Eade has plan to counter 'robotic' game
Eade has plan to counter 'robotic' game
Martin Boulton | March 5, 2009
http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/news/eade-has-plan-to-counter-robotic-game/2009/03/04/1235842489807.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap1
RODNEY Eade has watched football trends come and go, but the Western Bulldogs coach says a shift towards increasingly defensive, low-scoring games could be here to stay.
Unlike Sydney coach Paul Roos — who blames rule changes for the rolling zone popularised by Hawthorn — Eade fears a deliberate return to "robotic" game styles could damage the AFL's appeal. "I don't think this will evolve, I think we'll be stuck with this for a while," Eade said.
He said clubs would do whatever was necessary to win games, but the evolution of the game could suffer from players "chipping and going sideways" under strict coaching instructions.
"There will be a lot of zoning and … at times, it will get ugly," he said. "There will be more possessions, more handballs and less goals, I have no doubt that's going to happen."
He said rule changes had "nothing to do with people implementing the zone" and it was the responsibility of coaches to protect the aesthetics of the game.
"I get concerned (with) more possessions, more handballs, less inside 50s and less goals — as a lover of the game, nothing to do with the Western Bulldogs or coaching a team — this is where the game is headed.
"As coaches and clubs we want to win games, but there's a greater being here as well, which is the game and the aesthetics of the game."
In terms of a spectacle Eade said the game was "the best it's ever been" over the past three years due to "high speed, a lot of goals, high scoring" as well as good defence.
"I wouldn't like to see it be totally defensive and people start turning off and people don't turn up any more," he said.
Eade will use a survey by the AFL Coaches' Association on trends in the game to convey his thoughts to league bosses. "I'm not an oracle, I've just got some thoughts," he said. "I've got an idea how it could be solved. I don't know if it's got any holes in it, it probably has, but I'll talk to the powers that be and put my thoughts down on paper."
Roos said this week he would "wind the clock back" on rule changes if he could, but clubs would simply have to "weather the storm" of change that he blames for zoning.
Ahead of Saturday's NAB Challenge game against Sydney at Rouse Hill, Eade said he's "not too worried about results" at this stage of the year. "It's really about the process we're going through and the next two weeks gives us a good opportunity to fine-tune some things," he said.
Brownlow medallist Adam Cooney will play his first competitive game of the year.
"He'll probably get about 40 minutes," Eade said. "It's just a conditioning run from Adam and we're not expecting any quality football. It's just a matter of him getting out there and getting used to match conditions."
He said Cooney was no certainty to play in round one, but was progressing well after an interrupted pre-season campaign. "He'll be playing football somewhere, but whether it's AFL on a big ground in 35 degree heat, we'll have to work that out."
Mitch Hahn, Scott Welsh, Jason Akermanis, Robert Murphy and Stephen Tiller all played their first games last week and will play on Saturday.
Midfielder Daniel Cross has back tightness and will not play, while Daniel Giansiracusa, Matthew Boyd and Nathan Eagleton will all be rested. Malcolm Lynch, Jarrad Grant, Easton Wood and Brennan Stack will also play.
Eade said last week's loss to St Kilda was "one of those games you dismiss" and move on. "There was a fair bit of zoning and flooding and the skills were down," he said. "You take the positives out of it and it showed some areas we can work on with the season coming up."