Structures What the ?

[chuckie]

We keep hearing if we get our structures right we will be very competitive.
On Sunday we were 3 and a bit goals down at half time and playing very poor,
the coach admits afterwards he thought we were only in the game for the first ten minutes so after half time why don't we try something different, ATTACK.
We had 3 tall forwards LRT, Reid and Seaby why not just kick it long to a tall option, at least if they don't mark it the crumbers have a chance to get it.
It makes a lot more sense than mucking around with it across half back especially when we have so many players that continue to miss targets with there kicking either a metre short, wide or over the heads of there team mate, so we are always under pressure and eventually cough it up.
Not much point bringing the sub on the ground when your 8 goals down with no descendacy should have come on at half time.
Are our structures good enough to beat the good sides or are we just kidding ourselves that we can.
Since 2007 when Geelong changed the way the game style was being played our style has not be good enough to go with the good sides and even against lower sides they are always a chance because we don't kick enough goals.
I have a lot of faith in Longmire and our young kids coming through but at some stage we should throw away the shackles and just let them play who knows we might kick more than 11 goals in a game.
The 4 losses this year we have averaged 8 goals and 11 goals for the whole year.
Not good enough.

[Sauce]

We havent got leg speed. We are awesome at shutting down teams but in order to do so we need all of our mids to be as close to being perfect as possible. If longmuire decides to open the game up and play more of an attacking carry the ball and run game we will or have been smashed due to leg speed.

If we allow our opposition to open up and find space..we are screwed.

[liz]

We havent got leg speed. We are awesome at shutting down teams but in order to do so we need all of our mids to be as close to being perfect as possible. If longmuire decides to open the game up and play more of an attacking carry the ball and run game we will or have been smashed due to leg speed.

If we allow our opposition to open up and find space..we are screwed.

Leg speed is a nice to have, not a need to have. It is far more important that the players can kick or handball the darned footy to each other, rather than aim it at their team mates' feet, and that they can actually catch the ball and hold onto it when it is kicked to them in metres of space. The ability to pick the ball cleanly off the ground, especially when not under pressure, is helpful too.

[GongSwan]

We had more inside 50's than Carlton so I can't see your point about kicking long. The delivery to forwards still has to be good. Ours isn't. Absolutely we should be looking for leg speed, we've been lamenting that for years, but really, when yr team skills are down accross the board and you miss targets and turn the ball over as often as we do, how are we going to beat the better sides.

[Nich]

Leg speed is a nice to have, not a need to have. It is far more important that the players can kick or handball the darned footy to each other, rather than aim it at their team mates' feet, and that they can actually catch the ball and hold onto it when it is kicked to them in metres of space. The ability to pick the ball cleanly off the ground, especially when not under pressure, is helpful too.

So, so , so , so true. Exactly what I have been saying. We are getting the ball. It's our basic skills in kicking and marking that are screwing us over, as well as clean ball. Spot on Liz.

[ShockOfHair]

Goodes' comments after the game were spot on - we lost because we couldn't stand up under the Carlton defensive pressure.

Three stats tell the story: THey outtackled us 88-70. We're the top tackling team in the league - they beat us at our game.
We won the inside 50s 46-42 but couldn't convert - Carlton forward pressure.
They smashed us in uncontested possessions 215-171 - tells us that Carlton controlled the ball and the game. (We actually won contested poss, which is usually a key indicator.)

The game was about which team made the greater defensive effort and which team stood up better under pressure. We lost on both counts.

[Mr Magoo]

Our problem is that we simply arent good enough to match it with the top three or four teams unless :
1. We have our absolute best team on the park, and
2. We play at our absolute best, and
3. the opposition doesnt.

Tweaking our structure here and there may make a slight difference but its not going to make up the gap.

[Scottee]

Chuckie, we didn't attack because our passing by hand and foot under pressure was rubbish.

[Triple B]

Chuckie, we didn't attack because our passing by hand and foot under pressure was rubbish.

As it so often is, unfortunately. We handball to our teammates feet constantly...

[Rob-bloods]

We do lack pace generally. We include Jetta for pace and even if he plays a full game he gets single digit possessions. When we are under pressure any forward structure we have is non existent. On Sunday apart from anything else those four goal attempts, two out on the full and two points, obviously killed any chance of us pressuring Carlton on the scoreboard. However when we did get a chance to get forward we could not hit a target, and the inside 50s were just bomb ups. I think we must accept (NB coaches) Jetta is currently a waste of space. I certainly hope he succeeds but he should sit and watch Yarran's tape from Sunday for a start and get multiple possssions in the reserves. And we are kidding ourselves if we think Goodes should start full forward, play him wing and centre no point in taking flashy marks and missing goals and he does not tackle up there anyway!

[Hartijon]

If its our execution of skills under pressure that is the problem and its widespread across the team ,then something needs changing in our training programme. That is a coaching problem.Its the coaches responsibility to set up training drills that simulate game pressure so that handballing under pressure becomes second nature, so that hitting someone with a pass is accomplished 9 times out of 10,and goal kicking from 30 metres out ,right in front is a 95% certainty.

It seems that the emphasis at the Swans has been on fitness,(and we are fit), but at the expense of skills. We wear opponents down rather than kick away from them on the scoreboard.This will not work on the top 4 sides.

The game day coaching lacks imagination too. If we are getting beaten we need to admit it and change the tactics. Trying to stop teams that are 5 goals ahead from scoring more won't win us the game.We have to attack and kick goals.In this situation I would love to see Longmire put our 5 best players up the spine and instruct players to play on at all costs, handball at all costs and kick long at all costs STRAIGHT UP THE MIDDLE! So what if a turnover gives the opposition a goal! We are being thrashed anyway.To go down attacking is honourable,to go down frigging around going sideways and ending up nowhere is pathetic.

[chuckie]

If its our execution of skills under pressure that is the problem and its widespread across the team ,then something needs changing in our training programme. That is a coaching problem.Its the coaches responsibility to set up training drills that simulate game pressure so that handballing under pressure becomes second nature, so that hitting someone with a pass is accomplished 9 times out of 10,and goal kicking from 30 metres out ,right in front is a 95% certainty.

It seems that the emphasis at the Swans has been on fitness,(and we are fit), but at the expense of skills. We wear opponents down rather than kick away from them on the scoreboard.This will not work on the top 4 sides.

The game day coaching lacks imagination too. If we are getting beaten we need to admit it and change the tactics. Trying to stop teams that are 5 goals ahead from scoring more won't win us the game.We have to attack and kick goals.In this situation I would love to see Longmire put our 5 best players up the spine and instruct players to play on at all costs, handball at all costs and kick long at all costs STRAIGHT UP THE MIDDLE! So what if a turnover gives the opposition a goal! We are being thrashed anyway.To go down attacking is honourable,to go down frigging around going sideways and ending up nowhere is pathetic.

Agree 100% and it is not just Longmire, Roos wouldn't make any changes either.

[RogueSwan]

Leg speed is a nice to have, not a need to have. It is far more important that the players can kick or handball the darned footy to each other, rather than aim it at their team mates' feet, and that they can actually catch the ball and hold onto it when it is kicked to them in metres of space. The ability to pick the ball cleanly off the ground, especially when not under pressure, is helpful too.

So, so , so , so true. Exactly what I have been saying. We are getting the ball. It's our basic skills in kicking and marking that are screwing us over, as well as clean ball. Spot on Liz.

I agree with both of these. I don't understand everyone's fascination with leg speed. Sure it would be nice to have some speedsters, but in reality quick, clean ball movement will beat the fastest runner every day.

[Nico]

I agree with both of these. I don't understand everyone's fascination with leg speed. Sure it would be nice to have some speedsters, but in reality quick, clean ball movement will beat the fastest runner every day.

The better you move and deliver the ball the quicker you look.

[Mr Magoo]

The best coaches develop a structure and a game plan around the capabiity of the players around them. There is no point just year after year adjusting your game plan to match what collingwood have done, what geelong did before them.

It wasnt that long ago that everyone was criticizing Malthouse for collingwoods chip around the edge of the ground game style when it seemed that the only way to play was direct handball through the centre. Not saying that I have the answer but I also think it is a mistake to try to make our gamestyle like the percevied "only way to win" of the time. I think we have done a little too much of this. Arent we better off saying our best forward structure is this and to take advantage of it we need to play like this / bring the ball in this way. If it fails at least you have played to your players strengths but if you just copycat all the time all you do is highlight your lists weaknesses as you are playing them to a style that suits another team.