Re: The Game Plan - Better, Worse Or Non-Existent ??
Reply #28 –
OK, I think I have a good grasp on where we are going now, and I think the game plan is flawed.
I wondered why we are so focused on moving the ball around the boundary line, why stoppages are a key part of the game plan, and what benefit doing so can have?
I suspect the "sales pitch" for the game plan is that it is designed to get the team late into the season with the most amount of "run in their legs" left to compete in the finals. Almost like planning to run a marathon with a limited resource that you cannot waste too early, so you minimise the waste early by doing lots of stop / start ground work and preparation "around the boundaries."
But I think it is flawed, I think the problem with the plan is that it ignores fatigue caused by other aspects of play, mental fatigue, stress, collisions and frustration. Your legs might be fine but that doesn't mean you aren't physically and mentally shattered. It's not a natural way to play football, it is more like a rugby scrum, wrestle or tug-of-war!
The apparent game plan never gives players a break, they usually teeter between a couple of goals down and a couple of goals up. It's like getting to the lead in the race then deliberately slowing to keep your opponent at your shoulder. You just won't ever see that cruise mode that Adelaide or Hawthorn experience. In my opinion those cruise moments give players a mental break as much as a physical break. Our game plan appears to be relentless burden, a wrestling or boxing match without a bell, just a non-stop slog.
It must be so draining on the players, like flagellation, you bash yourself towards the finals and are relieved if you actually get there!
I think a further flaw in the plan is if you make every contest an arm wrestle, you basically leave your fate to the toss of a coin late in a game. You are hardly ever going to be comfortable because your game plan doesn't allow you to escape the opponent. The opponents are nearly always in the zone with a genuine shot at beating you.
I think our opponents know this, the MM plan is well understood, and all those close loses are an indicator that it is doomed to fail.
Port, Dawks, Adelaide, all appear to do the complete opposite. They do their very best to put the opponents down early, remove the opponents motivation and brace against a potential second wave. If they get that break on a club with a game plan like ours, we have no hope of closing the gap, our plan gains ground one step at a time while the others sprint ahead in leaps and bounds!
We are the Tortoise in "The Tortoise and the Hare", our wins rely on the Hare being a complete idiot!
Finally,the area we lack the most, the creative area of the game, the forward line. How does it flourish under this regime? It must surely wither, is that what we are seeing now?
Topic: The Game Plan - Better, Worse Or Non-Existent ?? (Read 31350 times)
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