A Players Perspective

May 4, 2010 By Chris McLean Scoresheet
From guest writer Chris McLean - San Jose Hornets

Here are some thoughts from the game on the weekend.

Back Line..

Belly stopped us from getting smashed by an extra 10 goals, so it seems very clear that he needs to remain at full back (although having him at full forward would be nice too!) Flash provided a target for Belly, but he didn't have much support on the other wing or at the fall of the ball. We need to find someone else with a bit of height who is a good enough over head mark (or will make a contest) as a target on the other wing or in the middle at CHB . Then the smaller players need to feed off that target if the ball spills loose in the marking contest . If the mark is held, then run past for the hand-ball. Oakland played a 'zone' when Belly was kicking in, and we found it difficult to break it down, but zones can be beaten by hard running, short handballs and kicks and then long kicks into the forward line. Also Oakland knew that the ball was more than likely going to Flash, so they were ready for it. We need to break it up a bit, not be so obvious and look at the possibility of hitting up a shorter target within 20-30 yards from full back. Then we can go from there.. Maybe a hand ball to a running player who kicks longer to a target at the back or over the zone, or another short kick. It's all about keeping possession. Again, this where some training together would come in handy!

Half Back Line..

I thought Flav did a great job on Sole for the first half, but then Sole seemed to be everywhere. I'm not sure if Flav went off him or Sole just got better, but Flav is a natural defender and I think he could play a similar role for us at CHB, as Sole does for Oakland.

Ruck..

If you can't get first use of the ball at least half the time, then you are going to have problems, and we got killed in the Ruck all day. Even when we did win a Ruck contest the tap or punch wasn't to our advantage. This was not the fault of the ruckman, it was because we haven't trained together and we didn't communicate well enough, or when we did, we didn't do what we had just said we were going to do. Lon and Jeremiah competed hard all day, but didn't have the leap that the red headed kid and Chris Jonson have. Lon has the height and competitive nature to be a great ruckman, to time his run and control the center circle and tap to the left, right or back of the contest to our advantage. Jeremiah will be a great around-the-ground and boundary line ruckman because he has the strength to hold any other ruckman in the league at bay, as at those contests there isn't the running and jumping that is required in the center. However when Jeremiah comes into the center for a Ruck contest he should run right through the opposition ruckman, driving his knee into his gut. Trust me that will make a ruckman loose a few inches in leap and desire to win the ball.

Center and followers..

We had no cohesiveness in there to win the ball. Again, this is about training and having the right cattle to play in those positions. Also, being new, I did not marshal the troops in the center as well as I should have, given that I have played the game my whole life I should have taken more control. We won the odd 'hard ball get' but didn't have the history together to know where our back-up was and we weren't in the right positions to receive the quick handball out of the pack, so our quick kicks out of the center, invariable ended up in that Sole blokes hands who stood at CHB and dominated for the second half.

Forwards..

Too bad Belly can't play at both ends cause we need a target in the forward line.. Metzy did what he could, and he did well, but the delivery into the forward line was average at best, and that made it difficult for everyone down there, especially as Oakland's players were drifting into our forward line and choking the space to kick into. Again we need to practice!!! We need to feel comfortable when running at full speed and putting the ball onto our foot and kicking to a target as opposed to blazing away from the wing and it falling well short of the goals or its intended target.

Final thoughts..

So if you are fit, then run, just run and I will guarantee that one way or another you will get the ball, regardless of your level of football ability. Just keep your eye on it, and not the man, keep your eye on the ball, get possession of it and fire out quick handballs and kicks to targets..

It's not rocket science, keep your eye on the ball, win the contest, take the first option and hit that target by hand or foot and then back-up your team mates. We want do it all the time, but even if we do it half the time, we will see results and give ourselves a chance to win games.