Re: Rd 9: Post Game Pain: Carlton vs. North Melbourne
Reply #137 –
Clarke and Barker MAY be going well, but that doesn't mean we don't have problems in this area.
It has been VERY clear from Day 1 that we have a new midfield setup. In particular, it is clear that we are working on getting the ball out quickly, and we are not worrying so much about stopping our opponents getting the ball out (the opposite to what things were like under Malthouse), an almost recklessly attacking approach compared to our old defensive mindset. Guys have roles there and they are working to a plan. You could see it in both the seniors and the NBs: the setup is distinct and designed to have someone who is quick and can kick the ball well and long to get the pill. It appears to be a high risk - high reward strategy and it definitely didn't work early in the piece.
It was most obvious to me in the Suns game, where Ablett and Hall picked off Murphy and Gibbs as they handballed to where they expected players to be and they were not there.
It also depended on the rucks at least breaking even, managing to minimize the taps to advantage that the opposition got. Like Hawthorn, it didn't matter so much that we did not get the tap, as long as the opposition did not get dominance from it.
Therein lies most of our problems.
Our ruckmen have made significant improvements, but they are not yet doing everything that the coaches want them to do. That our senior ruckmen have been dropping like flies does not help the team or the centre square structures.
For example, early in the season Kreuzer was being effected the way he was trying to effect others: his taps were being interfered with at the centre bounce and did not go quite in the right spot or at the right speed. The GC ruckman was particularly good at doing this. And against Richmond neither Kreuzer nor Philips could get on top of Hampson, who managed to direct his taps very well. In the Sydney game things were like the Suns game: our midfield possessions were being interfered with, leading to fumbles and tackles, or being picked off, leading to uninterrupted clearances going the other way.
Our mids are getting better at our new structures: they have improved their clearance work a lot and no not get picked off like they were. Kreuzer and Phillips were doing a better job and gaining some confidence while they were doing it, leading to more marks around the ground.
Unfortunately injury then stuffed us up. Gorringe tried, but he was not able to effect Goldstein enough. Goldstein had a huge number of taps to advantage, which left us open and vulnerable.
Our mids came back well, but the Roos' structures were going perfectly to plan because of their total ruck dominance.
I do not expect to have the same problems this week, Geelong's ruck combination is not as good as Goldstein is. However, they are likely to get first use of the ball and they do have some quality midfielders.
I am more fearful of playing West Coast. NicNat is as good a ruckman as anyone, and more athletic than most. When he gets taps, they are usually to advantage. It is rare competing ruckmen interfere with his taps: he either gets them or he doesn't. That is something we do not yet have the ability to combat.
Nor are we alone. When Hawthorn had their ruck woes at the start of the season, they lost. Their young ruckman could not interfere with his opponents successfully. Their opponents got the ball out cleanly and beat them. The next week Hawthorn got a ruckman back, and they managed to hold on to win. They did the trick 3 times in 3 close ones.
Mind you, Hawthorn are also very dependent on Mitchell. But that is another tale.
Barker and Clarke still have a fair bit of work to do to straighten out our midfield structures. I won't cry for them to abandon their plans yet, but they have to modify them to suit what we can put out on the field. That I have not seen yet.
Where you are building a team, and clearly focussing on recruiting new blood and transitioning game styles you dont change it up every week unless you do so by design to see what limitations you have in your group.
Realistically though, you teach players to play your way which involves accepting they will get it wrong often, right sometimes, but it wont improve without repeating the process.
You can accept that you don't have the cattle and change the plan but that may effect everything else accordingly resulting in a year where you changed plans to something that isnt what you want to be doing moving forward, and is completely counter productive because it fits the team better. Thats a waste of time IMHO.
Realistically, the coach should stick to how he wants to play and we all need to accept that whether or not we are suited to it, is irrelevant as players will learn in time how it works and react accordingly and if they don't learn or wont play the way the coach plays, then in the market they are free to find somewhere else that will play the way they want to.
If we believe we have the right coach, then we need to accept that any stubborn sticking to a particular way of playing is for the longer term benefit at the expense of now in order for everyone to learn what to do accordingly.
Topic: Rd 9: Post Game Pain: Carlton vs. North Melbourne (Read 31384 times)
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