SYDNEY SWANS v WESTERN BULLDOGS GAME ANALYSIS

                               

The less spoken about this game the better with the Bulldogs totally wiping the Swans off the park in every facet of the game, almost putting them as premiership favorites right now even though they were just 11th and have only just wriggled their way into 8th spot.

That being said in round 14 they beat the Dockers in Melbourne by 67pts then lost to Port away by 48pts just 2 weeks later and the way this season has been, and is still going, who knows what will eventuate from here.

Another short video today featuring 3 clips looking at:

• Fat side wing run from Caleb Poulter, exactly what we've seen Sydney wingers do in recent weeks
• Sydney not balancing up inside and outside at center bounce clearance 
• My love affair with talls that get on their bike

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COLLINGWOOD v RICHMOND GAME ANALYSIS

Busy day yesterday with coaching all afternoon + Sydney and Collingwood playing on the same day + Olympics so I got through all of the close-to-pointless Sydney game (analysis post tomorrow) and most of the Collingwood game .

In the Pies game I was simply watching to see of they were going to able to display some of their DNA in the hope that they can somehow grapple back some form and momentum, with 1 more loss making it close to impossible to make finals although predicting the ladder at this stage has been nothing but ridiculous!

In this short video we look at:

• Collingwood displaying several elements of their DNA from the very first bounce
• Collingwood ruck pushing forward to provide to an option
• Richmond ruck doing the complete opposite (i.e. nothing)

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UMPIRING PERCEPTUAL - COGNITIVE SKILLS STUDY

                                 

These notes comes from this study released in June of this year, looking at the perceptual-cognitive skills of expert and non-expert officials.

As coaches and players I believe it's crucial to know that the decision-making process of umpires is exactly the same as players and coaches, as you'll read in these notes.

This knowledge and and the why's behind it should give you a greater handle on how you deal with umpiring decisions, knowing somewhat how and why they were made.

Throughout this post you can quite easily replace the word "umpires" with "players", and this all holds true.

• The number of fixations reflects proficiency in the perceptual task as well as the level of visual information collected and the stability of visual control, with fewer fixations indicating more efficiency at extracting information
• Experts fixations are significantly lower than non-experts
• In a study of athlete visual search strategies, the number of fixations decreased as athleticism increased
• Reduced fixations comes from the perceptual-cognitive advantage from having more experience, enabling them to conduct effective visual searches focusing on the most important/critical area of information in the motor situation, requiring less fixations – and the same happens for officials
• Longer fixation duration was not supported which reflects the efficiency of the officials attention allocation/information processing
• Longer duration fixations usually result in greater information extraction leading to more accurate/rational decision making but that could also be from them needing to get more information from lack of experience
• Some research indicates that high sustained attention is not critical which also means that the duration of fixations is not yet a valid indicator for distinguishing between experts and non-experts
• The process is perception, information categorisation/integration then decision making
• Early information collection is critical to good decision making
• There are 4 main factors that can influence perceptual - cognitive skills of officials
• #1 x task anticipation behavior which leads to differences in information perception which expends fewer resources/uses more effective visual search strategies to scan relevant environmental information, allowing them to direct their vision earlier to concentrate on zones where potential infringements might occur which decreases the amount of fixations and increases decision making accuracy v non experts who display limited knowledge/experience leading to extensive information gathering through various visual search behavior resulting in more fixations/lower efficiency in collecting information, lowering decision making accuracy
• #2 x diff methods of memory retrieval lead to differences in information processing where experts appear to be able to retain experience/knowledge from long term memory and then quickly extract it when needed to perform actions with speed/accuracy
• Decision making begins with perceiving the stimulus, then its encoded, interpreted and categorised assisted by long term memory and then the official integrates the perceived stimulus/information with their retrieved memories and any additional information into their decision making
• As performers become experts, they can use their working memory more effectively and have more refined information retrieval strategies/processing methods
• Experts demonstrate fewer fixations/higher decision making accuracy v non-experts who have limited content stored in their long term memory and rely more on random visual behavior to collect information when faced with unfamiliar/complex tasks
• #3 x information reduction strategy leads to differences in sources of information and it's suggested that experts are able to optimise the amount of information processed through selective gaze behavior, ignoring task-irrelevant information and actively focusing on task-relevant information, again decreasing fixations and lessening information-processing load
• #4 x differences in perceptual-cognitive skills are linked to the particular sport/task nature where officials can be categorised into interactors, monitors and reactors based on the amount of interactions with athlete movement demands and in the number of cues being observed
• Sports like basketball and soccer involve high interactions/physical movement demands and often a large number of cues to process
• Sports like volleyball and gymnastics involve monitors with low to medium interaction/physical demands but often a medium to large number of cues to monitor
• Tennis line judges are reactors with low interactions/movement demands and a low to medium number of cues to track
• Reactors make judgments based on objective facts without the involvement of perceptual - cognitive skills
• Interactors need to pay attention to the large number of different targets/cues in addition to frequent movements/interactions during officiating
• This also renders the visual search task of officials more intricate, with greater uncertainty in decision making

BRISBANE v SYDNEY GAME ANALYSIS PART 2

                             

Part 2 consists of 4 clips from Sunday's game where we  look at:

• Huge Isaac Heeney trying to cover all of Sydney's injuries in-game with runs like this
• Warner playing a very similar role I've highlighted Jordan De Goey playing at various times
• Sydney go to the tried-and-true Heeney kick out play
• Lloyd filling in on the wing because of injury but still playing the role perfectly

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BRISBANE v SYDNEY GAME ANALYSIS PART 1

                           

We lost another close one, a minor concern going into finals, but with all 4 games lost by a total margin of 10pts, we were in a position to win each of those games and its not like we've lost and are searching to regain playing form.

Injuries hurt us badly in this game but we also gifted them 2 goals on extremely poor and simply lazy turnovers + 1 from the missed free kick to the Lizard and it's clear we just ran out of legs having only being able to use 64/75 interchanges for the match.

In part 1, again split over multiple videos, we look at?

• The tiny things matter at AFL level
• When pressing forward to defend fails
• Adams on the attack as a midfielder
• Grundy ruck run in defense
• Roberts staying in the play going both ways

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ESSENDON v ADELAIDE + HAWTHORN v COLLINGWOOD GAME ANALYSIS

                           

3 posts of game analysis this week and we start today looking at the Bombers/Crows game from Friday night and also the Hawks/Pies demolition from Saturday twilight.

We look at:

• A picture perfect center bounce clearance from Essendon through the use of misdirection/deception
• Individual center clearance and inside forward 50 kick of the year from Nick Daicos
• Hawks turning the tables on the Pies' last 2 years, hunting them with huge outnumbers around the contest
• Collingwood again going into slow play simply to allow time for their ruck to get forward of the ball

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SYDNEY v NORTH MELBOURNE GAME ANALYSIS PART 2

                               

In part 2 of the Sydney/North Melbourne game we take a look at:

• Sydney defending on kick out
• Sydney creating the number advantage on the fat side of the ground
• Sydney forward 50 leading patterns
• Grundy ruck run

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SYDNEY v NORTH MELBOURNE GAME ANALYSIS PART 1

It was a bit of the inevitable and also bad-timing for the Roos playing the ladder leading Swans on their home deck, after 2 straight losses and the return of favorite sons Callum Mills and Luke Parker for their 1st games in 2024 and in the end, it played out like so.

In this game analysis video we'll look at:

• McInerney playing the wing perfectly for the 2nd week in a row (but always does when he's there)
• Sydney's 6/6/6 formation
• Sydney creating the outnumber at contest
• Sydney completing their leads to create space behind them

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COLLINGWOOD v GEELONG GAME ANALYSIS PART 3

                            

Due to Youtube being difficult I had to break this up into 3 parts so here's another short video to finish this game off where we look at:

• Collingwood again going corridor at all costs, this time off a ball up, rather than go too wide where the ball goes into stoppage and their controlled chaos is halted
• Geelong forwards working for, and with, each other
• Collingwood attacking kick out

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COLLINGWOOD v GEELONG GAME ANALYSIS PART 2

                                 

Part 2 (of 3) of the Pies/Cats game from last Friday night.

In this much shorter video we look at:

• De Goey being the a major go-to option in the corridor in his his usual spot
• Rucks becoming midfielders and creating outnumbers
• Collingwood running corridor in numbers with really no other thought

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COLLINGWOOD v GEELONG GAME ANALYSIS PART 1

Bearing some ridiculous change in form and upset wins and what-could-actually-happen losses for teams around them, the Pies look out of contention for the 8 in season 2024.

In 1 of his press conferences last week, Fly said something along the words of "we still need to be who we are", and this weeks game analysis v Geelong continues along that line.

I've had to spread this over 3 videos from Youtube being difficult and then I'll follow with the Sydney/North game later in the week so you should have some content everyday this week!

In today's videos we look at:

• Atkins v Daicos at center bounce
• De Goey running his corridor lane
• Unbelievable Pendles inside forward 50 kick
• Collingwood using corridor runners on defense that they in turn use again on offense
• Collingwood kick out + corridor v down the line
• Nick Daicos going corridor at all times
• Geelong sweeper beats Nick Daicos at center bounce

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+1 KICKING GAME TRAINING ACTIVITY

                                                          

This training activity is a quick kicking game you can use with a group of any size.

It's a training activity with a single focus (find a mark) which is often overlooked as we try and cram multiple game aspects together which in turn then broadens the focus and nothing really gets enough focus to actually improve upon.

The video showing the basics is below and then I'll add some extra rules and scoring system options below that...

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SYDNEY SWANS PLAYER FORMATIONS

                              

I went to the Sydney/Saints game last weekend and while I was waiting for my mate t get there, I took a few snaps of how Sydney set up for different scenarios in the game.

The photos aren't of the greatest quality as I was also stuffing my face with an overly-expensive and underwhelming chicken and chips but it still gives a fair idea of what they do, much that has been highlighted in the game analysis videos but we get a slightly different and somewhat better look here then what we do on TV.

We start by looking at the Swans formation on St Kilda kick in and closed kicks in defensive 50 and then move to the opposite, with the Swans trying to kick out/rebound from defensive 50.

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ST KILDA v SYDNEY GAME ANALYSIS PART 2

                       

In part 2 today we look at:

• Sydney coming forward to defend to regain possession
• Saints out-working the Swans during transition offense
• Sydney feeling the St Kilda pressure and going against what they normally do
• Sydney setting up with multiple lines in front of the ball

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ST KILDA v SYDNEY GAME ANALYSIS

                       

My Swannies have trailed off in recent weeks but never fear, this is the worst time of the season for a team clear on top with plenty of games to go but not wanting to try and maintain finals-winning form the entire time so I think we'll be OK, especially with Parker and Mills to come back yet.

That being said our terrible goal kicking enabled the Saints to stick around long enough to then get the game on their terms and we couldn't wrestle back momentum which happens when you kick 5 behinds in the last quarter and 3.11 for the 2nd half!

The Saints pressure was immense which kept us from getting to the outside for the last 45mins of the match plus we only had 41 tackles v their 63 for an even-possession game (Sydney +15 which is nothing in today's football) but they played very smart as well, using a high marking game (126 - 97) to stop us applying pressure and also for them to stay connected so any rebound damage from any intercepts by us resulted in minimal damage.

This analysis spread over 2 videos shows a bit from both teams looking at:

- McInerney wing play

- Probably avoid losing touch with Warner at center square bounces!

- Full ground Rohan Marshall run

- Saints elite transition defense in fast play

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COLLINGWOOD v ESSENDON GAME ANALYSIS

                              

Well the Pies look close to cooked for season 2024 with new injuries on a weekly basis and my predicted ladder (which is changing almost every game at the moment) has them in 10th and missing finals.

It's looked like they've just been off the pace for most of the season and Fly has this to say in his post-game press conference Friday night which I'll paraphrase:

"...When you're unpredictable then you look out of energy which is from a disconnection on the ground...to bring the energy back into the group you need to go back to being predictable..."

I think this pretty much sums the Pies up for this season.

At the start of the year they were still using their surge off half back, but at times handballing into teammates' backs! 

At this point of the season the injuries and games missed by their top tiered players and teams putting a pretty hard tag on Nick Daicos has really stalled their cohesion.

I'm not saying they can't make finals but with currently being 9th and with games against an in-form Geelong, bogey team Hawthorn, Carlton, Sydney away, Brisbane and an I-don't-know-Melbourne, they'd have to turn their form around very quickly to get to 8th from here with that injury list.

Anywho - here's some things that peaked my interest from the Pies/Bombers game, with a bit from both teams.

- 2 videos highlighting De Goey pretty much playing corridor-only in an offensive manner which looks great in a win, but not so much in a loss 

- Collingwood trying surge through the corridor off a boundary throw in like they have done 100 times n the last 2 years

- Pies instantly looking corridor from the back half

- Essendon getting deep to become a forward 50 target and what allows him to do this with confidence

- Pendles in a picture perfect center bounce clearance and inside 50 entry 

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THE NICK DAICOS TRAINING ACTIVITY

                               

After THAT Nick Daicos goal from the weekend, highlighted in the game analysis earlier this week, here's a training activity that focuses on players getting ti multiple contests and staying in the play continuously.

You would have heard me say in many of the game analysis videos that the player who just disposes of the ball is usually then the most open player on the ground temporarily, as all eyes switch from them to who they gave the ball to.

So if you're the initial player in possession of the ball then once you pass it off, move to receive again a little further up the ground, or go even further up the ground to create a spare in your forward half while no one is marking you.

Here's the video...

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MATT ROWELL, TAKE A BOW!

                             

As impressed with the title of this post, I was even more impressed by the next-to-last play of the Gold Coast/Collingwood game and in particular, Matt Rowell.

Don't let his eating habits distract you, the kid is a beast!

As great as Daicos was just minutes earlier, having 3 possessions in a center bounce clearance chain to a goal from the man himself, his ability to link up repeatedly eventually got him in a position to score.

Rowell does the same but differently.

We already saw elite Suns pressure from a center bounce from earlier in the game and this is the how Rowell does it, repeated efforts defensively.

He attends the center bounce then once the ball is cleared, then he is the one who causes the stoppage about 30m away, 13secs after the center bounce. 

After the next ball up he tracks the ball in a support running role for about 40secs where he covers a further 115m or so - not gut running by any stretch at just 2.88 meters per second - probably the slowest speed he could run without walking, or close to. 

Once he sees his opening to really impact then he goes full tilt, covering about 25m and applying a game saving tackle in the next 4secs (6.25m/s ave, not top speed which would be in the high 8m/sec range I'd guess).

It's a monster effort a great lesson for young players showing that although the last 4secs where he chased hard and laid the tackle is what most of us really see, it's the 40secs of support running that really put him the position to make that impact. 

If he had laid of the support running mid-wing, then he would not have been close enough to even apply pressure, let alone impact, giving the Pies a free run through the corridor at top speed.

It would be a great learning tool if you showed your mids this play up until the point of the big tackle and ask them what they see.

Most will say the chase and tackle is the main thing but then have them watch it again and see how what Rowell does before that allows that to happen later...

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GOLD COAST v COLLINGWOOD GAME ANALYSIS PART 2

                       

Today we finish off analysing the Suns/Pies game where we look at:

• Maynard instantly looking to go corridor from right on the boundary line
• The extreme pressure from the Gold Coast midfield, giving the Pies a taste of their own surge mentality 
• Collingwood kick out going on the attack without hesitation
• Pendlebury's transitioning from defense to offense 
• Nick Daicos staying in the play continuously

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