The biggest factor for this game will be the venue and more pointedly, the size of the ground.
One of the biggest factors to our success against Fremanntle was the size of Subiaco. Our team was purposely loaded up with small quick players to run into space and exploit the oppositions 'slow giants'.
At the smaller Telestra Dome, this strategy is much harder to employ and is the same reason we have such a poor record at the ground over recent years.
Against the Doggies on this ground, just as with all the larger bodied teams, our comparitively smaller average size is exploited as is any high-possession style of play.
If we are to have any success in this game we need to take a leaf out of the Doggies book and look to create physical pressure, much as we did last week, on the opposition and use it other to make space.
More than likely the Dogies will seek to crowd our run, much like the Kangas did, and intimidate us with their hard tackling. They are also excellent at shepherding and blocking for each other to allow the ball carrier room to run into and to deliver the ball up the ground with pressure. This makes their skills seem very smooth when in reality this is because of the reduced pressure the ball carrier is under when they release the ball because the their teamsmates work off the ball and around them.
The Doggies are also excellent at utilizing the size of Telestra Dome and their teams realitively small forwardline by creating space for their midfield to run into and kick for goal. The forwards are pushed back to the square and the HFs move up the ground leaving room for them to break into, run to the 50 and kick for goal. Many times in the recent past when we played them, I have witnessed this strategy employed continuously with the midfielders moving together in a wave, shepherding our players away from the ball carrier and the ball carrier running into the forwardline. If they couldn't spot up a leading forward they took a shot themselves.
To beat them we need to engage in a similiar strategy to create space to run into for our speedy team, and we need to tackle them to cause spillages. In addition I believe having Richo up the ground again would be very benefical because it will link up play between our back and forwardline much more fluidly. Finally we really need work together in the forwardline this game even more so than last week. We need to have players blocking their teammates defenders to give them space on their direct opponents when they lead. We need to use dummy leads and we need to move the ball quickly onto the forwards, but if the Doggies are flooding we need to wait until a forward can present.
We are goin to find this game much harder because the Doggies play a similiar running game to us but they also use each other much more to create space whereas, up until last week, we have played a more outside/reciever game.
Its all about playing to our strengths and making sure we fill up that area around their F50 to stop them from running into it.
Stripes
