Kicking short or bombing it long? The data on each club’s tactics
Damien Hardwick has been anointed as the man to lead the Suns to the finals, which is why it looks like the successful Tiger formula has headed north. See how your club has played this pre-season.
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Essendon went short, Gold Coast went long and Collingwood took the most uncontested marks in a game under coach Craig McRae.
They were some of the snapshots from the round of pre-season games.
They are far from declaring trends but they are glimpses at what clubs were either trying to execute or were unable to execute because of the abilities of the opposition.
Take Richmond v the Pies.
The Tigers didn’t want to basically have a one kick to one handball ratio, but the Pies forced them to because of how they set up the ground defensively.
The Bombers were the most curious team and you have to wonder if the brand they displayed against Geelong is sustainable.
Time and again they used short kicks to bring the ball out of their defensive 50m arc.
They were the No.1 side at kicking short in the round of pre-season games. Of their 233 kicks against Geelong, 158 were registered as short kicks.
Champion Data defines a short kick as 40m or less, with anything going further than that classified as a long kick.
It’s a brand that requires quick thinking and consistent quality kicks. Against an organised and defensive aware opposition, the pressure to constantly execute is immense.
Unlike last year where there was plenty of sideways ball movement, at least it appeared the Bombers kicked short while moving the ball forward, a trait which helped deliver the Cats the 2022 premiership
Essendon was the No.3 short kicking team in 2023 – behind St Kilda and Brisbane – so it’s not new. And last season, they werefifth on the ladderafter Round 17, before stumbling to an embarrassing end.
With some tinkering, the Bombers believe with Andy McGrath, Mason Redman, Jordan Ridley and now Nic Martin in defence, it’s their brand for the 2024 season.
And it was a quick game, Essendon v Geelong, because those teams were ranked No.1 and No.2 for mark-play on.
The Suns in contrast to the Bombers preferred long kicks, which is coach Damien Hardwick’s philosophy. From 2017-2022 when he was at Richmond, the Tigers were the No.1 team for long kicks.
The Suns last year were ranked No.17 for long kicks. Across the pre-season games, the Suns were ranked No.1 ahead of Hawthorn.
The Hawks were the surprise. Last year they were labelled the Happy Handballers. Have they changed their method? We know after a month.
Collingwood’s 129 uncontested marks against the Tigers was the most it has ever taken under McRae, but that is unlikely to be part of the Magpies’ DNA this year.
It was because Richmond allowed them to shift angles and move the ball with complete ease.
The Magpies generated 11 scoring shots from their defensive 50m, registering 3.5 (23). Eight of those came directly from turnovers.
Last year AFL clubs averaged just over two scoring shots from defensive 50m and only nine points from full-ground transitions.
The Tigers were belted off defensive 50m transitions and you can bank on the Tigers going to school on that this week ahead of the Gold Coast on Saturday.
The Tigers were thrilled with their own ball movement in patches. They looked devastating, particularly in the first quarter.
But across the match they were far too handball-happy. Their kick-to-handball ratio was 1.16 when last year it sat at about 1.5.
Only Geelong and Fremantle had lower kick-to-handball ratios on the weekend. But that was not new coach Adem Yze’s instruction.
Instead the Tigers were forced into frenetic handball chains they did not want because Collingwood pressed at them so aggressively.
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