When outclassed and out-pressured, game plans can mean very little.

Of course, it is possible that poor game plans actually lead to being out-pressured.

Signing off,

Sherlock Holmes.

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THEY LIKE TO SEND UP!!!!!!!!

Until each team plays each other the same number of times, the AFL, as a fair dinkum competition, cannot be taken seriously.

He (Mr Swann) said the honour and pride associated with the club's traditional navy blue jumper was priceless.

Thanks for that, it makes me feel more confident.

Could you just share with me what Ratten's game plan is?

Thanks

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Go BLues

Well let me first of all say, this is what I think his game plan is, but very basically we want to run and carry from half-back, with lots of handball to a teammate running past...use the corridor to get the ball into our forwards quickly.

Where this falls down, and there have been a couple of instances in the first quarters against Hawthorn in the NAB Cup and then Brisbane a few weeks ago, is when the players aren't running and presenting that option so we're caught handballing to stationary targets and it goes downhill from there. If this goes wrong, you get smashed when you turn it over.

To bridge the gap between where we are and where we're trying to get too, we play the style of game you're seeing now, with more emphasis on holding on to the ball and waiting for an option to present...that requires us to go wider and chip the ball around.

We have to do this until the players skills are up to moving the ball quickly and going through the corridor and until they understand the importance of running past for handball receives.

The second style I just described is different to what we saw late in the second quarter yesterday where we're just trying to hold on to the ball and stop the other sides momentum or prevent them scoring goals in red time, which has been a huge issue for us in previous seasons and the first three rounds of this season.

The good news is that we're gradually using the run and carry style more with each game. Have a look at the stats and they'll show the kick-handball ratio is falling as the seasons progresses.

Early this season we were ave about 230 kicks and 130 handballs, the last few weeks, before last night, it had been about 200 kicks and 180 handballs and last night it was 184 kicks and 211 handballs which is probably a little more handball than we'd really like to see, but says something about the pressure Geelong were putting on us.

The real shame is that Walker has been out and now Bower is out injured. These two players will exeed under the run and carry game style.

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"The ability to speak doesn't make you intelligent." Qui-Gon Jinn 15-05-2005

"there’s more chance of me becoming the full forward for the [Western Bulldogs] than there is of any change in the Labor Party." Julia Gillard 18-05-2010

Thanks for that, you have explained your thoughts well and it looks like the type of footy i would like the side to play.

Just on the last 5 mins of the second quarter. I dont have a probem with playing tempo footy. I think it would be a part of every sides game. So it didnt bother me one little bit

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Go BLues

Having watched the replay I think you are right Danny and I was perhaps posting when I was disappointed last night. There were probably 3 or 4 instances where I think the replay showed a few could have put their bodies in more at crunch contests rather than merely waving an outstretched arm in the general direction of the ball.

On closer inspection the other ones I thought were suspect on the night I will now give the benefit of the doubt.

Where we do fall down is having players caught 'ball watching' and their opponents slip away into space. Also many just won't work hard enough both ways and side to side to set up the quick/clean switch of play.

Regards Cazzesman

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Ricky Gervais - “Everyone has the right to hold whatever beliefs they want. And everyone else has the right to find those beliefs f***ing ridiculous.”

pros: Armfield, Browne
Gibbs

cons: we are a 100 points worse team than Geelong

Brad,

The game plan is flawed to some degree.

What about a long kick to a moving target.

The problem is we have too many players who are shit kicks
Russell
Murphy
bentick
Thornton
O'hailpin
Bower
Hampson
Scotland to some extent
Waite
Bannister
Wiggins
Pfeiffer
Edwards
Fisher
Jackson
Carrazzo


The quickest way to move the ball is by kicking it precisely and long
The game plan you say is Rats first option sounds ok but is not as quick in getting it into the forward line with precise 50m kicks.
No suprise that the 3 best kicking teams are the 3 top sides.
I reckon Raten has devised this game plan because we have too many players who are shit kicks.
All the players above are ordinary kicks
The NAB game against the Hawks was the best example of this.


Oh and by the way i aint wanting Denis back again
But its pretty pathetic that if the first plan flowers up we resort to plan B which is the shitty shitty chip chip negative footy

It comes down to the recruiters. They have picked too many guys who cant kick the footy properly.
Its is the most important skill in football

hard work is the key - I think we have a few 'soft' players in that area.

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This type of slight is alien in the more cultured part of the world - Walsh. Its up there with mad dogs, Englishmen and the midday sun!

Think you're being a bit harsh on Stevo. I really like Browne, but he made a few bad turnovers last night. Stevo probably should have gone about telling him off in a better way. He seemed to be still chasing in the 4th and more than a lot of others.

Plus Hampson outrunning Stevens isn't really surprising, as Hammer is quite a bit quicker than our Vice-Captain.

Stevo reckons he would make a good captain.
The incident with Browne is one of many where he shows what a selfish footballer he is
I want him traded

I'd be happy with that Keogh and it will not happen.

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This type of slight is alien in the more cultured part of the world - Walsh. Its up there with mad dogs, Englishmen and the midday sun!

I think what this game proved beyond all doubt is how strong bodied players fast track the development of youngsters.
We really missed Hadley and Bannister tonight, and desperately need another 24-26 year old hard bodied midfielder/forward in the Mitch Hahn mould.
The truth is the best teams kids look so good (Thomas, Wellingham Pendlebury at Coll: Jack, Moore, Bird at Sydney: McKay, Van Berlo, Knights at Adelaide etc) because of the hard bodied senior core players around them.
We are relying on skinny 2nd and 3rd year kids to be our O'bree and Swan and Scott Burns's. As good as Juddy is, him and Bentick are our only two capable in and under hard bodied players who played last night- Tthe trio of Stevens/Scotland/Caraz and even Simpson as much as he tries can not provide that protection for our kids that the best teams senior players do.
What exacerbates my frustration is the fact that Hughes (before this past draft which looks to be a very good one for us) had a penchant to over balance our list with the David Mundy types from the period of 2004-2006 and not concentrate on proven ball winners in that time.

Thats a pity because its embarrasing and its this pissweak attitude that has kept us down the ladder.
2 weeks ago Stevens asked to be moved away from Johnstone the runner sad no and Stevens obviously cracked the shits.
Ratten should of said .Its a team game play with an ant on your jumper until your ready to play team footy.
I couldnt care how many he racks up or his beautiful disposal

It was same with Whitnall being overweight. We heard every excuse under the sun and look we should have delisted him 3 years earlier.
The article about Stevens in the press 2 weeks ago showed Stevens to be egocentric and not getting the bigger picture.

If ratten doesnt do something about it he dont see the big picture either.

If thats the case... and we are playing a style of footy that doesnt help our skinny bodies we arent using the right game plan.

IF.. youre going to flick the ball around alot.. and your skills aren t sharp youre going to fumble arent you? That means youre going to be crashed and bashed.

But alot of our players were smashed in situations they were holding onto the ball and didnt have options.... or were too slow to find an option to release.
We rarely block or shepherd.. I mean whens the last time you saw Stevens put on a block for a player... but worse still.. there must not have been much talk when a player was "hot"..
Having said all that in my opinion the players have no clue how to set up for situations STILL.. and therefore were hanballing to bloes standing still... or the the players have limited options to release to options in better positions.
When the going gets hot against a side like Geelong.. there must not be any WEAK LINKS... everybody is in it together.. working asa group to chat.. block.. run... provide options...

Its not just body size... that comes into play if youre stagnate and youre in posession when they come to you.

Also players must be cleaner by hand and foot.. so they get the ball away earlier and to advantage...

The overposession means you have the ball and at times ineffectively till you just cough it up...

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Due to recent budget cuts and the rising cost of electricity, gas, and oil....... the Light at the End of the Tunnel has been turned off. We apologize for the inconvenience.

We definitely seem like a much better side today than we did this time last year.

Factor in we have three number one draft picks, a number two draft pick and a number four draft pick...well I guess there is still a mountain of work ahead of us if we are to be a really good side.

Probably to give himself a way out "You can't say I didn't give you enough opportunities to show me I was wrong".

I'd think if we could pick who the blokes were who don't put their head over the ball when they need to, that Ratts et al could.

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"A good composer does not initiate. He steals."

- Igor Stravinsky

Pros:
Armfield
Judd
Cloke- 1st half
Cats goal kicking- should of lost by double that

Cons:
Where to start?????????
BOWERRRRR NNOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
Absolute disgrace, we looked like amateurs.
Tackling was better but no where near as hard as the Cats.
Still playing Gibbs in the backline????
Awareness- equal to a deaf, blind mute
What really annoyed the hell out of me was our bloody KICK INS, not once could we move it freely out of defence like the cats, no one running making options, no bloody stradegy, everyone standing still forcing us to either bomb it to no one or chip it across the goals for two minutes. It looked like everyone had a go at it too. It was absolutely pitiful how easy they got possession so quickly. Needs to be practiced ASAP.


IS THERE ANY POSSIBILTY OF THE COACHING STAFF READING THESE THREADS, COS ALOT OF COMMENTS EVERYONE ARE SAYING ARE VALUABLE POINTS NOT BEING ASSESSED. I WAS SO PISSED OFF SATURDAY NIGHT, ASK MY NEIGHBOURS.

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The climbing has alread began

On that point Synbad (and i think this is on your point)..if you watch a team like Sydney (who i beleive to be one of the best drilled sides along with Adelaide) as soon as they get the ball in their defencive half they 'set up' an attack. They all know where to run and how to best set up the play according to where the opposition is positioned.

You just see it so many times, Sydney run so hard to help out and make space. And the outcome is that they open up the corridor and usually get the ball inside 50 very effectively in my opinion.

It's not a hard game! When we get the ball in our defensive 50 every single player should know what they need to do and where they need to run. I'm sick of the excuses that theyre still young and learning...most of these kids have been playing footy all there lives! You dont handball to staitionary targets, you run, block and shepherd for your teamates. And most of all you talk!

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Loooook OUT!

So many wrist slashers
1. The cats (premiers) had come off a shellacking and were looking to make a statement/restore pride. We went into the game as a developing side looking to be competitive after having finished 15th last year, and with the spoon the previous 2 seasons prior.

2. players that were missing from our best 22 - hadley, houlihan, waite, jamison, bannister and walker

Of their best 22, the cats were only missing 3 players - mooney, egan, chapman

We had twice the number of injuries from our best 22, when we clearly dont have the depth to cover the loss of players as the top sides do.

3. In terms of the overall team we averaged 59.1 games (cats 93. with an average age of 23 (cats 25). That is pretty much 2 full seasons of footy - If you included statistical player turnover/attrition rates that happen in ALL teams, then the figure would be closer to being 3-4 season behind the cats in terms of player/team development.

4. IF we look at 'youngsters' The cats had 11 players who have played 100+games, we had 17 (ie 3/4 of the team).

Of our 'youngsters' - 6 players have played less than the equivalent of a season of football (22 games)
armfield - 1st game
browne - 5th game
hampson - 6th game
kreuzer - 8th game
grigg - 13th game
bower - 22nd game

A further 5 players have played under 50 games (making for 11 total - ie the same as geelongs sub-100 game mark)
gibbs - 31st game
cloke - 35th game
russell - 38th game
setanta - 42nd game
murphy 45th game

Basically 1/2 the team have played less than 2 seasons of football. In terms of age Cloke and setanta are 25, the next oldest is russell who is a 21yo

If you looked at the cats 'inexperienced' players you'd have
lonergan - 8 games (a young 25yo - mature body)
taylor - 8 games (21yo)
hawkins - 19games (a 19yo 103kg man-child - mature body)
varcoe - 20 games (as a 20yo)
selwood - 31 games (20yo)
byrnes - 49 games (24yo - mature body)
stokes - 39 games (23yo mature body)
blake - 43 games (22 yo who has played THREE times the number of games of hampson/kreuzer combined)


Given all the above, was it really that surprising that our kids got smashed in the contests and had less of an impact than they would in games against less physical opponents?

Perhaps the wrist slashers would like to state (ie margin) and explain how we should have played given the apparent poor game plan/coaching/player development - go ahead, enlighten me.