Long Kicking..our point of difference????

[saintsRrising]

Last year I remember that RL when talking on BJ described him as the Saints point of differenc due to his long and accurate kicking.


This years pre-season games appear to have seen the game plan tinkered with so that long kicking has been more on display........and with King and Gardiner now seeming like they will be our rucks Kosi looks as if he will be a permanent forward.

With Kosi, Roo, GTrain and Charlie we now seem to have an abundance of marking targets up forward. Arguably the most formaidable group of marking forwards in the AFL.

Demspter...wil he make the best 22. Rl must have some niche in mind for him. On reading up on Swans fans views on him recently the concensus seems to be that while he lacks confidence that he is along and accurate kick...and has the ability to kick goals from outsde 50m.


Gram as we know is a beautiful long kick and in the NAB GF his accuracy was back in town with some precise and long kicking.


I havea inkling that the 2008 Saints game plan is going to make a feauture of the long kick.

Kosi will bea key part of this....with Milne being more firmly used as a crumber again...and I expect him to really haunt the FP area once again. But even with Milne he has a good knack of being able to provide good leads into space...and will also be a marking taget due to this.


It would seem to me that Roo and Charlie will be the raoaming and leading marking targets....with the GTrain patralling the pocket.

Kosi to flaot arounf between FF and CHF and will be the target of booming kicks whenever Kosi is isolated with one opponent.....or all the options are covered and the saints then will rely on Kosi to takea pack mark.

However with Kosi a note of caution...he needs to be on the move. Kicking to him in the goalsquare will see good fullbacks such as Rutten taking the front postion making it hard for Kosi. with Kosi we need to put the ball up in the air for Kosi's height and reach to be used to adavantage.

Whereas Roo and Charlie will be looking for chest marks on fast and or long leads.


A fit Goose on return will add to the long kickers in the team....and also Fiora may still find favour due to this as well.

Forward Pressure

Such agame plan however could be an Achilles Heel if the ball is spoilt from the marking contests if their is a lack of pressure.


When the ball hits the ground it is vital that the Saints work hard to keep it in and to also deny the oppostion quick and rapid movement out of the forward line. This is one resaon while RL will seriously be considering Jones. however the current good form of Schneider and Milne will most likely keep Jones out for now.

Midfield run

Part of the forward pressure is going to have to come from the midfield running hard to follow the ball forward...so that if the ball is rebounded that the opposition have a wall of Saints crowding them and denying easy rebound through the central corridor in particular.

The Saints midfield in 2008 will have to run more than they ever have before and training over the pre-sesaon would seem to have hada greater focus on endurance and less on power. Remember when the boys came back from South Africa and many of them looked like pumped up Mr World bodybuilding contestants???? The mids all in the main have a lean and mean look more suited toa running game.


So in 2008 if I look into my crystal ball I see more long kicking, more hard running, stil la very good defensive game plan when the opposition have the ball, but a more direct Saints attacking game plan when we have the ball.

A more effective ruck and midfield structure should also hopefully provide quicker entrires into the forward line from centre clearances.

Schneider and dal too I expect to see as HFF/mids as both have the ability to finish witha goal. Dal in particular to me is showing every sign that in 2008 he will really arrive as a mid that causes enormous damage.

Joey will I think be effective in a similar role with his pace and run, but Dal I think is going to be awesome.

And Harvey......well I think Roo, GTrain, Kos and Charlie will all be well fed with Bangers 30 m passes as he rotates off the bench to contrast from the long kicking of BJ and Gram. Harveys will foalt around the HH?mid are where his short kicking is at its most deadly.

Your thoughts????

[BAM! (shhhh)]

I noticed during the Essendon game that the gameplan when running out of defense our gathering of numbers seemed to be more around the centre than around CHB... if challenged, the guys kicked it long to the HF line and would try to pressure from there.

With Essendon focused on running from HB, it backfired more than a few times, but I remember thinking that if rather than everyone trying to hit Charlie Gardiner with Riewoldt staying close to goal, that if we had Gram, Goddard and Goose (my expected HB line) kicking it to Riewoldt, Kosi and Gardiner with Gehrig and Milne close to goal and the midfield running onto the contest that it could really create some nightmares for opposition defense.

If they push numbers back to prevent it, we certainly looked willing to run the corridor with the handball during preseason, and we already know that's deadly, so it bodes well...

In a word? Yes, I think long kicking might be the Saints "point of difference" for 2008

[saintsRrising]

I noticed too that at times during the NAB game that the Saints were kicking long into the forward line when with rotations they did not really have the marking targets on the ground.

I suspect that this was in part as with marking targets, or not, that the players were under instruction to do so.... they were games to practice for the main season after all.

It was also such play that had me pondering why were they doing so???......which has led to my OP.

[crowjelly]

I'd like to see Roo stay closer to goal and not waste most of his energy leading up to the wing, then having no-one to deliver it to. If C Gardener can share the workload by leading up, then spotting up Roo within range - then this could work well.
One thing that stood out for me in the practice games was defensive pressure applied to the opposition when they had the ball. If this can be maintained consistently over the season and our mid-fielders take advantage of the resulting turnovers, then our prospects should improve. The Swans will be a good first up test of the improved game plan for Ross and the boys. Can't wait really. Go Saints

[iwantmeseats]

crowjelly, I think roo should roam a bit , when he feels the need. He has the engine to do it, and know we have the fowards to hang back and provide a target. Really keeps the opposition guessing.

Roo, Kosi and Fraser all down there all the time, is too much.

[crowjelly]

I think he developed the hard running/roaming strategy to shake the double and triple teaming when he stayed at home around CHF. It's why they persisted with Hamill for so long - because he was a perfect foil for Roo (second option, busted packs for him, blocked and protected him.) Hopefully with Gardener, Kosi and G they can make it work and increase our forward potency. Looks like he's ironed out the kinks in his goalkicking - the first few shots under pressure will be the true test though.

[Enrico_Misso]

At the AGM Ross made mention of our new game plan and structure
"- concentrating on forward pressure, and quick movement up the central corridor
- goals kicked via the corridor are up 20%
- similarly aiming for more goals kicked from within 30 metres
- Schneider and C Jones add to forward pressure"

So he is even measuring the success of utilising the central corridor.

And the key to that is finally having two ruckman who can win clear taps, giving first use to our midfielders, who can then move the ball quickly into the scoring zone.

Good gameplan that matches our cattle.

[saintly]

to me it appeared that they were handballing more, and both the handballs and kicking went higher into the air, so that sometimes they looked a little like floaters.

[bigcarl]

When the ball hits the ground it is vital that the Saints work hard to keep it in and to also deny the oppostion quick and rapid movement out of the forward line. This is one resaon while RL will seriously be considering Jones. however the current good form of Schneider and Milne will most likely keep Jones out for now.

nice post srr and it almost makes me want to buy another membership.

on forward pressure, however, i would have thought the best type was the goals-on-the-board type of forward pressure.

i like jones as a player. he is quick, ferocious and a real goer. but i'm not convinced that he can actually impact on the scoreboard.

show me some goals and i'll think differently, but imo

HF: c. gardiner, riewoldt, rotation (dal santo/ball/schneider/montagna/perhaps x)
F: milne, kosi, gehrig

[saintsRrising]

to me it appeared that they were handballing more, and both the handballs and kicking went higher into the air, so that sometimes they looked a little like floaters.

1/ Yes execution still needs to be refined.

For example Gram of the GF was perect whereas Gram of the Dons game was shaking it.

2/ BJ is not back yet....and he will bea key part of it.

I am salviating at the thought of BJ looking forward to pick out a forward target in 2008!!!

It will also be fasconating to see how the forwards structure up when then see BJ get the ball...

[saintsRrising]

In the casey game tonight BJ was playing in the midfield and his long kicking wasa treat....both when he had time to pause and pick outa target.....but also when he had no time to look and just had to doa quick long bomb before being tackled.

[bigcarl]

is he right for R1 srr or does he need a bit more time yet?

will be good when we can get him and goose back deliverying them long and quick to our big forwards along with grammy

[saintsRrising]

is he right for R1 srr or does he need a bit more time yet?

Well playwise he looked very good.

Conditioning wise...only our fitness guys know.

But the half I saw BJ look good, ran freely and had excellent skills including that raking kick.