jirskyr
Well-known member
I can actually cop last night's loss. Plenty of teams are going to get towelled this year, it's just the way the game works now. We need another 6-10 weeks to know for sure how we are travelling.
What I cannot cop however is two things we have not learned from last year:
1) STOP TURNING THE BALL INSIDE!
2) WHERE ARE THE BODIES IN MOTION?
The bodies in motion issue was already touched on in another thread - we simply do not challenge defences because all our plays are 1-out numbers. I know it's hard to do with no ball and dominated forwards blah blah, but the reality is we rarely get our players 1-1 with the opposition. You can’t confuse a defence with only one player coming at speed!
But my major gripe is this continued use of the rubbish "inside ball" move. You know the one - Farah or Marshall shimmy across, turn it back inside to a lumbering forward/centre off a short run. Our opposition is all over this play, because the switch is only useful if your returning runner has fast, evasive feet. We have no such players! Watch the Knights team in comparison last night - they almost never turned the ball back inside.
Most teams these days instead use the “marker draw” where the hooker steps out and commits the markers, before unleashing his runner back in behind the ruck – watch Cameron Smith and you’ll see what I mean.
Reasons why turning inside / switching does not work:
- distributor is running across field and not committing defenders.
- distributor is unable to straighten the attack in any fashion except where the defenders are already coming from.
- distributor has his back to the oncoming defence and will not deliver a pass based on how the defence has reacted; i.e. it’s preordained and executed regardless (cf with the brilliant players “playing what’s in front of them”).
- play is executed when the distributor is ready/forced to pass, rather than the hit up runner being ready to receive.
- hit up runner has to check his run as the pass is technically blind (as opposed to out in front of his angle of attack).
- hit up runner has greater difficulty timing his run as he needs to rely on the distributor crossing his angle of attack at a precise moment, rather than getting the ball when he has hit top speed.
- opposition markers are not tested, instead being able to drift slowly across field and smother the hit-up runner.
- relies on players sliding heavily and over-committing their momentum, which rarely occurs in the centre of the field.
- kills any attacking opportunity for the players out wide.
- commits the distributor to the line and effectively eliminates him from the play.
I don’t know if it’s something Sheens drilled into the boys and they can’t stop executing the play, but this concept of switching on 50% of plays does not work. I know it’s supposed to wrong-foot defenders and open up the field, but modern defences are too well drilled and athletic. FFS boys!
What I cannot cop however is two things we have not learned from last year:
1) STOP TURNING THE BALL INSIDE!
2) WHERE ARE THE BODIES IN MOTION?
The bodies in motion issue was already touched on in another thread - we simply do not challenge defences because all our plays are 1-out numbers. I know it's hard to do with no ball and dominated forwards blah blah, but the reality is we rarely get our players 1-1 with the opposition. You can’t confuse a defence with only one player coming at speed!
But my major gripe is this continued use of the rubbish "inside ball" move. You know the one - Farah or Marshall shimmy across, turn it back inside to a lumbering forward/centre off a short run. Our opposition is all over this play, because the switch is only useful if your returning runner has fast, evasive feet. We have no such players! Watch the Knights team in comparison last night - they almost never turned the ball back inside.
Most teams these days instead use the “marker draw” where the hooker steps out and commits the markers, before unleashing his runner back in behind the ruck – watch Cameron Smith and you’ll see what I mean.
Reasons why turning inside / switching does not work:
- distributor is running across field and not committing defenders.
- distributor is unable to straighten the attack in any fashion except where the defenders are already coming from.
- distributor has his back to the oncoming defence and will not deliver a pass based on how the defence has reacted; i.e. it’s preordained and executed regardless (cf with the brilliant players “playing what’s in front of them”).
- play is executed when the distributor is ready/forced to pass, rather than the hit up runner being ready to receive.
- hit up runner has to check his run as the pass is technically blind (as opposed to out in front of his angle of attack).
- hit up runner has greater difficulty timing his run as he needs to rely on the distributor crossing his angle of attack at a precise moment, rather than getting the ball when he has hit top speed.
- opposition markers are not tested, instead being able to drift slowly across field and smother the hit-up runner.
- relies on players sliding heavily and over-committing their momentum, which rarely occurs in the centre of the field.
- kills any attacking opportunity for the players out wide.
- commits the distributor to the line and effectively eliminates him from the play.
I don’t know if it’s something Sheens drilled into the boys and they can’t stop executing the play, but this concept of switching on 50% of plays does not work. I know it’s supposed to wrong-foot defenders and open up the field, but modern defences are too well drilled and athletic. FFS boys!
