Search the Community

Roos is a man after my own heart: http://www.melbournefc.com.au/news/2014-04-24/systems-first-then-personnel-roos There are some who would say you should coach for the list you have but Roos is saying that the players we have are going to learn the game plan he wants to implement. And I sense the implicit point that those that play the system will be preferred to more talented players that don't play the system.

I'm not sure if this has already been outlined by someone else.. But like many other supporters, I'm getting extremely frustrated at the way we enter forward 50. But I think (hope) I may have hit the nail on the head as to why we are doing this... When were moving the ball out of defence, we are quite slow at getting it up the ground, allowing numbers from the opposition to get back and flood our forward 50. Then we are constantly bombing it long and high into the forward pockets, near to the boundary. As a result of no one being able to take a contested grab usually in a pack of 3 or 4 players, the ball will 85% of the time, spill out of bounds for a throw in. Why don't we hit the ball up to a more dangerous spot..? Top of the goal square..? hit a man on the lead..? Myself as well as everyone else has been asking these questions! Neeld has definitely ordered the players to hit the pockets, and i think he wants the ball to go out of bounds.. He wants our forwards to practise again, and again and again.. In REAL match environments to DEFEND and trap the ball inside our forward 50.. like the best teams in the comp can do (West Coast, Collingwood etc) He wants it to eventually become a habitual thing for the players.. At this stage, it looks as though the players are concentrating on that more than grabbing the footy and actually kicking a goal.. They are almost in two minds.. but like most things, If you drill it into their brains and focus on something, practise will make perfect. And once we start locking the ball inside our forward 50 every time it goes down there, we won't have to hit the pockets.. We can drive it 20, 30 meters out, with the confidence that if Clarke, Jurrah or Howe can't take a contested grab.. Our forwards will be ready to pounce and throw their 2nd, 3rd and even 4th efforts at keeping the ball down there, until we SCORE. Naturally the players have to have the endeavour to apply this.. But i am confident it will come. West Coast are a good example of how it takes time and practise to get things right. From last on the ladder one year to top 4 the next... What changed? Their forward 50 pressure, the rest just fell into place..