Coaching tactics - will Macca change our game plan?

[Mofra]

Re: Coaching tactics - will Macca change our game plan?

I wonder if any AFL coaches other than Malthouse, study older military tactics, like outflanking the enemy, exploiting prevailing weather, force concentation (concentrating a military force to bear overwhelming force against a portion of an enemy force), counter ambush drill or whatever. It makes sense, you know it does.

The switch and spread seems to be based largely on the "Oblique Order" which was the first real military field tactic that enabled an out-numbered army to defeat the Phalanx formations of the anchient Greek world.

Basketball tactics are based on certain basic field tactics, and some AFL tactics are based on basketball zones.

[BornInDroopSt'54]

Re: Coaching tactics - will Macca change our game plan?

The switch and spread seems to be based largely on the "Oblique Order" which was the first real military field tactic that enabled an out-numbered army to defeat the Phalanx formations of the anchient Greek world.

Basketball tactics are based on certain basic field tactics, and some AFL tactics are based on basketball zones.

Very interesting. There is an obvious parallel between a unit or army of soldiers in a battlefield and sport which of course was used to prepare soldiers. Both use drills and formations, which once analysed can be countered. As you say, tactics can help an outnumbered group combat a greater force.
Here are the names of some military tactics, of which I know little yet that are interesting in themselves and you can imagine how they may be applied in AFL:
Military tactics that scream out to be used in AFL:
• Reconnaissance
• Rapid dominance
• Holding attack - to hold the enemy in position while other offensive or defensive activity takes place
• Envelopment tactics
• Shoot and scoot
• infiltration tactics
• ambush
• Guerrilla warfare
• Highland charge
• skirmish line
• Peaceful Penetration was an Australian infantry tactic
• human wave attack
• shock tactics
• swarming
• flying wedge
• Encirclement
• Hammer and Anvil tactic
• The inverted wedge
• frontal assault
• pincer movement
• Interdiction
• Force concentration
• Make love not war
All of these would have an application in AFL that an astute coach, as general, could adapt.

[Missing Dog]

Re: Coaching tactics - will Macca change our game plan?

I'd love to see some "Shock and Awe" over coming seasons.

[GVGjr]

Re: Coaching tactics - will Macca change our game plan?

Macca has set the foundations of contested football and the group has embraced that. I suspect now that his game plan will evolve because the players are now better placed to execute that.
So much of any game plan requires on skill execution and I think this now needs to be the focus of the pre-season training.

[GVGjr]

Re: Coaching tactics - will Macca change our game plan?

Eade is a master tactician and changed the face of football with the Flood in his early days then the running style with us. He adapted game plans to suit the opposition, but in the end we never had the cattle, or luck to go to the next step.

I'm not bashing Eade in the slightest and I still believe he is either the best or 2nd best coach that's been at the club but the highlighted areas is what I'd like to comment on.

In his first few seasons he was outstanding and used every rule the AFL implemented (and they implemented a lot) to our advantage. Things like the automatic playing on after a point was scored that most coaches underestimated but Eade however, turned it into a real strength of the team and that season we clearly won the coast to coast goals scored. It was a massive advantage for us. The last two seasons though I think he struggled with the changing game. The sub rule was certainly one he seemed to really struggle with and I also think he was slow off the mark in combating the spread that teams had started to employ.

The challenge for Macca much like Eade experienced towards the end is still around if we have the cattle to execute a a successful game plan. The training and development of the younger players has been a huge priority for him and instilling an accountable ethic to the group is another. I think he has been somewhat successful in those efforts. I'm confident the game plan will come but 2014 might still have a greater focus on the player development.

[The Bulldogs Bite]

Re: Coaching tactics - will Macca change our game plan?

I'm confident the game plan will come but 2014 might still have a greater focus on the player development.

Along with Greystache, you've summed it up well GVG.

This year is still a development year, it really isn't until you're able to contend that you start employing certain/different game plans to try and be a step ahead of the rest. Until that point, you're best off developing the fundamentals, which I think we're doing - as Grey said.

The thing is, when you finish around the bottom and receive early picks, the initial improvement is usually the easiest (unless you are Melbourne). The hardest part is developing into a finals side/contender, time will only tell if Macca is successful in this pursuit.

[lemmon]

Re: Coaching tactics - will Macca change our game plan?

Agree that there isn't much to change, its a very meat and two veg gameplan and I mean that in a positive way. We play hard, contested footy on the inside and are gradually developing the outside, running game to make best use of it. We do play a lot of 1 on 1 footy on the turnover which is interesting and probably has as much to do with Macca wanting to develop the kids as much as anything else. We aren't a particularly strong team in terms of a rigid zone to my eyes at least.

[GVGjr]

Re: Coaching tactics - will Macca change our game plan?

I don't buy into the philosophy that you try to emulate the previous season's premiers game style/plan. That is trying to play catchup footy. If premiers are to stay on top, they need to move on. If all you do is emulate what they did 12 months ago, playing catch up is all you will ever do.
Surely what a good coach needs to do is not to emulate in some vain hope that you will do it better than they can, but to create a game plan that will nullify those who were last season's best.
Become innovators, rather than followers.

Yes a team needs to reach certain standards, and have and achieve basic non negotiables. But beyond that I believe a top coach builds a game plan/style that suits the cattle he has, rather than imposing a game style on players unsuited to a predetermined system. [ Think in terms of Barassi's handball at all cost GF rescue].

Take BMac's non negotiables, and add something unique to the playing group we have, don't try and get there by becoming a poor man's Hawthorn or Freo. Create a Bulldog's style of football or game plan that looks at where the competition is moving, and jump ahead of the game.

[Bornadog]

Re: Coaching tactics - will Macca change our game plan?

I don't buy into the philosophy that you try to emulate the previous season's premiers game style/plan. That is trying to play catchup footy. If premiers are to stay on top, they need to move on. If all you do is emulate what they did 12 months ago, playing catch up is all you will ever do.
Surely what a good coach needs to do is not to emulate in some vain hope that you will do it better than they can, but to create a game plan that will nullify those who were last season's best.
Become innovators, rather than followers.

Yes a team needs to reach certain standards, and have and achieve basic non negotiables. But beyond that I believe a top coach builds a game plan/style that suits the cattle he has, rather than imposing a game style on players unsuited to a predetermined system. [ Think in terms of Barassi's handball at all cost GF rescue].

Take BMac's non negotiables, and add something unique to the playing group we have, don't try and get there by becoming a poor man's Hawthorn or Freo. Create a Bulldog's style of football or game plan that looks at where the competition is moving, and jump ahead of the game.

Good post

[Nuggety Back Pocket]

Re: Coaching tactics - will Macca change our game plan?

I don't buy into the philosophy that you try to emulate the previous season's premiers game style/plan. That is trying to play catchup footy. If premiers are to stay on top, they need to move on. If all you do is emulate what they did 12 months ago, playing catch up is all you will ever do.
Surely what a good coach needs to do is not to emulate in some vain hope that you will do it better than they can, but to create a game plan that will nullify those who were last season's best.
Become innovators, rather than followers.

Yes a team needs to reach certain standards, and have and achieve basic non negotiables. But beyond that I believe a top coach builds a game plan/style that suits the cattle he has, rather than imposing a game style on players unsuited to a predetermined system. [ Think in terms of Barassi's handball at all cost GF rescue].

Take BMac's non negotiables, and add something unique to the playing group we have, don't try and get there by becoming a poor man's Hawthorn or Freo. Create a Bulldog's style of football or game plan that looks at where the competition is moving, and jump ahead of the game.

I agree with your sentiments but at the end of the day it comes down to the depth of talent that the Coach has to work with in the next 2-3 years. That is why the likes of Hawthorn Swans and Geelong have enjoyed recent successes. There has been a lot to like with our recruiting in the past two years which needs to continue at a rapid rate before we can be seriously considered a final 4 prospect. The recruiting of Crameri is a coup as our attack for sometime has been sadly lacking,hence our falling away in the three prelim losses.Macca's decision to recruit Campbell from the Bendigo Bombers should eventually bear fruit.The influx of quality young players gives us renewed hope. There is still 6-7 players on the list whose careers are at the crossroads IMO and their form needs to be closely monitored in 2014 to ensure we are developing the best list possible.

[GVGjr]

Re: Coaching tactics - will Macca change our game plan?

Look, I am a huge fan of recruiting as many 'natural footballers' as possible. But, obvious talent is not the only route that you can go down. If anyone had said 3 years ago that Roughy would not only be our first choice FB,but would be seriously good in the role, most would have thought that person was totally delusional.
Truth is most players recruited have some level of talent. If they make the most of it, is a separate question. But, getting the very best out of of a talented kid, or even more so, a battler, is what makes a good coaching group.
I believe that our front 6 is capable of far more than we have seen so far.
Yes there have been many factors that have limited the performance so far, but for mine talent has been the least of them.
No doubt at all, delivery to them has been below par. But personally I think structure and organization has been far more implicated as the primary factor.

People keep bemoaning our lack of a tall target. Basically it is pretty simple. If you don't have that tall target, then just bombing the ball in long, is plain dumb. Sorry but I don't buy the argument that if your midfield is under pressure your only option is the long bomb. How often have we seen the Geelongs of this world bomb in hope. No, they flick the ball around till someone does have time and space. Then their forwards, regardless of size provide a lead.
The front 6 needs to design space for itself, lead into that space, and protect the guy making the lead. It matters not a jot, if the guy leading is 200cm's or 175cm. If he leads quickly into space, and is protected by his team mates, more often than not he will put the opposition backs under pressure.

I believe BMac is of the belief that if he can teach the troops he has at his disposal to play to their potential, we can have a winning formula. You don't necessarily need to replace large sections of the squad to achieve success. Just get who you have to play smart football.

It will be fascinating this year to not only see who our front 6 are, but to see if we can make far smarter use of the troops at our disposal.
Injury, or lack of it plays a far greater role in any teams year, than flashy new recruits.

[jeemak]

Re: Coaching tactics - will Macca change our game plan?

I like to use the example of what Malthouse did with Collingwood leading up to 2010 as a good example of how a game plan evolves over years and can either almost reach success or just fall short (like ours did in 2009 when we ended up bombing the ball forward in the 2009 prelim when our midfield and defensive six lost composure).

Collingwood leading up to 2010 was lambasted for their insistence of attacking or moving the ball forward from wide on the ground. They learned how to kick a reasonable score doing this over those years however, and once they were good enough at that they added a vital ingredient to make the most of that ability. That ingredient was the press they used in 2010, which made teams look wide moving the ball out of defence (Collingwoods offensive forward 50) pretty much playing into their hands.

We're pretty much at a stage where we're going to be strong around stoppages as a given to he point where we're more than an even money chance to win them. The next stage is making sure that each player on the ground gives themselves a good chance of winning or drawing even in a one on one contest away from the stoppage. At worst, this will create more stoppages at which we're a good chance of gaining an advantage.

From there I see an open and quick forward line being fed by players using quick hands away from stoppages in close at first until a break occurs. If a break doesn't occur, and the opposition stifles the movement by marking individual players closely then our breaking players should be confident in their ability to at the very least neutralise and create another stoppage.

The next phase will rely on our individual players developing their skills to be better at using the ball in close, and being clever enough to use a wider and more creative option if they see one. This will be driven by confidence in their ability and predictability in positioning.

That's one to two years away.

[GVGjr]

Re: Coaching tactics - will Macca change our game plan?

I think it will be interesting this season to watch how the evolution of Sydney's game style/plan evolves. This because theirs has been one of, if not the most evidently evolving games in the competition.
After the Locket and Hall and Rocket's flooding eras, they moved into that Kirk/Kelly dour stoppage dominated style. To this they then added some real pace to their makeup [ think K Jack and co]. Now over the last 2 off seasons they have brought in two tall, quick and highly mobile goal kickers in Tippet and Buddy.
So how will that alter how they play now?

What I am getting at is that they are getting to the finals, and staying there not by imitating other's game plans or styles, but developing their own. And it clearly continues to evolve. In part by varying it to suit the cattle they have, but also targeting players capable helping to both continue and push that evolution in the specific directions their coaches wish to take it.
I am quite happy that B Mac has been developing us along the Geelong model so far, but would love to see us take some of the Sydney system to add to it, while all the while creating a specifically Bulldogs game plan.
We now have a lot of good young talent on our list. Good teaching and games of experience are what they need now. That and the one common necessity of success in this comp. A bit of luck with injuries.

[Bornadog]

Re: Coaching tactics - will Macca change our game plan?

I think it will be interesting this season to watch how the evolution of Sydney's game style/plan evolves. This because theirs has been one of, if not the most evidently evolving games in the competition.
After the Locket and Hall and Rocket's flooding eras, they moved into that Kirk/Kelly dour stoppage dominated style. To this they then added some real pace to their makeup [ think K Jack and co]. Now over the last 2 off seasons they have brought in two tall, quick and highly mobile goal kickers in Tippet and Buddy.
So how will that alter how they play now?

What I am getting at is that they are getting to the finals, and staying there not by imitating other's game plans or styles, but developing their own. And it clearly continues to evolve. In part by varying it to suit the cattle they have, but also targeting players capable helping to both continue and push that evolution in the specific directions their coaches wish to take it.
I am quite happy that B Mac has been developing us along the Geelong model so far, but would love to see us take some of the Sydney system to add to it, while all the while creating a specifically Bulldogs game plan.
We now have a lot of good young talent on our list. Good teaching and games of experience are what they need now. That and the one common necessity of success in this comp. A bit of luck with injuries.

Summed it up beautifully. We can't just keep going along the same lines as the old Geelong model, we have to continue to evolve and eventually have our own style.

Macca is taking it one step at a time and still has lots to teach the young group.

[GVGjr]

Re: Coaching tactics - will Macca change our game plan?

Summed it up beautifully. We can't just keep going along the same lines as the old Geelong model, we have to continue to evolve and eventually have our own style.

Macca is taking it one step at a time and still has lots to teach the young group.

I don't think there is anything wrong with copying the Geelong model, it's been proven over a long period to be a successful one. What I think will happen is a lot of what we do in setting up our football department will be along the lines of the Cats but our playing style might be closer to the way Essendon execute things