Are there any defensive tactics you’ve looked at in other sports that you think could be implemented in Australian football?
There’s no doubt that you certainly look at other sports. Zoning has become a bit of a buzz word in football at the moment. So you certainly look at how other sports protect certain parts of the ground. Soccer, hockey and basketball are all sports which play zone defences.
AFL coaches are looking at these sports as they aren’t just played nationally, they’re played internationally, which means there’s a lot of knowledge coming from all over the world.
Water polo is also looked at to see what their defensive strategies are, how they like to set up, how many numbers they put behind the ball and whether they zone man-on-man or use a combination of man-on-man with a zone.
AFL is a unique sport but there are common threads in terms of defensive structures with other sports.
What sort of research do you do to prepare yourself and your defenders for the next game?
We try to get to as many live games as we can. Obviously when it comes closer to playing a certain team we look at them more, so usually about three weeks out we’ll start concentrating on a team. For example, we play St Kilda in a couple of weeks so most of our coaches will watch them play Essendon on Sunday.
From a defensive coaching point of view, you certainly get more out of the game by watching it live. When you are at the game you can see what the forwards do, what patterns they run, which players they use in certain parts of the ground and how they set up at stoppages. You get a really good read on what the opposition is trying to do.
I guess when you’re watching it on the TV screen you can’t see what people are doing in front or behind the ball – and that’s an important element when coaching.
In terms of player development, we also try to get our players to come and have a look at the opposition as well. But sometimes the defenders won’t just focus on the forwards; they’ll also look at a defender like Matthew Scarlett to see what he does and how he positions himself.
On game day, how much say do you get on defensive decisions?
That will vary from club to club but [senior coach] Dean [Bailey] gives us a lot of responsibility with our line group. In terms of match-ups, we spend a lot of time during the week discussing them with all the coaches but Dean gives me a lot of responsibility as a defensive coach because that is my specific area.
Obviously if he doesn’t agree with something, Dean will certainly raise that but at the end of the day he has the final call as the senior coach. In saying that, Dean certainly gives us a lot of autonomy and I guess that’s the best way to learn and develop as a coach.
For Dean, he is looking at the whole game so I guess he trusts the line coaches to really zone in on their area of the game so they have a good understanding of what match-ups are required on certain players.
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The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.
