Post match. Pies down to Crows - All comments please.

[Collingwood Crackerjack]

[Museman]

[didick]

From what I just caught on AFL 360 when asked by Drunk Robbo what our game plan was, Buck's reply was that basically it was just to make a contest and pressure the opposition so that we can gain possession and take the ball the other way. He didn't elaborate on what we try and do with it if we are fortunate enough with our puny bodies to actually win the ball. Another poster after the last game may be right in that we are using the Underpants Gnome philosophy:
1) Get the ball
2) ????
3) Travis kicks a goal.

What happens at Step 2 is the mystery.

[Dave The Man]

Longer vs Grundy be a Interesting Match Up to Watch

[Dave The Man]

[The Boy Who Cried Wolf]

I don't think that its that we don't have a game plan, but obviously we are failing miserably in implementing it - and whether its from just not having the tools or the capacity, or the horses for courses is another matter that needs to be sorted out by the coach, if indeed he is capable of that.

[The Boy Who Cried Wolf]

Last weeks comeback in the last 1/4 was 'mostly irrelevant', imho, in our hearts it was still a 10+ goal thrashing. The only upside was that our defence didn't utterly crumble.

[Dave The Man]

[Mossi]

[John Wren]

[woftam]

[Woods]

Buckley explains the game plan against the Crows in a little depth under cross examination by Robbo on AFL 360 (who Buckley says "has no idea").

(Currently on the CFC web site - http://www.collingwoodfc.com.au/ )

Basically, the plan coming out of defence was to kick it wide to numbers and lock the ball up in a stoppage, and then win possession at the restart and go forward from there.

This doesn't necessarily make for an "entertaining" spectacle in many peoples eyes - but would people rather be entertained or have the team try and win the game. Often you can't have both.

The rolling maul style of play is widely criticised, but there is a savage beauty in it. The Guardian recently published an article 'In Praise of the Hugely Underappreciated Art of Defensive Footy in the AFL' - its worth a read.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/apr/09/in-praise-art-of-defensive-footy

Edit: Here's an extract:

"For so long in the Australian football’s most formative years, many people – including coaches and the footy community – blindly accepted unspoken truths like “taking the game on” or that a high scoring match was always an entertaining one.

This is the essence of why footy fans find it so hard to appreciate defensive tactics. From the early 20th century to the turn of the millennium, the game was essentially played with one objective – outscoring the opposition via offence. This concept had been repeated ad nauseam until it has become considered fundamental scripture."

[swoop42]

[Woods]

Uncontested possession stats can be misleading.

Often they are simply opposition sides passing the ball between themselves across the ground looking for an opening to go forward. This clocks up a high number of uncontested possessions for the opposition, but it is actually a tribute to Collingwood's defensive structures, which are preventing an easy path to the opposition's goal.

Have a look at the last quarter of the Pies vs Crows last weekend. There is a five minute patch where the Crows do nothing else but pass the ball by foot amongst themselves. Even the commentators said something like "that'll increase the uncontested possession count".

[John Wren]