THE GAME PLAN?

[Wormburner 674]

I just watched the Foxtel replay of the R19 Melb vs GWS match...

There is always so much positivity for the preseason, but watching that was a reminder and a reality check - we really stink!!!!

As Roos has said a number of times "we are a 2 game win and 54% team".

IMO our gameplan 2014 is - Everyone is accountable, be competitive and reduce turnovers from sloppy disposals.

[monoccular 17,573]

It will start with actually getting the ball and holding on to it

Ill never forget the nightmare under Neeld... the opposition having between 100 and 150 more possessions than us every week

What a joke of a coach he was

"Didn't see that coming"

Roos Gameplan with the Swans was set up to play the SCG in a defensive manner. There will be elements of that bouught in i predict, but he will have to make it work consistently on the MCG.

BOTTOM LINE. Get the ball and use it wisely to team mates who have spread to open space.

Three big changes needed for MFC to attain that, but I have faith in Roos to get it up and running. As you say get ball, use wisely with spread and run ahead. Simple game really.

[H_T 3,049]

One word we'll read a lot and see a lot of in 2014.........."Grappling"

[Dees2014 2,377]

I think it will be more daring than his Sydney game plan but will be built on contested football and defensive running.

Will be interesting to see if he will coach from the ground or the box.

Potentially a stronger, more brilliant forward line than Sydney had too, which will to some extent determine how we play.

I expect a very hard at it mid field, fierce at the contested footy, good at clearances, but also some of the bailey style run and spread to get it down to the forward line as quickly as possible with less predicable avenues i.e. chippy around looking for gaps, but also long bombs to use our marking power.

There are a lot of strengths which can be woven into a unique demon gameplan - it will not be the same as Sydney IMHO.

BETTER HOPEFULLY!

[DeeSpencer 26,081]

Roos' basics will be very similar to Neeld's - you can count on it. And the Sydney Roos game plan will be the blueprint for ours. But there is one major difference. We have what is potentially an amazing forward line. Roos never had that at Sydney. At Sydney his forward/goal scoring was based around Hall inside 50, with Goodes and O'Keefe running inside 50.

With Clark, Dawes, Hogan, Fitzy and Howe, along with Watts playing something like a Goodes role, this will change the plan considerably. Not sure in what way yet, but it will have to be very different.

Midfield and defensively we will see stoppages and boundary line play just like the Swans 2005 - 2012.

I disagree on that. I think back in 2005 Goodes was very much a midfielder almost exclusively. He used to go head to head with Judd in games. Micky O was a slightly undersized full forward. Hall the centre piece who played anywhere from 30-70m from goal and was a main target and O'Keefe was the third tall who did a lot of lead up work. Nick Davis was probably that mix between opportunistic small forward and also marking forward. They also had 2 primary ruckman and whilst it was the days when the second ruck sat on the pine a lot I do remember Jolly often spending time in the goal square.

Dawes can be a bigger version of O'Keefe as the up the ground player. Hogan can take Hall's spot as a the old fashioned go to CHF and then those 2 can swap. Clark sits in the goal square as the back up ruck but is obviously a class above the likes of Jolly doing that and Howe plays as a small who rotates up the ground and gets used as a miss match not a go to in a crowded forward line.

I think Sydney this year will show us that you don't have to disrupt your fundamental game plan and style to capitalise on key forwards. The alternative is trying for a North Melbourne attacking plan to get fast forward 50 entries to multiple tall forwards but I think that costs too much in terms of defensive ability to make it work.

My point is that Sydney had an above average forward line in 2005 and that we can too but to set up some plan revolving around our tall forwards is fraught with danger.

[george_on_the_outer 7,696]

Game Plan? Two words with little meaning other than to make supporters feel like something scientific is being done!

Playing football, like most sports is about the individual players ability to execute basic skills. Some players have an abundance of skills, others not.

The real skill as a Coach is to recognise the skills and abilities within the playing group, and giving those deficient players a role which causes least damage.

So when Roos was at Sydney he had Richards playing one on one solely in the back line, Rhys Shaw as a half back solely, McGlynn as a forward pocket solely., Jolly to hit the ball to his feet, where their good kids could do something with it. They were drilled to perform their role no matter what.

There is no " game plan" about teaching players to kick or run to certain locations. Every quality AFL player does that naturally.

What IS difficult is teaching the sub-optimal players to run and do things which do not come naturally.

We have suffered from an excess of sub-optimals, who then weren't given a simple role.

Roos plan at Sydney was filling roles. We have already seen the recruiting done to fill these deficiencies. And we know that Cross, Vince and probably Michie won't need to be taught AFL footy basics. This then has the secondary effect of denying selection to the sub-optimals.

As others have noted.."game plan" is to win.

Not having spuds, lazies or incapables running around guarantees that.

[Bedraggled Dee 336]

Not sure what would consitute a game plan but to start with I would like to see us :

1. Have a decent strategy for kickins that actually ends up with the ball getting past halfway more often than not

2. Win at least 50% of the clearances

3. Take a dozen marks each game inside the foward 50

4. Have a competetive number of possesions

5. Have them chase us for a change

[stevethemanjordan 6,952]

The game plan is not going to be very different at all.

However, the way we execute it will be noticibly different. The intensity, uniformity, respect, accountability and concentration I expect, will also be different.

Paul Roos commands respect and inspires players. Neeld did not.

Paul Roos has brought with him a lighter feel at the training track much in the same way Bailey's training was conducted. He is a personable coach who forms string bonds with individual players and has a track record of getting the best out of them. Neeld did not, has not and will not.

Dean Bailey didn't have a game plan but was a fantastic communicator and developer of young players.

Mark Neeld had a game plan, couldn't communicate, didn't command respect and the players lost all confidence in the team and their own ability.

Paul Roos knows what game plan will work and is renown for being one of the best (if not, the best) development coaches within the AFL. He commands respect, instils confidence, inspires players and this will prove the difference.

It's all about how the players respond to him. And they will respond. New midfield, a fit Clark, a new Hogan and a team that will individually and as a team play so much better. As soon as we get a taste of that winning feeling against the Saints, it will catapult our confidence and we'll have a season many didn't see coming.

I'm a firm believer of this.

[rpfc 28,777]

Potentially a stronger, more brilliant forward line than Sydney had too, which will to some extent determine how we play.

I expect a very hard at it mid field, fierce at the contested footy, good at clearances, but also some of the bailey style run and spread to get it down to the forward line as quickly as possible with less predicable avenues i.e. chippy around looking for gaps, but also long bombs to use our marking power.

There are a lot of strengths which can be woven into a unique demon gameplan - it will not be the same as Sydney IMHO.

BETTER HOPEFULLY!

lol

Better than Sydney?

Certainly won't happen in the year you bear in your name.

[rpfc 28,777]

It's all about how the players respond to him. And they will respond. New midfield, a fit Clark, a new Hogan and a team that will individually and as a team play so much better. As soon as we get a taste of that winning feeling against the Saints, it will catapult our confidence and we'll have a season many didn't see coming.

I'm a firm believer of this.

I am too.

I just don't believe it will happen as quickly as some on here seem to think. Confidence, when you lose it, takes a while to restore - even with a great coach.

2014 will have it's tough times, hopefully without the dark times.

[beelzebub 23,383]

Game Plan? Two words with little meaning other than to make supporters feel like something scientific is being done!

Playing football, like most sports is about the individual players ability to execute basic skills. Some players have an abundance of skills, others not.

The real skill as a Coach is to recognise the skills and abilities within the playing group, and giving those deficient players a role which causes least damage.

So when Roos was at Sydney he had Richards playing one on one solely in the back line, Rhys Shaw as a half back solely, McGlynn as a forward pocket solely., Jolly to hit the ball to his feet, where their good kids could do something with it. They were drilled to perform their role no matter what.

There is no " game plan" about teaching players to kick or run to certain locations. Every quality AFL player does that naturally.

What IS difficult is teaching the sub-optimal players to run and do things which do not come naturally.

We have suffered from an excess of sub-optimals, who then weren't given a simple role.

Roos plan at Sydney was filling roles. We have already seen the recruiting done to fill these deficiencies. And we know that Cross, Vince and probably Michie won't need to be taught AFL footy basics. This then has the secondary effect of denying selection to the sub-optimals.

As others have noted.."game plan" is to win.

Not having spuds, lazies or incapables running around guarantees that.

LIKE

A lot of elements about how you effectively play this game were missing from efforts of recent times.. These hopefully will return. The game despite many protests really isn't that hard. It is about individual contests and the proper execution of skills as put by GOTO.

If players progress the ball to another team mate in an effective and timely manner instead of continually offering it up to a contest you will fare better. If you have the confidence to follow up the ball and indeed make another option , you will fare better. If you do YOUR job and not rely on others doing theirs , you will fare better.

I've noticed in vision of training now that the style of contest has changed. I even saw some silly bugger shepherding, what was he thinking The direction taken out of a contest seems cleaner ( and less likely to end up in another contest ). These are all the so called basic skills. These are the building blocks of playing footy.

Unlike basket ball and to a much lesser extent that round ball game footy being played on such a vast field with so many participants make it nigh on impossible to execute so called game plans. Too many thing happen to necessitate on the spot revisions. Empowering the players with better skillsets and the confidence to use them together with sound strategies of play is what its about.

This is what I believe is currently happening.

Game plan...probably as simple as , don't let the bastards get the ball , if they do get it off them, don't let same said aforementioned bastards pass the ball , if they attempt , spoil. If we have ball pass to a better option not feed into hamstrung contests.

You can only hope to play to a set routine at ball ups and a kickin. Hopefully a lot of work IS going into these. We're deplorable to date.

Edited December 8, 2013 by beelzebub

[stevethemanjordan 6,952]

I am too. I just don't believe it will happen as quickly as some on here seem to think. Confidence, when you lose it, takes a while to restore - even with a great coach. 2014 will have it's tough times, hopefully without the dark times.

Port did it, we can too. It only takes a Coach who can get their players to respond as well as some talent on the list. Especially the midfield. And now we have that.

Maybe not top 8. But an out of sight improvement upon this year.

[rpfc 28,777]

Port did it, we can too. It only takes a Coach who can get their players to respond as well as some talent on the list. Especially the midfield. And now we have that.

Maybe not top 8. But an out of sight improvement upon this year.

Do we?

We have Cross and Vince as proven experienced AFL players. We have lost Sylvia from that bracket.

I see potential in Tyson, Michie, Trengove, Riley, Viney, Evans, Watts, Howe, and Toumpas, and they are capable of bringing something more to a terrible midfield - but it is far from a guaranteed improvement in 2014.

[dpositive 1,684]

why would we look now for links to our horrible past?

I do not want to see anything to do with Neeld's boundary-oriented game plan. Please, never again! I do not want to see fear again. I do not want to see us getting locked into the negativity of passing backwards, or the unimaginative and defeated mentality of kicking out to Jamar every time, or Jack Watts waiting for the rebound when our full-back kicks out, or any of the rest of it. Kick to Jamar when it makes sense to, go by the boundary if that really is the best option, etc - but, the "game plan" needs to be using creative football intelligence and skills, not by-the-numbers negative "set plays".

I am counting on Roos to have a "game plan" based on opportunity and vision, with teamwork creating opportunity, and confidence giving rise to in-the-moment vision and execution. Something they will love playing.

Neeld's whole mentality was Neeld-oriented: the players had to buy into Neeld, and with very few exceptions they shrivelled up in proportion to how much they tried to buy in. Roos says it is up to the players, and he's right. We will at last discover what they can do. Roos is building faith and confidence in his players, in themselves and in each other, as human beings and as footballers. He is clearly focusing on the basics of football - running to support and to create options, and skills in kicking, handballing, overlapping, shepherding, presenting, making it happen fast, etc. Roos has started from a very different place to Neeld, and from training reports and everything coming out of the club, there is no grounds for saying Roos is focused on "defence first". He is a motivator and encourager, hands-on and engaging personally; and he has recruited for a powerful skilled running team. No big predictions or condemnations. What Roos is up to appears to have almost nothing in common with what Neeld did or what his priorities were.

You won't see "buy in" coming up as a big issue this year. That was the key every time our failed game plan got discussed under Neeld...

Really need that LIKE button here

or maybe even better

Great post Robbie

[Hannibal 5,814]

I think the Master is right. SPREAD, SPREAD, SPREAD and doing it at pace is Roos' mantra. Running two ways. There will be a lot of effort setting up at stoppages and making sure your opponent isn't goal side or can sneak out the back. Structures will be a key focus.

Neeld was big on defence and occasionally went man on man, but players never spread, they were lazy, and their structures were appalling. We won't get sucked into the contest only for a team of opposition runners to cut us apart on the burst.

Edited December 8, 2013 by Ben-Hur

[John Crow Batty 8,879]

The refreshing thing is that Roos will not have the baggage from the previous administration that Neeld had to deal with. The players had lost all confidence in those in charge and the direction the club was heading under Stynes, McLardy and Schwab and Co. Neeld was made skipper of a fast sinking ship and he did not have the qualities to do anything positive about it. Hence his game plan was still born from the begining because he was perceived as a tool of the old regime. Roos will have a clean slate to work with what I believe is maximum buy in from the players.

Edited December 8, 2013 by america de cali

[dpositive 1,684]

I would like to see a "new" game plan not a repeat of "boundary hugging" or "corridoor" or "paddock" or "Sydney" or "Cats" or "hawks"

But something that works with the components we have against the teams we are facing and their plan

So yes an attacking plan and a defensive plan.

I think we can base it on an improved midfield an improved attack and a proven defensive line

With rotations in the midfield being an accepted strategy we can also rotate our forwards with a mixmaster plan that means our forwards and mids constantly move to space and create space providing options

with Clarke Hogan Dawes Howe Fitzpatrick all mobile and dynamic forwards Watts,Toumpas, Tyson all precise deliverers and some grunt Jones Viney Cross getting the ball out to them we can have a revolutionary new plan that will confuse others and provide the dawn of a new generation of ......ooppsss could be getting carried away now Hope Roosy has the answer

[Sideshow Bob 2,410]

I would like to see us win the footy then give it to another bloke in a red and blue jumper by foot or by hand who does the same until someone can kick a goal! and if they have the ball...... Get it back to perform the first task again! All this crap about boundaries or corridors or anything else just that crap. the boys need to win the ball, provide spread and overlap and present to where the ball is going to be before his direct opponent - do that well and often give the boys a chance to kick a winnable score we will win more than we lose

[Dr. Gonzo 24,297]

Let's aim a little higher than a gameplan that suits 'the talents' of a 2 and 20 team, shall we?

It's Paul Roos doing the instruction with a heavy base of former Sydney people, I expect it to be based around disciplined hard work around stoppages that may look a little slow until the players marry that with the hard running that we have seen Sydney do for a decade.

This is what I'm expecting - a focus on strength around stoppages and hard running both ways. He mentioned something about Sydney's "slingshot" gameplan so I'd be expecting somehting similar to the way Sydney currently play, not necessarily how they were playing under Roos.

[Dr. Gonzo 24,297]

Roos' basics will be very similar to Neeld's - you can count on it. And the Sydney Roos game plan will be the blueprint for ours. But there is one major difference. We have what is potentially an amazing forward line. Roos never had that at Sydney. At Sydney his forward/goal scoring was based around Hall inside 50, with Goodes and O'Keefe running inside 50.

With Clark, Dawes, Hogan, Fitzy and Howe, along with Watts playing something like a Goodes role, this will change the plan considerably. Not sure in what way yet, but it will have to be very different.

Midfield and defensively we will see stoppages and boundary line play just like the Swans 2005 - 2012.

O'Loughlin?

[stevethemanjordan 6,952]

Do we? We have Cross and Vince as proven experienced AFL players. We have lost Sylvia from that bracket. I see potential in Tyson, Michie, Trengove, Riley, Viney, Evans, Watts, Howe, and Toumpas, and they are capable of bringing something more to a terrible midfield - but it is far from a guaranteed improvement in 2014.

Cross, Vince and Jones as experienced and proven mids. Sylvia is not a proven mid, no matter how 'experienced' he may be in terms of games played. His output and endeavour aren't anywhere near the three above so losing him and gaining Vince and Cross already improves the midfield.

Tyson and Michie - It doesn't bother me that Tyson has only played 13 games. If you watch some of those games he played, he plays as if he's been playing for over 100 games. Tough, skilled and smart. Michie is unproven at AFL level but there's a reason we drafted him. So he can play regular AFL footy in our midfield. Big bodied, tough, skilled and smart. Both of them give us more versatility and running power and depth if they don't start in the square. They are upgrades from Bail, Evans, McKenzie, Matt Jones etc.

Trengove, Howe and Watts - All talented. All will play better, harder and more consistent footy than this year. They will respond to a coach that they respect.

Viney and Toumpas - Second year. Obviously they'll improve because of our midfield additions. Toumpas fit and more confident. Viney to be even harder.

McKenzie, Matt Jones, Kent, Bail, Evans, Tapscott etc all have pressure taken off. Only a good thing.

RPFC, if you compare this to Port's midfield you'll see there's not a huge amount of difference. They have a few experienced mids at the top and then some genuine talent. It's the same with us now. The other addition is a coach that the players will play for.

I'm not sure why anyone thinks we're not going to improve by much. Our midfield is a lot stronger, our Coach is a lot more competent and we have the easiest draw again.

Edited December 9, 2013 by stevethemanjordan

[rpfc 28,777]

I'm not sure why anyone thinks we're not going to improve by much. Our midfield is a lot stronger, our Coach is a lot more competent and we have the easiest draw again.

What you say makes sense - I just do not believe that our luck will allow such a blue-sky scenario so soon after our annus horribilis that was last season.

If we triple our wins and improve our percentage by 60% it will still mean a 6 and 16 team with a percentage of 86.

Is that a great deal of improvement?

Relatively speaking it is.

[Slartibartfast 17,625]

What you say makes sense - I just do not believe that our luck will allow such a blue-sky scenario so soon after our annus horribilis that was last season.

If we triple our wins and improve our percentage by 60% it will still mean a 6 and 16 team with a percentage of 86.

Is that a great deal of improvement?

Relatively speaking it is.

Then Bailey must have been a genius to get 8.5 wins per season in his last two years out of a less experienced and talented list.

I think you're setting your sights a little low.

[stevethemanjordan 6,952]

Then Bailey must have been a genius to get 8.5 wins per season in his last two years out of a less experienced and talented list. I think you're setting your sights a little low.

I agree.

This year was the season from hell thanks to an incompetent coach who lost all of his players. The list and quality of players getting games through the midfield was not good enough and it was just a snowball effect for the remainder of the season.

There's no way there'll be a repeat next year, regardless of Roos' 'we're a two game win side' comment. There'll be huge improvement across the entire list, especially the midfield and our players will play for their coach. You can lock it.

[DeeZee 7,445]

One thing ive noticed differently at training is roos continuously shouting for the players to get back and defend after they have disposed of the ball. Especially in a pack situation.

This is way different to everyone running forward of the ball to receive, as we have done in the past, therefore being very costly if we turn the ball over.

Edited December 9, 2013 by DeeZee