This is what frustrates me

[Winmar7Fan]

The first and last quarters of moving the ball on fast with slick lightning quick multiple handballs clearing out from large packs of opposition making us look like a fine tuned super machine the others can’t keep up with to show what they are capable of. PURE DOMINANCE

But this seems to be their B game. We use this when we need to get our skates on to roll the dice and come from behind in the last quarter or fresh at the start of a game for a bit but don’t seem to like adopting our game mainly on this style.

When they decide they have enough lead or the opposition start coming back we seem to want to go back to defending our lead we worked so hard for and slow it all back down to the style they seem to feel more comfortable with.

I know people may say you can’t keep that intensity up for 4 quarters but it’s not that. You look at other teams even like the Eagles last night they stick with the same structure and don’t change their game plan whether they are 5 goals up or down. Yes they may have lapses but we seem to go into a conscientious game change to keeping possession and slowing it all down and that’s when things all go pear shaped for us.

I believe the difference in those styles of play also effect your confidence. Slowing everything down is a negative mind set where being desperate to move it on quickly and not stop to ponder, always attacking driving the ball inside 50 is far more mentally positive and gets the opposition into more of a panick.

If we can just totally erase and piss off this slow down, keeping possession, shutting down and always running down the clock when there is still 5 minutes to go every quarter (which usually results in a goal for the opposition in the last minute with a turn over) from our heads completely we showed last night what we can do to quality opposition.

[meher baba]

With respect, I don't agree with this.

What I see happening week after week is our steamrolling style getting us on top, and then our opponents start to take more risks bringing the ball forward and then pushing us back.

Where our style of game seems to be most vulnerable is when our opponents run at us hard and move the ball forward quickly. I think this is because Ross tends to underman the midfield in order to strengthen us down back and have more "run with" players. It makes us stronger defensively, and makes it hard for our opponents to score, but it always means that our opponents will have passages in most games where they cut us up going forward quickly (often taking massive risks of turning the ball over) and bag a few consecutive goals.

The low standard of umpiring doesn't help us. After a couple of one-sided quarters, the umpys seem to get a bit bored and usually give a couple of ludicrous frees in front of the sticks to our opponents.

All IMO, of course.

[terry smith rules]

Sorry OP but you are not right

Watching live last night it was clear the eagles had no structure until well into the second quarter, so they did not maintain their structure, they had none.


When they did get their press going they were sensational. Don't understimate the eagles they are a quality side.

I don't believe the Saints changed out of their own doing, they were forced to play a different style and this is clear when you see the game live and see more than just the tv shot

[fingers]

Nope. Not right. We didn't go defensive in the 2nd quarter. We had 15 inside 50's and butchered the ball. As well as WCE finding their structure which was always going to happen.

3rd quarter we just got beaten.

But 15 inside 50's in a quarter is not being defensive.

[Winmar7Fan]

Sorry OP but you are not right

Watching live last night it was clear the eagles had no structure until well into the second quarter, so they did not maintain their structure, they had none.


When they did get their press going they were sensational. Don't understimate the eagles they are a quality side.

I don't believe the Saints changed out of their own doing, they were forced to play a different style and this is clear when you see the game live and see more than just the tv shot

I believe the Eagles were playing their normal game right from the start but our pressure was so strong they were having difficulty handling it. I don't underestimate how good they are I just believe we played a first quarter any side would have had trouble with.

I'm also not suggesting we plan to change either I'm just saying that our more natural game is not the style of that first quarter and we seem to be mentally vulnerable to clam up and go into that defensive game rather than just go head to head and keep moving the ball on quickly when the opposition start getting on top.

Dunstall said it last night and it's also the way I've seen it as well. I hope your right and if so that first quarter is what we should generally see a lot more of from now on.

[meher baba]

Nope. Not right. We didn't go defensive in the 2nd quarter. We had 15 inside 50's and butchered the ball. As well as WCE finding their structure which was always going to happen.

3rd quarter we just got beaten.

But 15 inside 50's in a quarter is not being defensive.

Excellent point! The risks our opponents take when trying to claw back our leads will normally present us with opportunities on the turnover. But we seem to be the worst in the AFL at converting those opportunities.

IMO that in itself is a function of Lyon's tactic of pulling 17 or 18 guys back to crowd the opposition's forward space. So, when the ball is turned over, we are undermanned up forward and our eventual shot for goal is taken by a lone player who is outnumbered and gets pushed into shooting from a poor position or by a forward (often Riewoldt) who is stuffed from having just had to run all the way down and up the ground.

Oh well, with only 18 guys allowed on the field at once, you can't expect everything.