The finals are upon us and we’re going in without the forward depth of our top eight counterparts. Although we don’t lack size or mobility we lose punch in our forward rotation and if we manage to keep winning the teams we play become more adept at controlling the ruck with both dominant tackles and the dreaded wrestle.
If we manage to get over the top of the Broncos which barring something out of the ordinary I expect us too ,we come up against the Storm who like to hold up the defenders for long periods before collapsing the tackle as the ref calls held gaining valuable seconds in setting the defensive line.
As a ball runner how do you negate this aside from playing wide of the ruck?you have 5 options
1-Get your bumpers up. A Storm specialty which allows you to half break the line allowing you to dominate the tackle and find your elbows and knees
2-Late footwork at the line. This is the most effective way of dominating the ruck allowing the quickest of play the balls or furthering the attack.
3- Hit and spin. This better suits our playing style because it can facilitate second faze play creating room for the offload.
4-Getting lower to the ground , this suits our more compact players but is generally less effective and can open you up to high tackles and collision type injuries.
5- pass at the line. Very effective if you can continue to complete your sets passing in traffic but can open you up to a lot of handling errors.
In finals football we are going to have to incorporate all five if we want to go deep into the finals. Players like Evans and Lane are prone to running too upright at times especially doing the token hit up which allows the opposition to quickly stifle our attack.
Sivo and Fergo tend to do the same coming off our line which allows you to be dragged in goal or over the touch line it simply isn’t effective without momentum.
A lot of times when under pressure our forwards do hitups out of order. Off a kick obviously our backs do the early hitups and our big men sometimes won’t do a hit up but off set starts Junior needs to the lay the platform off the bat, drawing defenders and getting the set going forward. Leg speed next Evans when available his substitute in his absence. Third hit up needs to be brown off the back fence where he angles in behind the play the ball which always garners the fast play the ball then you get early ball to our outside men.
Im concerned recently how we try to play too much through the middle when our starting props go off we immediately start to lose the ruck. When Junior goes off the paddock we have to play more expansive ,play a faster mobile game where we play both sides of the ruck turning the ball back inside and keep the opposition alive defensively both sides of the ruck each play the ball to tire them out.
This type of football particularly upsets the Broncos and causes problems for the Storm. One out won’t cut here on in .Playing safe won’t get us further in the finals . If we can’t match teams with grunt we tire them out with speed and mobility.
Our backs can win us a comp our forwards need to find a way to give them the opportunity.
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The Sharks have a good forward pack but got smashed by the team we smashed last week.The Storm are beatable but we have to be at our best and hope they are below thiers.second phase is our game .Quick up tempo throw it wide out enthuse and hope the refs are on our side.
I think if we are at our best and Broncos at their best we win
I agree playing before the line and offloads upset the Melbourne defence but sometimes you need to go one out because if the defence is running up in solid line and if you don't get around it, the time spent on the 2nd pass can mean an extra couple metres lost and a huge lift for the defence as they see the attack going backwards. Give it to a strong runner with solid technique and try to get the quick play the ball is the safest option. Even a 30 or 40 metre gain can be acceptable with a good kick and chase. Defences can't rush up all game without getting fatigued so it is a matter of seeing out the periods where they are puting everything into defence. It is a balance between safety one out and understanding when to get it a bit wider.
For those who hate the one out, have you noticed Parra isn't the only team that do it and even the roosters and storm do exactly the same. There are a lot of smart people in the game who analyse and understand the tactics much better than fans who normally look through a bias fan view and emotion during a game.
A lot of people complain about Melbourne's wrestling but I haven't really seen anyone try to find tactics to distrupt it other than offloads and and ball movement. They are the best at wrestling but no one has really tried some basic moves to nullify there advantage.
Running hard negates any wrestling as the defenders are simply trying to stop you and don't have the luxury of holding you up while they set up their different grips to manoeuvre someone into a dominant tackle. The storm love to hold players up and then take them to the ground on their terms and do it better then anyone. They also use the period holding a tackled player up to ensure that they control the positioning on the ground. This then restricts the attacking players ability to get up quickly by ensuring their arm and legs are pinned so they can not move on the ground.
A lot of the storms successful wrestling comes from good positioning of the hands before the tackle hits the ground so they don't have to move much once the tackle hits the ground. They only do slight adjustments of positioning once the tackle hits the ground as they have done the set up work where other teams are often penalised as they get into these positions after the tackle hits the ground.
Watch the storm smother the ball carrier pinning their arms and legs so they can not struggle to get up which is the usual signal to the ref they are being held down. By keeping the legs pumping once held up by defence, the ball carrier might be able limit the storms ability to completely control the position on the ground. Many players submit and stop their legs pumping when held up by the defence more interested in remaining upright, but by keeping them moving the defender tasked with wrapping up the legs is unlikely to be able get grip around both legs and wrap their body around them. In this case one of the higher players has to slide down to hold the legs as the tackle hits the ground, as the storm like to control all aspects of the ball carriers movement from their legs, body and arms.
If a ball carrier has his legs free and starts kicking about or gets to his knees it is clear to the ref the tackle is completed and storm are slowing the ruck. If defenders control the legs and the ball carrier can't kick out or get to his knees the defenders have bought valuable time slowing the ruck.
The same can be said when the ball carrier has his arms pinned. The storm are good at body locks ensuring arms are restricted. By twisting and fighting in the tackle while held up the ball carrier makes it harder for Melbourne to get their hands positioning right. If Melbourne get a good body lock and pin the arms the ball carrier can't push players off him or use his arms to stand up.
Their "wrestling coach" is a jiu-jitsu coach and many of the grips and holds are variations on traditional judo and Jiu-Jitsu moves. Obviously the usual defences don't work while trying to protect a football but the same principles apply. They are waiting for certain movements to help them gain dominant position and control the opponent's body. For that reason the best defence against it is to be unorthodox and not let it play out as they are setting up.
Maybe trying to fall to the ground instead of fighting to remain standing or even lifting your legs off the ground. Once a players feet are off the ground the tackle is complete and they can't be driven back and ref is likely to call held as clear all momentum has stopped. That will force the storm to make quick decision whether to risk pulling player to the ground after ref calls held and risk a penalty. We may win the odd penaltiy but other times we will be driven backwards. Even if we are driven backwards the change of tactic will distrupt Melbourne's wrestling. They may begin to try to drive our fowards back instead of wrestle them, or rush their wrestling once they are aware of the tactic in case held is called earlier.
This is the NRL no player should be taking a hit up without a player pushing up in support.
This is finals and if you want to maintain your place in them and win the big dance you have to constantly ask questions of the defence no matter your position on the field.
One out allows defences to get off the line hard and shut down your set before it starts.Momentum in finals is so much more important, the building of pressure is increased with so much on the line and sustaining the pressure the longest is key to victory no matter the opponent.
You have to engage the defence both sides of the ruck and not allow the defence to rest . This means a faster transition from defence to attack then we’ve managed in the regular season and keeping the big men moving laterally.
I repeat no player should be taking a hit up without teammates pushing up in support it gives your attack no options and doesn’t make the opposition make any defensive decisions. Tire them out both physically and mentally. From the get go as well and after halftime ,high octane for eighty minutes anything less will open opportunities for defeat.
Tad some teams have hired jiu-jitsu coaches but the Strom have one of the best in Australia. Not only does he have 4th degree black belt in jiu-jitsu he has black belt in judo, learning off the best in the world, and has experience in transitioning the skills to other sports. There just aren't that many high level guys in Australia.
A jiu-jitsu coach could help however it would take a long time to get to the level of the storm. That is only to learn what they are doing and try to replicate it to slow down the ruck. To learn the defensive side to combat their wrestling and avoid slow play the balls is made a lot harder by having to protect the ball and requires a coach who can think outside the square. Unfortunately a lot of people who are at that level have a sole focus on jiu-jitsu so can't adapt to situations outside the norm and can't figure out how to beat the wrestle other than stay away from it with ball movement.
As Bup says below support players can help as they may delay the extra defenders joining the tackle but you also lose some speed in your run if you genuinely look like you may pass instead of tucking the ball and running hard meaning you more likely to be grabbed and held up while they take control of the tackle.
I think the secret is to get the tackle completed as quickly as possible however it is easier said than done. You can't dive at their feet but the worse thing to do is fight to remain standing as is the main instinct of players. By getting to the ground quickly and ensuring you have your legs free you can kick out and try to get up. If you stand the extra second a player wraps around your legs pinning you and you still go to ground which adds valuable seconds for the defence. The majority of penalties are given when the player is flopping around on the ground like a fish out of water so the key is to hit the ground with your limbs free. I remember watching Michael Hancock as a kid and he was always kicking out trying to jump up as quick as possible. If more players did that I think the refs are more inclined to blow penalty as it clear defence is holding you down.
I think a high level wrestler and not a jiu-jitsu coach is the answer. I would scout America for a high level coach even just for a 6 week stint during pre-season. The level of wrestling in America is huge particularly in country area's and many have been doing it since they were little kids.
I agree tad there is plenty to learn from other sports and Trent Robinson and Craig Bellamy are good examples of coaches exploring outside the sport for an edge. Plenty of teams send people on tours of other sports facilities but Robinson and Bellamy go next level by fully immersing themselves and completing thorough research before these visits. They have a thirst for knowledge that other coaches don't have which gives them a massive advantage.
I think one aspect that is only recently being explored is yoga, fitness and breathing exercises which Fittler is big on and the warriors did after every try. Look up Wim Hof who has breathing exercises which allow him to swim in freezing water and regulate the transfer of oxygen around his body and control his immune system. He has had scientists test his methods and not just him but his students and confirmed that his methods work.
My friend does triathlon's and since doing the Wim Hof breathing exercises daily, he credits it for an increase in his fitness and his ability to overcome fatigue.
The problem comes in that there is so much information and so many fake people peddling scams now to know what is true and what doesn't. I credit BA for trying something different last year fitness wise by getting the AFL trainer but it didn't work and players lost their explosive power and actually fatigued quicker. That is the difference between Bellamy, Robinson and others. Bellamy and Robertson would have researched and most likely seen the negative affect a running fitness level was unsuited to the stop start and explosive nature of league.
Milf will look to run early to get him into the game he’ll throw an early dummy and step on the inside we need to crunch him.
Line speed and gang tackling Hass and lodge and get up in the face of Turpin and the Broncos quickly run out of options.
The right game plan we win comfortably allowing the Broncos to become comfortable we lose.
The Eels had this in them Poppa they showed us glimpses against the Roosters and the Broncos at BankWest earlier in the year and of course against the Tigers.
But what was impressive was Moses finally showing the league community his passing game which I likened as the best I’ve seen since Ricky Stuart when he first signed with us , but until today was shown only fleetingly.
Moses has talents not many players that have played the game have possessed. His talent has improved at a faster pace then his footballing IQ until this year. He’s been that gifted his mind failed to keep pace with his physical attributes but he’s now realising the combination of the two.
If he can maintain his form over the next three weeks this kids career could take off and the Eels will be the beneficiaries . What ever happens from here needs to be a springboard to further success. And your right I think we nailed it.
Thanks for that Bup. They heard the word.