AFLW 2022 Rd 4: Carlton vs North Melbourne

[LP]

There is logic in what you say but the competition is already being strangled by overly defensive coaching so a reduction in ground size is likely to lead to more congestion and a negative impact on the skills of the game.

Yes, the adoption of AFL coaching tactics has had a significant impact and faster change than expected. It's easier to get unskilled players acting defensively using negative tactics than it is to upskill them to win an attacking pro-active game style.

But it's not just the coaches fault, it's a scenario created by the Big House, too much inbreeding!

[Thryleon]

I know people like to moan about the tactical aspects of sports, but unilaterally the law of defense wins championships seems to apply.

It is easier to stop your opponent as a unit, because it relies less on individual brilliance and more on cohesion.  The old Phalanx approach to defending where each person works with those next to them to both defend and attack.

Cohesion is easier to build in a team, than individual skills, and injuries don't tend to ruin it, which is where you get your one out, one in scenarios because people who come in, know whats expected of them and how to act and react accordingly in game situations.

Almost all teams suffer when too much talent is missing from a particular team, but most of them are capable of covering the absence of one or two star players happily enough without compromising the team ethos, and style in a truly team oriented approach.

Moving back to AFL for a moment, this is where line breaking players on the offensive are a godsend.  There are only three ways to penetrate a cohesive defense.

1.  The ability to break lines through individual speed.
2.  The ability to move the ball swiftly hitting difficult targets.
3.  Selfless players need to move in a way that breaks the opponents lines artificially without relying on individual skills and creates opportunities for others to exploit.  The old, make a defender make a decision, will buy time usually which is where we will miss Liam Jones coming over to help (or at times hinder) a teamate.

The 3rd of these, are once again the easiest to teach a relatively also ran, provided that they have the requisite athletic attributes.

This scenario is not unique to the girls, and there is a reason why you see the tactics coming into the womens game and it has nothing to do with ability or capability.