I hoped I wouldn't have to post this again a year and a half down the track but it's sad to say very little has changed. I posted this after the Sydney debacle first time around last year.
This is when the opposition attack (they are the red dots)
Notice how all of our players (blue dots) have pushed so far back into defence...we have left two thirds of the ground open. Pushed a load of numbers back but left 4-5 opposition players free in the middle of the ground.
They move the ball up to the wing/half forward...our players continue to push back into defence. The oppositions best ball users then get the ball around 60m out from goal. We have flooded enormously however the opposition are still able to find someone in a position where the shot on goal is relatively straightforward.
To me it demonstrates an inability to flood - it's no good actually pushing numbers back if you aren't going to guard the space that the dangerous forward will run in to. Instead of defending we just spectate. This comment from Carrots sums it up.
Quote:
“Having said that, when we lose the ball we need to find a way to win it back and we didn’t do that well enough either.”
The second aspect of it is why do we actually flood in the first place - surely you'd rather try to win the ball back further up the ground then win it back deep in defence. We can't win it back because we don't actually push players up the ground to form a zone and force the opposition to bomb it long. How rare is it that we force the opposition to kick it long down the line? They're always able to hit up a short target because we've already conceeded two thirds of the ground and flooded back.
There is either something wrong with the coaching panel that results in our pathetic defensive setups most weeks or the coach does understand the setups required but the players are not following instructions.
Then when we attack
See all our players down the line - we do it so often that it has to be an instruction from the coach. Where else can our player with the ball in the back pocket kick it to?
You rarely see our players in this situation move – they’re so static; no movement whatsoever. Because they all know what the plan is – bomb it long down the line! Seems a tactic of the Pagan era. Sure, last resort you bomb it down the line but we just do it without thinking – there are rarely leads from players on the wing who lead to the centre of the ground and drag their opponents with them – this leaves space along the wing for a half forward flanker to lead in to.
The bigger blue dot has the ball at half back. Four Carlton players on the wing with their direct opponents right near him – they all lead into the centre of the ground, leaving space for the green dot (Henderson, Yarran etc) to lead into space. There is rarely smooth ball movement like this; you see plenty of other teams (including those around us such as Sydney) who do it. We just rely on the old bomb it down the line and hope to win the 50/50.
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