The shut down part of our game is designed to limit the effectiveness of the opposition. If we play a team with a superior midfield that will get more clearances, at least we don't get hammered and could get a chance to steal the game like we did against Brisbane.Originally posted by Guzzitza
Dont shut down the ball and then you dont have to rely on having Judd getting the ball and giving that unbelievable first time posession.
If we open up the game and don't have numbers around the ball, we still don't get the clearance but the opposition will find it easier to move the ball forward. It would be nice to play looser but the only result is that we will get thumped.
You'll notice that we can occasionally look to be more attacking. That's not because we play a different gameplan - it's because we are getting the clearances. For example, against the Bulldogs in the 3rd (or may be the 4th - can't remember) quarter.
The gameplan is to kick long to the tall men. That's the thing that I don't understand about what the likes of Walls are going on with - surely they don't think that the style of play we used on Saturday was intentional.Kick long to tall men rather than work it up the wings via inaccurate handballing and rolling mauls.
Chipping the ball up the wings has never been part of the gameplan. It's what happens when our players make poor decisions or lose confidence due to poor skills.
As Roos has said, the gameplan is essentially the same as 2003 - get numbers around the ball, break quickly from defence or the midfield and deliver quick and long into the forward 50. We now appear to get more numbers around the ball than we were in 2003 but essentially the difference is that our skills were much better then than they are now.
Anyway, my personal opinion on what is going wrong has nothing to do with the gameplan, it's skills and team structure.
I'd like to see us put together our best 22 - which would include Schauble, Dempster and Moore - and play it every week. I don't like the idea of changing the side based on the opposition. Let them worry about us - I've never seen Brisbane change their lineup due to the opposition's strengths.
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