You're the Coach: Question #3

[mjp]

What a couple of weeks. You have engineered a last minute fightback with the move forward of Bailey Dale (2-weeks ago) and last week...well, what a win. After being credited by the players for a 'positive and inspirational' 1/4 time address, your 'Dogs came storming back from 6-goals down at quarter time to win by 26 points going away...the game really was beyond doubt from the time you hit the front right on the 3/4 time siren with a mark/goal to Josh Bruce - matched up against the inexperienced De Koning who looked both over-matched and out of ideas.

So - on to our next game.

It is 10-minutes into the 2nd quarter against the Saints and your team is 4-goals to the good. The numbers all 'look' OK but you just have a feeling that something isn't right. St Kilda kick a goal from an intercept deep inside your forward 50m - it is a 2-minute passage of structured play where they control the ball and methodically work it down the field. From the ensuing CBD, again you go forward - only for another Saints intercept and ANOTHER period of control by the Saints...they don't score this time but 'something' is not right.

What do you do???

[Happy Days]

Be content in the knowledge that a Ross Lyon coached team can’t score enough over the rest of the game to make up the difference?

[Grantysghost]

Be content in the knowledge that a Ross Lyon coached team can’t score enough over the rest of the game to make up the difference?


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[Grantysghost]

Naughton back - shore things up until half time.

That - or wheel out Gia as a mercenary to take someone out.

[bornadog]

I voted to wait and see and alert the line coaches. I would expect the leadership group to sort things out as it is not panic stations yet.

[Bulldog4life]

I voted to wait and see and alert the line coaches. I would expect the leadership group to sort things out as it is not panic stations yet.

Same for me MJP.

[meenies]

Sounds like the Freo final or 2021 GF scenario. Forward line not right. Act to stop this. Switch lead patterns and get more separation. Lower heads when kicking inside or if under too much pressure grub kicks to designated spot for smalls to react and run to.

[lemmon]

These are terrific threads - thanks MJP! Playing out my Rocket Eade fantasy.

Agree with Meenies that I'd be making a move forward of the footy. I'd rather a proactive than a reactive coach and they're paid the big bucks to steer the ship - if the captain's intuition says iceberg ahead, I'd want them to change course.

Sounds like we're winning the midfield battle and our defense is holding up, so the issue is our forward half. Reckon you could 'go small' for 10 minutes - Weightman and Bont out of the square with JJ and Laith nipping around - with instructions going out to the mids to lower the eyes and have some composure with the footy. Potentially Dale comes up to the wing as a handball receive merchant. Give their defenders a different look for a while.

Could also go the other way and send someone like big Darcy down there to jump for everything with the instruction going out to the other key forwards to have a cup of concrete and bring it to ground. JJ, Laith and Rhylee getting busy on the deck.

Reckon the decision would depend on what your 22 looks like and how you've structured up in terms of talls and smalls.

[Mantis]

I voted to wait and see and alert the line coaches. I would expect the leadership group to sort things out as it is not panic stations yet.

Does that ever happen in-game?

We are very much a ''momentum team''... when all is going well, we look fantastic, however when the momentum shifts, we seem unable to stem the flow.

[bornadog]

Does that ever happen in-game?

We are very much a ''momentum team''... when all is going well, we look fantastic, however when the momentum shifts, we seem unable to stem the flow.

Expectation and reality does not always align, but that is what should happen.

[Matjoh]

.....but I wouldn't wait too long. Another intercept and goal and I'd tag the interceptor, change our avenue of attack, [angles and all that stuff], likely make my pet move of precision Dale to the wing as per Question 1 & 2, and wait and see if that works. It does! Saints lose that momentum, we recover and win by 4 goals.

[1eyedog]

Honestly I have no idea. I coach u/12s but it seems we've lost shape and need to slow down our i50s or kick really deep to Naughts and Lobb.

I'd go more accountable man on man footy we're pressing or zoning too hard and they're killing us in transition and the players have lost their shape. Work harder defensively, pressure has dropped off. When we get it slow it down. Message out to Bont and Duryea.

Who's running it out of defence for them they need to be dealt with. If it's a HBFlanker JJ or VDM need to shut them down. If it's a mid McLean needs to shut them down. Runner out to JJ / VDM or McLean for a negating role until we start rolling again.

I50s either slow them down, be patient for the lead up (Marra / Flea) or go long to Lobb and Naughts in the square, try to get some contests going and make their key backs accountable. Runner out to Naughton as a leader.

We need to slow the pace of the game and stop the rot otherwise they'll have 4 goals in 10 minutes and all our hard work in the first quarter has been pissed against the wall. Runner out to Bont.

We've seen this happen to us before we can't sit on our hands but perhaps a few subtle tweaks we don't need to start throwing players to opposite ends of the ground and we need to do more than nothing.

It will swing back to us but we need to get our hands dirty for 10 minutes

[mjp]

Honestly I have no idea. I coach u/12s but it seems we've lost shape and need to slow down our i50s or kick really deep to Naughts and Lobb.


I'm just going to challenge you on this part.
We've entered F50 from a CBD. Hard to slow our inside 50m down from there.

[1eyedog]

I'm just going to challenge you on this part.
We've entered F50 from a CBD. Hard to slow our inside 50m down from there.

Ok let's clear it out a bit then. We need to try isolate who is taking these intercepts by dragging them away from the drop of the ball. Whoever it is we need to push our opposing player higher and kick deeper. Playing body on body with an elbow in the ribs against their intercept player wouldn't hurt either!

[jazzadogs]

This seems the most straight forward of the hypotheticals so far - the 'something' that's not right seems to be our forward line, as we have allowed two intercepts.

It might not be changing the players, but just reinforcing their roles - whoever is playing on the interceptor needs to get out of there and give Naughton space. Look for the leads of Lobb and Marra. Smalls need to be ferocious with their pressure and smart with their positioning - when our talks create a contest, we must be there to AT WORST create a forward 50 stoppage.

Winger back - I don't see the need. It sounds like our zone is actually holding up alright. Sure they have controlled the footy, but from a small sample size they are 50/50 on actually working it through.

Naughton back - plays in to their hands. It sounds like we are on top around the footy, and have just given up some intercepts and handed it back to them. Naughton must stay forward to create a contest, or even better be a decoy while we hit up our leading players.

Wait and see - I don't like it. I think at the least you need to refresh some tired legs, or send the message out to tighten up and not allow anymore intercepts. Also pump up how well the zone is working at holding them back.

[mjp]

Now - I guess I don't want to tell anyone how to suck eggs but the intercepts are an intentional red herring.

The TIME OF POSSESSION - Saints controlling the ball is the 'REAL' problem here. They are "controlling the ball" and "methodically working it down the ground".

[Grantysghost]

Momentum shifts in games.

If you sense it happening; shore things up, call a slow down play take the heat out of it by managing/controlling the game.

For me that's numbers back, win possession or stoppage and then play keepings off positional football. Chip it up the line, force it out worst case.
Might only be for 5 to 10 minutes or until we pull one back.
Percentage play for me.

[jazzadogs]

Now - I guess I don't want to tell anyone how to suck eggs but the intercepts are an intentional red herring.

The TIME OF POSSESSION - Saints controlling the ball is the 'REAL' problem here. They are "controlling the ball" and "methodically working it down the ground".

I missed methodically working it down the ground - that gives me flashbacks to the Freo game
at Marvel where we sat a couple of metres off everything and let them do as they pleased. That requires immediate action - has our zone broken down? Does having an extra back actually help, or just give them a loose somewhere else to attack through? I think my initial message would just be to tighten up the zone - reduce the gaps, be proactive in shutting down space, push up to stand the mark and get in their faces - put them under pressure and force the mistake.

If all they are doing is 'controlling the ball' but not progressing with it, just switching back and forth trying to find a gap that we don't give them, that's a win. A well organised side can control the ball for large periods, but if our defensive setup is good enough they still won't score consistently.

I've never coached, so these are just opinions.

[soupman]

It's hardly panic stations yet, so I'd be doing the least intrusive change which is focus on trying to break up their possession and adopt a less attacking mentality, so drop the winger back. It doesn't seem as if our attacking play is coming through them anyway and if asking Anthony Scott to play slightly more defensive hurts us then we're in bigger trouble than it appears.

Of course Jono Brown would is asking where the "tell our players to want it more" option is.

[Mofra]

Our most common reaction over the past two years is to treat our HFF as another midfielder. I voted the forward line mix as if we play two accountable running HFF types then we should be better prepared on transition from our F50