Our kick in strategy? What is it?

[Jeffers1984]

I'm pretty much at a loss at why we don't take advantage of the quick kick-in rule. Do we honestly want to try and cut through a zone with painful precision?

We just look completely unsure and the pressure just mounts on us when we can't find a target or the end result is a throw in on our defensive 50.

I always groan when we have Mattner or even Malceski now using up all 15 seconds of our time without a clue where to really kick it to.

So does anyone see any strategy in our kick ins at all?!! Honestly?!

[AlexC]

clearly the strategy is to kick it along the boundary short, I'm undecided if i would rather a kick and hope, or the safety first option

[sharp9]

The shots from behind the goals show that the same strategy has been applied for 4 or 5 years...namely....players upfield mark an opponent and don't make any sort of lead to space....kicker kick to the man in the pocket or long to a contest which manages to favour the opposition two on one - despite the fact that we have 12 players in the 50.

[Swans_Lad11]

We don't seem to have a clue half the time. I wouldn't blame Mattner, or anyone who kicks it in, I think the problem seems to be more the half back line which seems half the time to not show any initiative to find space and present a target to kick to. Its been a problem for ages and its often one of my pet frustrations.

[AlexC]

do you think with the quick kick in we could sustain the counter attack that we would get from it?

[ugg]

It's the same strategy we use on the rest of the field. Stand around and wait for something to happen. Except from a kick-in they can't kick to another player behind them.

[dimelb]

do you think with the quick kick in we could sustain the counter attack that we would get from it?

I think we could make a good fist of it if we did what we did a few times tonight, i.e. run it and pass Rugby style, with a few forward passes thrown in. It worked OK but broke down at the point where they could have kicked long into the forward 50 or the top of the arc. My impression: it is a lack of confidence that stops them from going the whole hog. St Kilda, on the other hand, seemed willing to chance their arm, and often enough it came off.

[AlexC]

I think we could make a good fist of it if we did what we did a few times tonight, i.e. run it and pass Rugby style, with a few forward passes thrown in. It worked OK but broke down at the point where they could have kicked long into the forward 50 or the top of the arc. My impression: it is a lack of confidence that stops them from going the whole hog. St Kilda, on the other hand, seemed willing to chance their arm, and often enough it came off.

fair point, I mean, no matter what anyone says we have a team of brave players, but we aren't brave enough to take a few risks i.e handballs and long kicks. the way the game is played, its based on risks.

[Melbournehammer]

actually its worse than that. its the senior players lack confidence in players upfield and ho,d the ball and kill their junior players. Goodes in the second quarter decided after receiving the ball at half back that he would wait for every st kilda player to close in on space and then turned the ball over leading directly to kosi's pack mark and goal.

it was ugly football from a senior player when the situation demanded that he release the ball quickly.

likewise he did exactly the same thing when he chose not to release the ball to two swans streaming past and then got doen for holding the ball.

the 2003 side played give the ball to the man run on footy and it was great. and they did what they needed to because there was a belief that this suited the makeup of the team.

the 05-06 sides played slow deliberate football but had better skills than most of the rest of the competition particularly between wing and centre-half forward....those who criticised nick davis forget just how critical he was by hitting players (as was o'keefe and buchanan) on the lead.

the current team neither plays on nor can hit targets regularly.

[stellation]

Our kick-ins are atrocious, I find them by far the most frustrating part of our game. Not only do we not take advantage of quick kick-ins, which I think is completely unforgiveable, but it also seemed last night that when we did get out desginated kickers ready we did nothing to get somebody open.

[Rob-bloods]

I was posting on this under aints game, agree wholeheartedly kickins terrible, pressure defence unnecessarily all the time, last season and now same old rubbish, what do all these overpaid assistant coaches do exactly?

[ernie koala]

Roos mantra of.. "no turnovers".. unfortunately leads to attempting risk free play (opposite to Geelong) and explains our often indecisive play, both from kick ins and generally. Players are obviously under close scrutiny, from Roos and co, regarding any turnovers they commit. He harps on about it at nearly every press conference he gives.

[Playsmart]

Terible kickins

I was posting on this under aints game, agree wholeheartedly kickins terrible, pressure defence unnecessarily all the time, last season and now same old rubbish, what do all these overpaid assistant coaches do exactly?

Agree with above - one of the key reasons that we lost. clear failure for all coaches not to get out of this very bad habit of slow kickins, a rule that has already been around awhile now. It is agonising painful to watch the kickins.

[Nico]

Are we talking here about players taking a long time to find a target or when they genuinely have a chance to take advantage of the quick kick in. I think posters have been a bit harsh on last night's scenario.

I can hardly think of a time when the ball came back quickly to the full back in time to kick off quickly. Most times it went over the fence and the Saints had already blocked up their forward 50.

When they had a set shot you could see their players moving into their kickout positions before the ball was kicked for goal. Yet we didn't man up or get into position when it was our turn, and it was frustrating to see St Kilda just waltz out of our backline from kick ins for that reason rather than the quick kick in.

I have more of a problem with our forwards not backing themselves from 50 metres with a set shot.

[Mel_C]

Did anyone else notice after a behind that LRT would take the ball in the square and then drop it for Malceski or Mattner to pick it up and kick it in? By the time they got the ball the umpire was calling for them to hurry up and then it was play on. There was no time to find a target so they always kicked it to the pocket.
In the years that the new kick in rule has come in I have rarely seen us quickly kick it in and take advantage. The opposition seems to do it to us every week.