Picking apart the Storm

This is a game where two teams play a style of football which plays to the other sides weaknesses. The Storm like to roll through the ruck before the swift ball movement to the edges where the Eels attack wider with less structure .The Storm won't deviate a lot from what's got them where they are. They like to get on top early building a lead before relying on a simpler game plan which relies on a strong kick chase and attack off the back of penalties or mistakes. They play their best when their comfortable.MARKER DEFENCE: The Storm centre a lot of their attack particularly early right through the channel of the play the ball. Their big men trying to get a roll on with fast play the balls in behind the ruck . Cam Smith then likes to step out of dummy half to engage the markers with their big men running off his shoulder. Once he's got the markers following him he plays wider looking for Slater on an inside ball playing through the same channel looking to isolate our big men and their slower lateral movement. You stop this you stop the Storm. How do you?Your markers need to assume Smith will step out of dummy half and when he does he draws the defender and it takes you out of the line rarely does he do this with the intent to run because he's slower then Cliff Young with speedos full of sand. Instead of looking to tackle him to ground sling him or push him , knock him over but stay alive in defence but you can't let him split the markers so you meet him one step away from the play the ball or you don't engage you need to hold in then channel of the play the ball and let your defensive line meet him. We need to get a third man to the tackle to get into marker before we roll off the tackled player to not allow the movement off the mark and Smith getting forward momentum to step out of dummyhalf.DEFENCE:the Storm like to do a quick shift once they get a couple of fast play the balls our defence needs to incorporate an wedge type of defence where you hold your line but get up quicker on the outside.To do this our wingers have to stand ten metres behind their inside defender to cover for the kick and you'll nullify their wingers.KICKING: when the Storm are under pressure Smith will look to kick early on the tackle count as soon as they hit the 40 metre line , knock him over. When they bomb two of our back three which they will a lot our defenders need to stay alive and create a wall apart from our defence around the ruck this is imperative.That's how we negate the Storm how do we attack them?ATTACK: the Storm like to get three men in the tackle using their size and strength to slow down the play the ball it's why you don't attack them early in the count through the middle. We must attack the edge of the ruck early to get quicker play the balls before turning it inside or switching the attack to the other side of the ruck before going up the middle. You get the defence going backwards before going up the guts and they won't dominate the tackle and the game will be faster which suits us. The quicker the games played the better our chances. Our halves will do the rest.OUR KICKING GAME: Apart from the kick early chase hard, Slater gets along way back defending kicks early in the count a couple of short kicks early will do two things catch them out early and bring Slater further forward in defence which will help our long kicking game. Slater hates the strong carry so isolate him with towering bombs and hit him hard ,he gets upset and it puts him off his game.EARLY ON: we need to stamp our intentions early like a show and go show your going to play an improvised game plan but do it sparingly but effectively before playing with some structure. I'd like us if their kicking off for our halves to run to the 30 metre line and reef it straight down the middle this would set a tone for the match and have the Storm hesitant in defence. Looking to chase hard off the kick off to start the game physically and put some sting in your defence only to have to turn and run back 50 metres to cart it up would put their big men under immediate pressure. Alternatively if we kick off go short or short for touch I don't like this as much but it'll have the Storm on edge straight away. We need to take them out of their comfort zone where the expectation and pressure will build cause they can't rely on their structure they play adnauseum. You don't play the Storm at their game their too good you move them around and hit them where they don't want you to. You turn their big pack into a weakness by playing fast and wider so they can't dominate the tackle and the ruck. We're more mobile and we need to use it stay with them for the first 20 of each half and attack the edge of the ruck they'll be tired and ripe for the picking through the middle. Norman and Moses could pick them apart with their running games and Will Smith with his running game with tired big men would be unstoppable.Fatigue them we win.

"Thats a good side bem. Joash looked more confident and stronger in the trials, and his quick footwork really confused the opposition. If he's on the bench he needs to get onto the park"

"Iongi; JAC, Russell, Penisini, Simonsson; Pezet, Moses;
Hopgood, Smith, Paulo; Williams, Kautoga; Doorey.
Bench: Da Silva, Tuivati, De Belin, Walker, Samrani, Papalii. "

"
1. Iongi
2. JAC
3. Russell
4. Penisini
5. Simo
6. Papali'i
7. Moses
8. Paulo
9. Smith
10. Williams
11. Tuilagi
12. Kautoga
13. Hopgood
14. Walker
15. Tuivaiti
16. Dorey
17. Samrani
18. Da Silva "

Replies

Parra fan on The Hill September 9, 2017 at 10:14am

cheers,mate.
PM www.sportfirstnambucca.com.au September 9, 2017 at 10:25am

Will Smith needs to be backing up in the middle so when Brown gets a offload we have some speed at a retreating defence, the best way to beat the storm is to get quick play the balls and get them back peddling like we did to the Broncos.

Fowards need to land on their fronts to get up for quick play the balls.

If we win the ruck we can out score them provided our defence is tight.

We will be up for it and won't disgrace ourselves.
paul taylor September 9, 2017 at 10:54am

That is a great read mate. Your the no 1 football brain on this site and I enjoy your comments mate.

Go the eels.
Rise of an empire September 9, 2017 at 11:35am

Great read it sounds spot on to me

This reply was deleted.

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