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The Game Plan will most likely revolve around a combination of shutting down the midfield, and trying to generate run from half-back to feed our forwards. Nothing new there.
Midfield:
1. Negate Harvey with Ablett/Mathews. Whilst very clever, he isn't as quick or agile as a Judd, Ablett or McLeod. Wear him like a glove, and if he has a 20 possie game you have most likely won out
2. Match L Ball at hard ball gets. Jude or Kirk can do this just fine, and a player like Ball is ineffective without the ball. Seeing as he goes in and gets it more than any other Saint, if you get it first, he will have limited impact.
3. Negate Lenny. The other tagger not on Harvey gets the job, and it is no less important than Harvey. Kirk might pull the "short" straw on this too, but Roos would like to keep him free as he is no longer a tagger.
4. Restrict Dal. This IMO is the toughest. Such talent, elusiveness and speed. Not quite Judd, but damn close. Very creative and skilled. I think Crouch is a good match-up, but then who for Milne? Schneider?
Half-back Flank
1. Tadgh - since the midfield is at best a 50/50, Tadgh has to generate run through the corridor. We saw him do it well at times in the WC game, and a repeat at that level is a minimum. Needs to spot forward targets on a lead much better though
2. ROK - The third goal to Nick D is the template. He received a handball from Ball in the D50, handballed and avoided the shepherd, and received it again in right on the centre dot. The rest is history. A true HFF, who is now more responsible for I50 entries than kicking goals.
3. Leo - Gehrig is struggling. Spoiling the mark shouldn't be as hard as normal. Smack that hand a few times by "accident" during the game. And then RUN! I seriously doubt Gehrig will give much of a chase, and suddenly we may well get the rebound from Leo that we so crave. If you watch a replay of the Geelong game, you'll see Leo was playing further up the field as Roos felt the game slipping away. I am hoping he finds a way to release Leo as a proactive rather than reactive move this Friday.
Midfield:
1. Negate Harvey with Ablett/Mathews. Whilst very clever, he isn't as quick or agile as a Judd, Ablett or McLeod. Wear him like a glove, and if he has a 20 possie game you have most likely won out
2. Match L Ball at hard ball gets. Jude or Kirk can do this just fine, and a player like Ball is ineffective without the ball. Seeing as he goes in and gets it more than any other Saint, if you get it first, he will have limited impact.
3. Negate Lenny. The other tagger not on Harvey gets the job, and it is no less important than Harvey. Kirk might pull the "short" straw on this too, but Roos would like to keep him free as he is no longer a tagger.
4. Restrict Dal. This IMO is the toughest. Such talent, elusiveness and speed. Not quite Judd, but damn close. Very creative and skilled. I think Crouch is a good match-up, but then who for Milne? Schneider?
Half-back Flank
1. Tadgh - since the midfield is at best a 50/50, Tadgh has to generate run through the corridor. We saw him do it well at times in the WC game, and a repeat at that level is a minimum. Needs to spot forward targets on a lead much better though
2. ROK - The third goal to Nick D is the template. He received a handball from Ball in the D50, handballed and avoided the shepherd, and received it again in right on the centre dot. The rest is history. A true HFF, who is now more responsible for I50 entries than kicking goals.
3. Leo - Gehrig is struggling. Spoiling the mark shouldn't be as hard as normal. Smack that hand a few times by "accident" during the game. And then RUN! I seriously doubt Gehrig will give much of a chase, and suddenly we may well get the rebound from Leo that we so crave. If you watch a replay of the Geelong game, you'll see Leo was playing further up the field as Roos felt the game slipping away. I am hoping he finds a way to release Leo as a proactive rather than reactive move this Friday.
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