Game Plan

[deanox 10,033]

I have asked this before on another post, WHAT GAME PLAN? I have been to 6 games live this year and i am buggered if I can figure out this mysterious "game plan".

So, what is that game plan? Anyone know (no guesses please)? Most people watching have no idea what it is, nor apparently do the players.

120 [censored] " rotations" and nearly 160 handballs, i think hes got plenty to answer for.

rotations are a seperate issue. rotations depend on how you train the players to play. if they are trained to run in bursts, then rotations is the way to go. if they are training to run enduranec, then rotations are low. compare all the clubs average rotations, different clubs play different styles, but it all comes down to how the players have trained, and both methods can be effective. rotations however will be limited in the long run because interchange players restrict this, but if you are an endurance team injuries wont effect you as much.

the game plan is simple. the crux of it involves linking up around behind your team mates as you run the ball. picture a rugby field as the ball travels through the backs. basically the player with the ball is drawing the player before dishing off, to a (hopefully) more open player. that is why sometimes there will be a chain of 3-4 quick handballs which ends with a player close to the centre of the ground who can then kick towards the forward line.

i assume there are more nuances than this. there are probably designated kickers, designated retrievers etc. around the rucks there are set plays etc which actually havnt looked too bad (i believe our HO's to advantage would probably be up this year on last year, but i havnt checked the stats). our delivery into the forward line has been particulary poor; in fact it has been poor for a number of years. our forward set ups don't seem to be working, we have neitz robbo and newton who are all clumsy and fall on top of each other. we have davey up the ground somewhere and sylvia trying to fly for marks therefore we have no crumbers. our forwards dont seem to lead to a predetermined spot, and the delivery never seems to be to their advantage (ie the right side of the contest.). in fact it looks like they kick without looking.

you will notice that we have managed to get this running 'circle behind the ball' type approach working a few times and it has been effective when everyone is in the right position. however, the players don't understand the plan well enough to dig themselves out of trouble. whenthey are pressured, they freeze, and handball to another stationary player. this is why it looks like we handball in circles. it is why we get nowhere. it is also why our kick/handball ratio is so high.

If freewheeling football is the best way for our players to kick a winning score, then that's the way we should play.

thats a simply minded approach that hasn't considered what has really happened at our club over the past 4-5 years. that game plan proved that it wasn't good enough to win a flag. simple. we played well with it, but when it didnt work we got smashed. we had no way to slow the opposition, and unless we were 100% on our game it was full of turnovers. the game plan was changed by daniher because that plan wasn't going to get us a flag. this one might. stick with it all for a bit before losing your head. its only 4 rounds in. DB deserves more time than you have given him.

it seems to me that you who are criticising DB expected him to step in and take us to a flag (or top 4) this season. if that is the case you havnt really thought about what has happened in the past 6 months. with the list change overs, DB's statements about building around the under 23's etc you should have realised what was to come.

[Deeoldfart 8,090]

i don't blame bailey for this one at all. these players are afl players and need to be up to standard. he is introducing a game plan that is meant to win an afl premiership. if players can't follow it they are out. if players try to follow it they are given time to learn, and improve their skills. these players are proffesional footballers. if they cant learn to kick and handball it is them who have the problems.

we will see dramatic list turn over over the next 2 seasons.

ABSOLUTELY!! It's time for supporters to stick together for the club they love.

[dee-luded 2,959]

Some of you blokes are letting the players off too easy.

It was the same under Daniher; blame the coach when the players are the ones with no leadership skills, poor decision making abilities, and an inability to perform the most simple tasks under any pressure.

They handball to blokes standing still (the entire backline), they handball to blokes about to get tackled (Miller, Bruce, Jones), the handball to blokes' feet (McLean, Green, Wheatley). They kick indiscriminately (Green, Robbo, C.Johnson), they kick to the wrong side of their teammates(entire team), and they kick poorly full stop (C.Johnson, Jones, Robbo).

Garbage, re Daniher. He kept these players on, & kept playing them instead of disciplining them &/or dropping them from the team until they were ready to put their bodies in, & play hard attacking football.

We've been playing pedestrian footy for the last 3 years.

[Real Demon 232]

Mo,

Aside from Rivers our goal to goal line is questionable or non existent.

And the sad thing is, if we were going to rebuild our goal to goal line, 2006 was the year.....more lost opportunities!

1 Bryce Gibbs Glenelg Football Club Carlton

2 Scott Gumbleton Peel Thunder Essendon

3 Lachlan Hansen Gippsland Power Kangaroos

4 Matthew Leuenberger East Perth Football Club Brisbane Lions

5 Travis Boak Geelong Falcons Port Adelaide

6 Mitchell Thorp Tassie Mariners Hawthorn

7 Joel Selwood Bendigo Pioneers Geelong

8 Ben Reid Murray Bushrangers Collingwood

9 David Armitage Morningside Football Club St Kilda

10 Nathan Brown North Ballarat Rebels Collingwood

[Eastie Boyz 0]

You never had a pick in there though. Picked the wrong year to finish bottom!

All the guys in bold will be 200 game players

[Real Demon 232]

You never had a pick in there though. Picked the wrong year to finish bottom!

All the guys in bold will be 200 game players

I know we never had the picks then.....that's my point......2006 was the year tough decisions for the future were needed to be made, and players moved on for quality draft picks.

The fact that our key position stocks are in tatters now is just a joke!

Where's the succession planning for Neitz and White? And I'm not talking bandaid jobs, but genuine quality players like both of them have been.

The clubs recruiting team better be on their game this year. After seeing the Blues and Tigers win today, I'd think pick 1 will be ours.

[Eastie Boyz 0]

There are always key possie players in every draft - just a matter of picking the best one

[Mono 455]

rotations are a seperate issue. rotations depend on how you train the players to play. if they are trained to run in bursts, then rotations is the way to go. if they are training to run enduranec, then rotations are low. compare all the clubs average rotations, different clubs play different styles, but it all comes down to how the players have trained, and both methods can be effective. rotations however will be limited in the long run because interchange players restrict this, but if you are an endurance team injuries wont effect you as much.

the game plan is simple. the crux of it involves linking up around behind your team mates as you run the ball. picture a rugby field as the ball travels through the backs. basically the player with the ball is drawing the player before dishing off, to a (hopefully) more open player. that is why sometimes there will be a chain of 3-4 quick handballs which ends with a player close to the centre of the ground who can then kick towards the forward line.

i assume there are more nuances than this. there are probably designated kickers, designated retrievers etc. around the rucks there are set plays etc which actually havnt looked too bad (i believe our HO's to advantage would probably be up this year on last year, but i havnt checked the stats). our delivery into the forward line has been particulary poor; in fact it has been poor for a number of years. our forward set ups don't seem to be working, we have neitz robbo and newton who are all clumsy and fall on top of each other. we have davey up the ground somewhere and sylvia trying to fly for marks therefore we have no crumbers. our forwards dont seem to lead to a predetermined spot, and the delivery never seems to be to their advantage (ie the right side of the contest.). in fact it looks like they kick without looking.

you will notice that we have managed to get this running 'circle behind the ball' type approach working a few times and it has been effective when everyone is in the right position. however, the players don't understand the plan well enough to dig themselves out of trouble. whenthey are pressured, they freeze, and handball to another stationary player. this is why it looks like we handball in circles. it is why we get nowhere. it is also why our kick/handball ratio is so high.

thats a simply minded approach that hasn't considered what has really happened at our club over the past 4-5 years. that game plan proved that it wasn't good enough to win a flag. simple. we played well with it, but when it didnt work we got smashed. we had no way to slow the opposition, and unless we were 100% on our game it was full of turnovers. the game plan was changed by daniher because that plan wasn't going to get us a flag. this one might. stick with it all for a bit before losing your head. its only 4 rounds in. DB deserves more time than you have given him.

it seems to me that you who are criticising DB expected him to step in and take us to a flag (or top 4) this season. if that is the case you havnt really thought about what has happened in the past 6 months. with the list change overs, DB's statements about building around the under 23's etc you should have realised what was to come.

A really good, thoughtful post. Thanks!

But no one is expecting Bailey to take us top 4 this year (I am certainly not). What i do want and expect is a team professionally prepared, and plays competitively, with a coaching crew who take responsibility (as well as the players).

No sign of any of this yet.

[demonique 314]

By the time our blokes figure out this so called ,run and carry style the vogue will be some thing else, like, get it and kick to one your blokes style and we will be stuffed all over again . I'm usually a half full sort of person but the Dees have sucked me dry this year on top of last years rubbish

Plans come and go, wasn't tempo football all the go a couple of years ago?

I'm prepared to give DB a go and getting this team fixed, but I have to say the game is looking more like Rugby Union than the "Footy" I knew, perhaps start looking for Rugby coaches?

[Ballarat Demon 0]

We won the last quarter!!

But, you must realise something.....

He has a tough task at the moment....

How is a coach supposed to win an AFL premiership when he has a group of players with the skill level of Doveton's Under 10's squad?!?!?!

And to be honest..... Doveton's Under 10's have shitloads more passion!

easy their l played in grand finals with the Dove,s

one year we went the hole year with out a loss something melbourne cant say.

but could well go the hole year without a win

love me dees and loved the years l played at Doveton

[Jumping Jack Clennett 1,820]

Just a minute!!

12 months ago "Bomber" Thompson was right under the pump. Alister Clarkson was on the nose two years ago.

The sunlamp king at Richmond will be a hero tonight!

I'm sure DB will turn it around later in the season(probably Q. Birthday!) It's all about player confidence!

[sylvinator 96]

i heard from a reliable source that almost all the players don't like Bailey. its not a good sign

[Axis of Bob 11,876]

I don't care if the players think Bailey is Lucifer himself. The fact is that he's trying to create a hard nosed and unselfish culture at the club. Culture is very hard to change and, I would presume, that many of these selfish players don't like the home truths that Bailey has told them. They don't live in the 'good ole days' anymore.

In the end if the players don't want to buy into the new culture then Bailey will simply find new players that will.

[Jaded No More 68,975]

I don't care if the players think Bailey is Lucifer himself. The fact is that he's trying to create a hard nosed and unselfish culture at the club. Culture is very hard to change and, I would presume, that many of these selfish players don't like the home truths that Bailey has told them. They don't live in the 'good ole days' anymore.

In the end if the players don't want to buy into the new culture then Bailey will simply find new players that will.

Amen.

They don't like him because they miss being mothered and protected by a coach.

Well no more. This crap of allowing players to do as they please without any regard for the team has gone on long enough.

If they don't want to adapt, they can leave. I'm sure there are hundreds of kids out there dying to play AFL who will happily adapt to Bailey's vision.

I doubt Cale Morton has an issue with a coach who punishes players who are selfish on the field. It's the selfish players who have a problem with it.

[Weedster 174]

i don't blame bailey for this one at all. these players are afl players and need to be up to standard. he is introducing a game plan that is meant to win an afl premiership. if players can't follow it they are out. if players try to follow it they are given time to learn, and improve their skills. these players are proffesional footballers. if they cant learn to kick and handball it is them who have the problems.

we will see dramatic list turn over over the next 2 seasons.

Well I do...I've sat through 3 of the 4 games played this year and there is NO GAME PLAN ! Surely if you have a team with 4 talls in the forward line - Neitz, Robbo, Miller, White/Jamar/Newton - then the trick would be to actually KICK IT to a leading target instead af playing ring-around-arosy. Simply put - this is CRAP and it starts with the coach !!!!!!!!

[deanox 10,033]

Well I do...I've sat through 3 of the 4 games played this year and there is NO GAME PLAN ! Surely if you have a team with 4 talls in the forward line - Neitz, Robbo, Miller, White/Jamar/Newton - then the trick would be to actually KICK IT to a leading target instead af playing ring-around-arosy. Simply put - this is CRAP and it starts with the coach !!!!!!!!

read my previous post in this topic and you might learn a bit more about them game.

you might also realise that DB's job is more intricate than saying 'hey guys guess what? we have 3 or 4 tall forwards up there so just kick it to them'.

the coach is trying to get them to play a certain way. the players are struggling with it. RE delivery into the forward line, it looks terrible. is that a game plan problem, a foot skills problem, or a dumb player problem?

lack of foot skills make it hard for a player to deliver the ball to the right spot. We do know that the players have poor foot skills atm cos they miss targets all over the park.

lack of game plan makes it hard to predetermine where to lead to and where to kick too. if players aren't following the game plan this is made harder.

if the players are just throwing t onto the boot, then it would be no wonder that the ball constantly hits opposition players.

[bjgc 0]

BAILEY HAS A GAME PLAN !!! WE'LL BUGGER ME.

[Rhino Richards 1,467]

BAILEY HAS A GAME PLAN !!! WE'LL BUGGER ME.

Seems mission accomplished then.

[Weedster 174]

I have asked this before on another post, WHAT GAME PLAN? I have been to 6 games live this year and i am buggered if I can figure out this mysterious "game plan".

I not having a go at it as I dont know what I am supposed to be seeing. Everybody on this site keeps refering to this game plan but can somebody please explain it to me. If I can understand what we are trying to do then I can hopefully see us working our way there over the rest of the year.

Could not agree more - there is no plan that I can see - NONE

[beelzebub 23,389]

i heard from a reliable source that almost all the players don't like Bailey. its not a good sign

Thats quite ok by me...most wont be there in 2 years !!!

[Eastie Boyz 0]

Don't like the coach?

Bad luck - you're not playing for him anyway, you're playing for the jumper

[Rogue 585]

It still amazes me to think that people on here - who I expect to be pretty familar with our list and its strengths and weakenesses - refer to 2006 as a time when we were a top team. I felt we were severely over-rated back then, and with hindight I would think everyone'd see that with 20/20 vision. While I think our list is pretty average, we're obviously playing nowhere near our potential.

As an aside...

Quick ball movement is all about attacking the ball and giving first service to our forwards. Notice how he encourages players to break the lines from the half back flank and take the game on? Buckley was trying to break the lines, but unfortunately turned it over 9 out of 10 times. He is now at Sandy, and rightfully so.

I think it's more likely that Buckley was dropped because of his relatively poor workrate when it came to providing an option or running hard when the opposition had the ball.

[Jarka 767]

As an aside...

I think it's more likely that Buckley was dropped because of his relatively poor workrate when it came to providing an option or running hard when the opposition had the ball.

Exactly Rogue, Bailey looks like he expects his players to work twice as hard when we don't have the ball (and rightly so)