield, Jacobs & Joseph.

Warnock and Walker will be handy as well.

That's actually the beauty of the 3/4 field, with everyone pushed up past or on the 50, the blokes assigned to the defensive 50 key zones have to choose whether to draw in or sit back and risk players peppering shots from 40 m out.

Great tactic, but I question if it's sustainable as the core of a game plan.

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29 different attributes,
And only 7 that you like;
20 ways to see the world,
Or 20 ways to start a fight.